Animator/Filmmaker Tony White to Speak on Sept. 21

Alli Williams
Photo of Tony White

Tony White will speak at TMCC on September 21, 2018.

TMCC welcomes British Academy Award-winning animation director, animator, author, educator and consultant, Tony White, to speak at the Dandini Campus on Friday, September 21.

White’s visit is presented in conjunction with the start of TMCC’s new Graphic Arts and Media Technology Degree and Certificate Programs. The event is open to the public and is free of charge.

Brian Wells, Professor of Graphic Communications at TMCC, who was himself an animator on The Simpsons animated television series, is hopeful that the event will be a great motivator to show students and prospective students what a career in animation, design or filmmaking could be.

“I’m hoping that the takeaway from this event will be that students and even potential students in the community will realize that a career in animation or associated graphics fields is possible and lucrative,” Wells said. “I want them to see that a degree at TMCC can help get them started on that career path.”

White is a British Academy Award-winning animation director, animator, author, educator and consultant. At the beginning of his career, he studied advanced animation techniques with some of the finest masters of the art-form. Specifically, Ken Harris, who was the original lead animator of Bugs Bunny, Roadrunner, and many more, Art Babbit who was original lead animator on Pinocchio and Fantasia, and Richard Williams, a three-time Oscar winner and author of The Animator's Survival Kit.

White is founder of DRAWASSIC, a ground-breaking digital animation movement that seeks to preserve, teach and evolve the art-form of traditional animation in this digital age. Reflecting this, in March 2015 White established the online Animator’s Sketchclub, where he sets an animation-related drawing challenge and publishes the results of the winning submissions. Membership of the Animator’s Sketchclub is now over 5,500 artists and animators, with more joining every day. White’s ultimate dream is to see a return of ground-breaking and innovative traditional/tradigital 2D animated movies in the USA.

White’s best-selling animation books include: The Animator's Workbook; Animation from Pencils to Pixels: Classical Techniques for Digital Animators; How to Make Animated Films; Jumping through Hoops: The Animation Job Coach and The Animator's Notebook. White’s new publication, The Animator's Sketchbook published by Focal Press, is for animators of all disciplines, not just 2D.

White was recently program director and senior instructor of the AIE-Seattle/Seattle Schools District Skills Center program. High school students there learned drawing, animation, game design and programming for school credit, in preparation for college or the industry. White also taught and was dean at DigiPen, one of the Western U.S. leading animation and game design colleges.

At the lecture, White will discuss his background in animation, different techniques for animation, design, and filmmaking, and what the future holds for animators. Anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in animation, filmmaking, motion graphics or design is encouraged to attend.

Mark your calendar for Friday, September 21 from 5:30–7 p.m. in the Sierra Building, room 108 for this free event with guest speaker Tony White. For more information contact Brian Wells in the Graphic Communications Department, 775-673-8223.