Pixar artists' masterclass coming to Toronto

Artists from Pixar Animation Studios will be presenting a unique masterclass in animation and story development in Toronto on June 18 and 19.

This two-day event takes place at the University of Toronto campus, with animator Andrew Gordon and story artist Matthew Luhn, both of Pixar, as the instructors. This masterclass has toured the world, this being one of only two North American stops this year.

The venue is Innis Town Hall Theatre, located at 2 Sussex Avenue (at St. George Street) in central downtown Toronto.

Geared toward experienced and enthusiast animators and storytellers, it offers a rare opportunity to learn from the industry's top talent, providing participants with the tools needed to create their own stories and feature-quality animation.

The event is being organized and presented by the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, aka VanArts. It has been scheduled to coincide with the June 18 release of Pixar's latest feature film, Toy Story 3, which both Gordon and Luhn helped to create.

Details are available on the event info page at www.vanarts.com/pixar-toronto. Sessions run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days

Tuition is $499 Canadian for the two-day program. Tickets are now selling, with limited seats available for purchase online at: www.vanarts.com/pixar-toronto.

Gordon has been animating characters professionally for over 13 years. He joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1997, where he has been an animator on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Ratatouille. The characters he has worked on include Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Gill from Finding Nemo, and Edna Mode, the costume designer in The Incredibles. He also worked as supervising animator on the short film Presto.

His work has also included directing several promotional spots for broadcast, Web and Blu-Ray content. Gordon studied animation in Vancouver and New York, and prior to his work at Pixar, he worked in the Looney Tunes division of Warner Brothers. He was given an award for "Outstanding Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture" by the Visual Effects Society for his work in Finding Nemo.

He has been teaching animation in California since 2000. He has lectured on animation around the world, including masterclasses in China, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Canada and Italy. He is a contributing teacher to AnimationMentor.com and the CSU Summer Arts program. He is one of the founders of Spline Doctors, a blog dedicated to animation education. He is currently teaching animation at California College of Art in Oakland and animating on Pixar's Toy Story 3.

Luhn began his career at Pixar Animation Studios in 1992 as an animator on the very first CG feature, Toy Story. Since that time, Matthew has worked in the story development department, storyboarding on Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, Up and Toy Story 3.

Prior to Pixar, Luhn attended the California Institute of the Arts, and was later hired as an animator on The Simpsons and at Industrial Light & Magic.

Luhn grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, where his family has owned and operated Jeffrey's Toys stores for over three generations. Along with working at Pixar, he teaches seminars all over the world on how to create great stories and characters.

The Vancouver Institute of Media Arts is a post-secondary training institute offering accredited diploma programs for the visual, media and performing arts to students from around the world. It offers industry-leading programs in both 2D and 3D character animation. For more information, see: www.vanarts.com.