Greg Marathas, AIB Senior in Illustration and 2009 Merit Scholarship Recipient, had recently volunteered for 2010 SIGGRAPH Event this past summer in Los Angeles. We had a chance to ask Greg a few questions about the experience he had being among today's leading creators in computer generated graphics and technology industries - so here we go...
1. Could you tell us about Siggraph 2010 and how you became interested in attending?
SIGGRAPH 2010 was held this past July at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and it is basically a huge conference devoted to computer graphics. This means that there were exhibition booths, lectures, courses, and a job fair all devoted to visual effects, 3D and 2D animation, computer art, and all the programs that support them.
The entire experience was divided into two categories: the technical aspects (a lot of math formulas being presented and discussed by people with as many PhD's as they have fingers) and the artistic applications. This conference is also the biggest in the industry, so when you walked out into the exhibition hall, there were no small companies. For computer hardware and software, you had Wacom, Adobe, and Autodesk. Video game, visual effects studios, and animation studios were there such as Pixar, Blue Sky, EA Games, Ubisoft, Nickelodeon, Disney Animation, Riot Games, Dreamworks, Digital Domain, Lucasfilm/ILM. A little intimidating when you first walked in, but it was an amazing conference.
I became interested in attending after hearing about it through a friend of a friend. He lives out in L.A., and volunteered for SIGGRAPH a couple of years ago. He was able to parlay the connections and networking he set up at the conference into a job, and he's now working for Sony Imageworks. So that kind of opportunity seemed like something to aim for in the first place, even if I didn't get picked. Once I looked into the conference and found out a little more what it was about, it became a fairly simply choice.
2. I understand you participated at Siggrapgh as a volunteer - Was it difficult to apply? How was your experience? Did they feed you?
Did they feed me? Yes. Was it enough to actually be considered a meal? Urm...not really. Here's a purely hypothetical situation for anyone looking to volunteer for SIGGRAPH in the future: If a company (let's call that company D. Isney) gives a volunteers-only lunchtime presentation and serves free lunch, one could hypothetically stow two extra lunches in their backpack while the attendants aren't looking. Hypothetically, mind you...
Yes, I worked at SIGGRAPH as a volunteer. The application process wasn't difficult, only lengthy in terms of how much you had to fill out (some personal info, references, what programs you work with, and multiple questionnaires to show you could work with the public.) They told us they accepted 300 students out of 1300 applicants, and the diversity of the students was amazing. There were people from all over the country and the world, some working on bachelor's degrees, with others in master's and PhD programs.
The experience was phenomenal, because you volunteer for 18-30 hours for the week, and the rest of the time is yours. We received full conference passes, which got us into all the exhibits, lectures, courses, and animation festival. The L.A. Convention Center is huge, so getting around was an exercise in time management. But if you budgeted your time wisely and didn't fall victim to the urges to pilfer as much free stuff as possible, your free time could be spent talking to the Lucasfilm representatives at the job fair. You could make your way to the center of the exhibition floor and discuss the current job openings available at Pixar in California, or Pixar in Vancouver. The Disney Animation Studios and Nickelodeon Animation Studios were running non-stop demo reel and portfolio reviews with art directors and lead animators.
3. Siggraph showcases today's cutting edge advancements in the world of CGI (Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) - You must have seen some amazing people and work - Could you share some highlights from your trip?
Unfortunately, a lot of my time was spent running around, but as a volunteer, you take on a few different responsibilities. At one point, I was selling animation festival DVD's, and was able to watch about 4 hours of fantastic animated shorts. They also provided us with a free conference DVD at the end, which includes some of this year's animation festival entries. My inner geek was doing cartwheels over this. The courses were fantastic, and one I was able to sit in on while checking badges was a course designed to show how four different video game companies created stylized games, from character design and concept art all the way through to the final product.
In another part of the conference, our volunteer orientation included a Q&A presentation with four industry professionals, including a technical art director on Avatar. The techniques they came up with in creating the movie were amazing! They actually had a program that built the set around the actors as they moved, which eliminated having to think ahead and design something based on where they were going to walk. Trees and branches would literally spring up around them instead. They had an area called the Studio and the Sandbox, which was basically a gallery of programs like Photoshop, Rhino3D, Poser, and others being put to use, with about twenty Wacom Cintiqs set up to allow others to try them.
