An Interview with LAAFA Student and Professional 3D Artist Donna Bates

Donna Bates is one of the accomplished professional artists who are part of the student community at Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art.  Donna's well-rounded resume as a 3D entertainment artist features work on franchises including Planet of the Apes, Child's Play, Chronicles of Riddick, and Saw II.  Rather than resting on her 3D laurels, she keeps her skills in academic drawing and painting current by attending classes at LAAFA.

After studying Art at Cal State Fullerton, Donna was among the first illustrators to seize the chance to train for artistic work in the then-emerging field of computer animation.  She completed her training at Otis, Art Center, and Gnomon.  She studied Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3D modeling in Maya and other programs.  The expertise she developed in 3D modeling led to a stint teaching polygon modeling at the Gnomon School of VFX.

Image by Donna Bates

In her drawing and painting classes at LAAFA, Donna values the opportunity to learn from highly qualified instructors who help students gain a better handle on techniques that will enhance their work in figurative art in any media - whether in two or three dimensions.

With the same perspicacity that kept her ahead of the curve in her pursuit of artistic work in 3D modeling, Donna continues to look towards the future.  Her present ambitions include completing paintings for a solo show, as well as developing artwork and jewelery design using cutting-edge 3D printing technology.  You can see more of Donna's impressive work on her website: www.donnabates3d.com.

Interested in joining the vibrant artistic community at LAAFA?  Check out LAAFA's part-time summer class schedule here.  Click here for information on LAAFA's  full-time BFA and Atelier Certificate Programs in Fine Art and Entertainment Art.

LAAFA 10-Year Anniversary Party

Find out more information.  RSVP Requested.

August 2012 Workshops at LAAFA

This August at LAAFA, choose between these wonderful workshops - or take them all! 

August 3rd-5th
3-DAY PORTRAITURE PAINTING WORKSHOP

Spend 3 days studying portraiture with Sean Cheetham- one of the most acclaimed young figurative painters today!
Sean holds a Bachelor of Fine Art degree with honors from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He exhibited his work in 2005 at the Portrait Award National Portrait Gallery in London, England. In 2006, Sean had his first one man exhibition with The Mendenhall Sobieski Gallery in Pasadena.

 

August 11
1-DAY DRAWING AND FILM DESIGN WORKSHOP WITH JOHN NEVAREZ

Developing moments for visual development is key in "showing and selling" the story.  Animation industry veteran John Nevarez will discuss how to compose and design drawings for visual development in film. John will cover design as it relates to supporting story structure.  Basic principles of design for film, including composition and lighting will also be covered.

 

 

August 18

1-DAY PORTRAIT DRAWING IN CHARCOAL WORKSHOP WITH NATHAN FOWKES

This workshop will be an instructive overview of the materials, techniques, and concepts for successful portrait drawing, it will include:

• The fundamentals of constructing the head with the values of light and shadow.
• Principles for creating the illusion of space and volume on a 2 dimensional drawing surface.

• Ideas for portrait composition and creating a likeness.
• Techniques and tips on materials and the drawing process.
• Instructor demonstration from a live model.
• Student drawing time from a live model with instructor feedback.

Can't stay until 8:00 pm? You can opt to attend just the Lecture & Demo portion of this workshop from 12:00pm-5:00pm.

LAAFA at Comic-Con Part 2: More Amazing Artist Demos

If you weren't lucky enough to make it to San Diego for Comic-Con this weekend, here are just a few of the many highlights from this weekend at Booth #5567.

FRIDAY:

Armand Baltazar (Pixar) treated us to a one-hour painting demonstration. The man works fast- and the result has almost enough personality to speak for himself!

 SATURDAY:

Nathan Fowkes (Digital Domain), showed off his impressive skill with charcoal. Nathan will be teaching this technique on August 18th at LAAFA during his **1-Day Portrait Drawing in Charcoal Workshop** .

 

SUNDAY:

 Justin Yun (Section Studios) dazzled onlookers with his technical and artistic brilliance in a digital concept painting demo.

LAAFA at Comic-Con Part 1: Gearing up for the Weekend

Image by CECIL KIM

Comic-Con is here and LAAFA is right in the middle of the action! 

If you are at Comic-Con, be sure to stop by Booth #5567.  For those of you who won't make it until this weekend, here's a daily photo diary of what's happened so far!  Follow us on Facebook for updates throughout the day on what will be happening for the rest of the weekend!

FRIDAY: ANIMATION VETERAN AND PIXAR SKETCH ARTIST JOHN NEVAREZ  

JOHN DEMONSTRATED DAZZLING SKETCH-WORK AT 3:00PM ON FRIDAY.

   REGISTER FOR JOHN'S VISUAL STORYTELLING WORKSHOP NEXT MONTH AT LAAFA WHILE THERE IS STILL SPACE!

THURSDAY:  CECIL KIM FROM SECTION STUDIOS

 CECIL SHOWED A WINNING COMBINATION OF TECHNICAL MASTERY 

AND IMAGINATION DURING HIS 4:30 PM DEMO

WEDNESDAY:  PREVIEW NIGHT

  ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOR/TEACHER MARSHALL VANDRUFF CAME TO VISIT

May Workshops at LAAFA with Nathan Fowkes & Marshall Vandruff

On Saturday, May 19th, Nathan Fowkes has a one-day workshop - Composition: Design for Dynamic Picture-Making.  This intensive workshop will cover fundamentals of effective picture-making, creating mood and environment, and organizing complex scenes.  The workshop includes a painting demonstration by Nathan, as well as time for student painting with instructor feedback. Discover Nathan Fowkes's impressive credentials on his blog.  Register here.

May 25th-27th master illustrator and instructor Marshall Vandruff presents a crash-course in the classic approach to draftsmanship and animal anatomy.  The workshop will teach students to draw animals from their imagination as well as to interpret visual information when drawing animals from life. Recommended pre-workshop reading is on Marshall's website.  Register here.

Draw with Top Animators & Character Designers at LAAFA!

Ron Velasco

This Spring, LAAFA is pleased to welcome an all-star drawing faculty to our extension program and workshop schedule!

Ron Velasco

 In Gesture Drawing for Storytelling, Ron Velasco will share his experiences in character design & concept art for projects including Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland..... Don't miss the chance to study with this amazing artist!

Danny Galieote

Students in Danny Galieote's Analytical Figure Drawing will benefit from Danny's  impressive career at Walt Disney Animation Studios, as well as his extensive study of master artists of the Italian Renaissance.  Danny's work at Disney includes The Lion King, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Princess and the Frog, and Tangled, to name just a few of Danny's credits! 













Students who want to brush up their skills without committing to a series of classes can still take advantage of upcoming workshops with prominent entertainment industry artists.

Stephen Silver

On April 28th, Stephen Silver will share his experience working for clients including Hasbro Toys, Disney, & Nickelodeon at a one-day Character Design Workshop.

Nathan Fowkes

On May 19th, Nathan Fowkes's workshop Composition: Design for Dynamic Picture-Making offers a one-day overview of the essential compositional skills Nathan uses as a visual development artist at DreamWorks.

Find more coming attractions here under the "Workshops & Events 2012" tab!