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AnimationMentor.com captured the attention of passersby with the jungle adventure theme booth where people could "discover the animator in you" at SIGGRAPH 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Animation Mentor, which was among the 230 companies and reported 28,400 attendees at the conference held Aug. 12-14, launched its festivities by unveiling the 2008 Summer Student Showcase, a compilation of students' work that demonstrated their knowledge of character animation concepts.

The online animation school sponsored several events, including “Insider Tips & Techniques for Landing a Job in Animation.”   Hosted by Shawn Kelly, Animation Mentor cofounder and senior animator at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), and Carlos Baena, Animation Mentor cofounder and animator at Pixar Animation Studios, the panel discussed insider secrets on how to get a job in the animation industry. Panelists included James McCoy, animation supervisor at Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Belzer, a mentor at Animation Mentor and veteran animator, Hans Dastrup, animator at Blue Sky Studios, Sabrina de los Rios, recruiter at Blue Sky Studios, and Sean Sexton, a mentor at Animation Mentor and an animation at PDI/DreamWorks.   

Shawn and Carlos also presented a lesson in facial animation, demonstrating how to bring thought and emotion to a face.

One notable event that drew a large, diverse audience was  “A Tribute to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, which featured seven top animators of today discussing why two of Disney’s famed “Nine Old men” continue to be an inspiration. The tribute was moderated by Tom Sito, animator and adjunct professor of animation at University of California Los Angeles and University Southern California, with a panel of veteran animators including   Dave Burgess, of DreamWorks , Don Hahn of Disney Studios, Andreas Deja of Disney Studios, Kevin Koch of Medical Cyberworlds, Randy Cartwright of Walt Disney Features, Theodore (Ted) Thomas, an independent film director, writer and producer.

Other events included a Birds of a Feather on how to network in the animation industry, which was hosted by Robin Linn, director of Creative Resources at Sony Pictures Imageworks, Bobby Beck, cofounder and CEO of Animation Mentor,  cofounders Shawn and Carlos, and a mini-talk with mentor and veteran animator Jay Jackson, who discussed his vast animation career.

Eunice Park is the Communications Manager at Animation Mentor.