Faculty Triennial

The Art + Design Department is holding it's Faculty Triennial this year (usually it's a biennial, but we didn't have a gallery last year during the building construction).  So for the next month, Heather and I are showing our collaborative piece "Field Kit of the Cryptozoological Studies and Observations of Dr. William Oliver Raymond" as part of the show.  It's really fun to see what all the full-time and adjunct faculty create as their personal works.

Highway Rat Press Begins

The initial press screening (along with the original book authors) took place this week.  It looks like we'll be seeing a lot of press and some new images coming out soon - like this one from RadioTimes

APSU Halloween Animations

For Halloween this year, the Animation 3 class at APSU created window projections for the animation studio space.  The window faces towards the street so it was visible to the general public driving past.  Each student did two animations over three weeks, in whatever medium they wanted, whether it was 2d, after effects, or 3d.  They had a template of the window so many of the animations integrated into the window grille and it's overall shape.  It was really fun to see their animations on a much larger scale!

Presenting at SECAC Conference

I had the chance to present a paper and give a talk at the SECAC Conference this week.  It was part of the "Graphic Design Beyond" panel, and the talk was co-presented with my colleague Patrick Gosnell.

Our presentation was titled "Making Design Active: Fusing Principles of Animation and Graphic Design Through Student Collaboration" - which details a collaborative project between Patrick's design students and my animation students.  The students were put into groups and had three weeks to develop and create an animated gif for a Motion Poster.  It was fun to get to present our experience to everyone else at the conference.

Of course, the conference ends at 5pm each day, so one is required to check out the local tiki bar...

First Look At "The Highway Rat"

The BBC issued a press release announcing the cast of The Highway Rat and providing a first official look.  David Tennant leads the cast for the special that will air on BBC One this Christmas.  You can read the whole article HERE

As The Highway Rat himself would say:

“Give me your pastries and puddings! Give me your chocolate and cake! For I am the Rat of the Highway, and whatever I want I take.”

APSU's First 24 Hour Animation Contest Starts!

Austin Peay has FIVE teams competing in the 24 Hour Animation Contest for Students in our first year competing!

The theme was announced at 6pm our time and the teams have exactly 24 hours to create from scratch a 30 second animated short.  We have 23 students - from studio art, graphic design, acting/directing, and comm/broadcasting students all working together.  I'm super proud of everyone turning out for a fun crazy night/day of animation!

More details about the competition can be found HERE