There were plenty of animatronic features, capture technology, 3D printers, and enough gadgets to make anyone want to take all of it home and play with it in the studio. Studios like Dreamworks presented Student Volunteer Sessions, where they highlighted what opportunities for employment exist for students, and they took us through the process of creating portions of Megamind, and all that went into the movie. Overall, it would have taken the full four days of the conference just to catch a glimpse of everything, but whatever you choose to spend your time with was always time well spent.
4. You have a very strong background in traditional painting and drawing. - How do you think those fundamental skills and techniques will help you to find potential employment in the emerging interactive industries of today?
That part was a little intimidating. As I said, there were about 300 volunteers, and only a relative handful of us were anything other than computer programmers or animators. But once you got past the initial intimidation, it became apparent that a strong traditional art background is exactly what these companies are looking for. Unless your the computer programmer typing in lines of code, odds are you're going to rely on basic principles like composition, lighting, color, perspective no matter what you get into in a visual field.
Sure, there's a company like Pixar, which is built on using their in-house Marionette program. But they also need traditional artists, like character design and storyboarding. Also, a lot of the companies at the conference handed out website addresses that show you what openings they have, what programs they offer to students and recent graduates, and what they're looking for in an employee. You'll see some of them list things such as drawing skill, knowledge of stage lighting, even acting ability. It's a wide open field, no matter how intimidating the programs may seem. Many, many art directors said that while at least some computer knowledge was preferable in an employee, it was a strong traditional art background that excited them more, because they can always give on-the-job computer program training if it's necessary.
EA Games was a great example of this. On the second day of the conference, I had already scored a portfolio review with the AD for the EA 2D Games division, and was walking into a job interview that afternoon. I was able to spend about 25 minutes with the AD, the first half showing him my portfolio and process work. They hire based on the project, especially when it comes to illustrators, and it became fairly evident that my work wasn't quite where it needed to be for that project. But the traditional art background got me in the door, and when he asked if there were any questions, the first one that came to mind was "What do I need to show you in my portfolio from here?" He smiled, pulled the portfolio closer to him, and proceeded to point out all the strengths and weaknesses, and then told me exactly what the video game companies are looking for.
Diversity, can you produce artwork for all different genres, from stylized to realistic? Process is huge, and they want to see all that goes into your decisions. Just because you have a thumbnail, a rough sketch, a color sketch, and a finish, that doesn't necessarily give them everything they want. Where are the twenty other thumbnails? How many variations of a certain character did you create, and why did you choose this one? If you're able to show that in the portfolio as well as the finish, you're showing that you can be trusted throughout the whole process, and that seems to make the AD's sleep a little easier.
5. So your trip to Siggraph was worth it? After being exposed to a new industry - How do you think this experience will inform your future as an artist / illustrator?
Yes, yes, and yes! The trip was very worth it. It very much informed my future, as it showed me exactly what there is out there in terms of possible salaried jobs, freelance work, and all manner of different opportunities to look into. As a student volunteer, there were two things that really made it a worthwhile trip.
First, the networking. You're meeting 300 other volunteers who are just as hungry as you, and some may be the same people that hire you or that you hire in the future. Also, you're able to network with the people directly responsible for hiring you within established companies. And in some instances, you're able to network with the liaisons between the companies and students looking for internships and co-ops, which is huge. Bring a backpack full of business cards, and you never know where it can lead. Second, the Student Volunteer Sessions.
Like I mentioned, the place is huge and you can't possibly see everything, so how can you be sure that the right opportunities make their way to you? The Volunteer Committee took care of that by setting up individual sessions with companies looking to recruit students and inform them of the opportunities within the company and the industry as a whole. Every day, there were about four different sessions, with companies like Disney, Dreamworks, and EA. Each time, they ran through exactly what it took to get in with them, right down to showing sample demo reels from students who made it into their companies already. And after each session, the reps from the companies made themselves available to extra questions and exchanging business cards with anyone who wanted to make their way to the front.
All in all, it was a phenomenal experience, one that I would gladly recommend to anyone looking for a headstart in what happens next after AIB. I believe they're in Vancouver next summer, and it's never too early to look into their website to apply for a volunteer position. Just be ready to sneak out a couple of lunches. Hypothetically.
