Inside the Animators Studio
James Lopez - SEASON 3 ONLINE

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JAMES LOPEZ is a veteran Disney animator who has been working as a professional in the animation industry for 25 years. His credits at Disney include being a Lead Animator on films such as The Emperor's New Groove and Hercules and as an animator on the character "Dr. Facilier" in The Princess and the Frog and "Timon" in The Lion King. He has also worked for studios such as Warner Bros., Dreamworks and Nickelodeon in both television and features an has performed a variety of positions that range from Directing, Storyboarding, Layout, Art Direction, Production Design and Character Design. He is an alumni of CalArts where he recently taught drawing and animation to inspire a new generation of artists.

Instagram - @jameslopezanimation

Season THREE Schedule

CRAFTING A WORLD THROUGH RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

April 15, 2021, 11 am - 1 pm PDT

Before embarking on the challenge of designing and bringing an animated world to life, research is key to the development of creating that world. James will share his journey and lessons learned in the process of researching that helped create the worlds in which he has worked while at the studios and on his own personal projects.

 

 

 

ANALYZING AND ADOPTING VARIOUS ART STYLES

April 29, 2021, 11 am - 1 pm PDT

Often, it will be the assignment of the designer or animator to work within a certain style that is inspired by an established illustrator or legendary animator. James will share his journey working with a multitude of varied styles and techniques.

 

Note: Registrants/Members will be invited to take on a drawing assignment to be submitted and shared at the following session.

 

 

 

CREATING A PERFORMANCE BASED ON CARICATURE AND USING REFERENCE

May 13, 2021, 11 am - 1 pm PDT

We will explore the usefulness of using both live action and photo reference for illustrating and animating.  We will also review the drawing assignment given from the previous session with an emphasis on the importance of readability and clarity through the use of degrees of caricature to communicate our ideas and create a performance.

 

 

 

ANIMATION AND ACTION ANALYSIS

May 27, 2021, 11 am - 1 pm PDT

James will go over select pieces of animation and breakdown the "working mechanisms" involved and how various drawing and animation principles are being utilized and applied.

 

Note: Registrants/Members will be invited to submit artwork for the following session in which James will critique and go over with the possibilities on how to achieve the desired effect to its fullest potential. Please include with the artwork a description as to the general or specific feeling and/or style in which the artwork is intended to achieve.

 

 

 

STUDENT SCENE REVIEWS AND DRAW OVERS

June 10, 2021, 11 am - 1 pm PDT

James will critique submissions by Registrants/Members and offer to perform live demo drawovers.

 

 

 

STUDENT CHOICE OPEN FORUM

June 24, 2021, 11 am - 1 pm PDT

Submit your suggestions for this weeks topic.

NOTE: Please register at least 30 min early, as it takes the system 15-20 minutes to send the registration Zoom link. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee you will be accepted into the session on time.