Last Thursday, April 26, the Contemporary Animation Society* had one of its biggest meeting turnouts of the year. Why? It wasn’t just because the club is awesome (which it is). At that particular meeting, we brought in two of SCAD’s finest animation professors, Prof. Troy Gustafson and Prof. Phil Young. The professors gave a sort of panel discussion about the Disney studio (both worked at Disney for over 15 years) and the animation industry.
The turnout at this meeting was especially high because these two men are very popular professors in the animation department. These guys have resumes to die for, with one or both of them having worked on each Disney 2-D animated feature since The Fox and the Hound. Professor Young was a character animator, bringing to life such characters as Mufasa and Ariel, and Professor Gustafson was an effects animator, creating such things as the magic and smoke in Mulan and the exploding house from Lilo and Stitch. I have never had the privelage of having a class with Professor Young (and sadly, never will, seeing that he is leaving SCAD at the end of the quarter), but from what I have gathered, he is energetic, funny, and encouraging. My friends that have taken his classes have had nothing but positive things to say about him (you should hear my fellow CAS member, Mike Ryan’s impression of him). I have had the opportunity to be in Professor Troy’s class for two quarters in a row. I took him for Animation I in the winter (his first quarter teaching here at SCAD), and I have him for Animation Layout and Character Design this quarter. He is friendly and fairly laid back, but he knows what he wants from us and is a tough grader. I have never worked so hard for a B in my life. He pushes his students to try harder and reach their potential. I look forward to being able to take another class with him in the future.
The stories the two Disney vets shared with us were both entertaining and informative. They reminisced about bosses and mentors and the countless others they have met over the years in the animation business. They spoke of the fun they had working on the various features, as well as how hard they had to work to get where they were before the department was drastically cut down. Both men tried three times before Disney finally took a chance on them, showing the importance of persistance and not giving up hope. I hope that one day down the road I will be able to sit down with a fellow animator and tell stories of my animating heyday. Their talk gave me an optimistic view of the future. After hearing what they had to say, I feel reassured that I really am in the right place, pursuing the right things. I love animation, and to see how much they still love animation after so many years is inspiring.
I am lucky to have had the opportunity to hear Professor Young and Professor Gustafson exchange their witty banter and words of wisdom. We really are learning from the best at this school. In a few years, when we all graduate, the animation world had better watch out.
* For more information about all of the awesomeness that is the Contemporary Animation Society, feel free to check it out at www.thehive.scad.edu/cas. We meet every Thursday at 8:30 PM at Montgomery Hall. See you there!
