News from Max the Mutt

Congratulations Sergi Iranzo – 1st place Finalist – Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards 2021

Sergi Iranzo, Year 4 Concept Art for Animation & Video Games Program student, has been awarded the 1st place Finalist for the Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards 2021 competition.

Docking Bay Sergi Iranzo -2021 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards - 1st place Finalist — Docking Bay – Sergi Iranzo – 2021 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards – 1st place Finalist

Ubisoft Toronto NEXT is an annual competition designed to display the talent of video game development students in Ontario, and to kickstart their careers in the industry. With paid apprenticeships in hand, winners of each category receive the opportunity to learn from top talent and further hone their skills.

The 1st place Finalist winner receives a paid 3 month Apprenticeship position at Ubisoft Toronto studio and a $300 prize package. The apprenticeship is set to begin at the end of May 2021.

A compilation of all Finalists and their work from all Categories can be seen here:

Branko Bistrovic, Team Lead Concept Artist – Concept Art Department – Ubisoft Toronto and a former Max the Mutt student, who has been a part of the NEXT competition since it’s founding had this to say about Sergi Iranzo’s submission for the competition:

“For the competition, Sergi Iranzo’s entry for Concept Art category, execution-wise, knocked it out of the park. A ‘Space Opera’ on a grand scale.
An interesting design, solid composition, simple yet striking lighting, that’s very important for a space scene, thanks to the intelligent use of the clouds along with the leading angles of the ships and the actual structure. This still image of a docking bay in the thermosphere has a strong sense of motion and energy which is very impressive. The scale is also exceptionally well-handled. It feels as if the structure is absolutely vast.
Well done Sergi! You are our number 1 pick for all of those reasons. Be proud. You earned it!”

(Click for the Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards Live Event Stream for the full event and words from the Judges, like Branko, and the Finalists, like Sergi, from all categories.)

Sergi Iranzo had previously entered and had been awarded the 3rd place Finalist for the 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards competition for Concept Art category. Since he was only in Year 2 of the Concept Art program, at the time for the competition, his 3rd place standing was very impressive.

Sergi Iranzo 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards — Sergi Iranzo – 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards Entry – 3rd place Finalist

Check out Sergi Iranzo’s Student Profile to see more work from him.

Congratulations to all Finalists for this years competition. There was some amazing work for sure!!

Check out Max the Mutt’s 4 year Concept Art Diploma Program!

MTM rated one of the top schools in the world by The Rookies

The Rookies — known for its creative community and school rankings in creative media and entertainment categories — recently released its 10th annual ranking lists naming the Top 50 schools offering programs in game design, animation, visual effects, concept art, motion graphics and architectural visualization.

Over 500 International Schools Apply for this Award

We are honoured to say that Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design made the cut. Over 500 International Schools submitted their student work to the Rookie Awards 2020, which were reviewed by industry professionals, so it means a lot to be included in the rankings and to be recognized as one of the Top Schools in the World!

Check out the full list of 2020 Top 50 Creative Media & Entertainment Schools and Colleges.

We’re also thrilled to be named one of the Top Concept Art Schools and Colleges in 2020.

Congrats to all the schools who made the list!

Artwork by massimilianobianchini95

Brown Bag Films Visits, Hires Summer Interns, Endorses Max the Mutt’s Animation Program!

As seen in the above photo taken at Brown Bag Films – from left to right:
Erik Segriff – MTM Animation Intern, Kevin Seto – Recruitment Coordinator, Christine Huot – Recruitment & Resourcing Manager, Jana Kosanavich – MTM Rigging Intern, and Ryan Persaud – Recruitment Administrator

Max the Mutt has had many graduates hired by 9 Story over the years. They have enjoyed steady employment as animators, layout artists, storyboard artists, while working in all aspects of pre-production and animation. Now, as Brown Bag Films, there are even more opportunities for working on top quality projects.

Brown Bag Films is one of the world’s most exciting, original and successful creative-led animation studios. With studio locations in Dublin, Toronto, Manchester and an office in LA, Brown Bag Films creates cutting-edge animation for the international market. It was acquired and merged with 9 Story Animation, which is now 9 Story Media Group, in 2015.

Brown Bag Films, is a creatively-driven studio with a focus on producing the highest quality, cross-platform animation with strong stories and engaging characters. It produces both 2D and 3D animation, and is known for its high-end work on series such as Doc McStuffins, Octonauts, Nella The Princess Knight and Peter Rabbit. 9 Story’s Toronto studio has been known for its popular 2D series, such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood, Peg + Cat, Wild Kratts, 3 Amigonauts and the The Magic School Bus: Rides Again.

Erik Segriff, after his second year in the Animation Program at Max the Mutt, was hired at Brown Bag Films as a summer intern in 2018, and has been asked back again to work as a full fledged animator on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Erik Segriff at Brown Bag Films, graduates hired — Erik Segriff at Brown Bag Films, Summer 2018 intern

We were delighted to have recruiting and resource manager Christine Huot visit us this spring, accompanied by several animation and pre-production directors. They looked at demo reels and interviewed this year’s concept art and animation graduates weeks before our Industry Event.

Why is Brown Bag Films interested in Max the Mutt graduates and students?

“Brown Bag Films has had tremendous success finding very strong talent from the classes at Max the Mutt. Many of our very successful long-term employees are graduates of the Animation program. When I attend recruitment events I have been very pleased with how the students professionally present their work and themselves. With the staff we have hired from this program have very well honed artistic skills and they are very employment ready when they come into the workplace. These past 2 summers we have been highly successful with hiring students from the Animation program for summer internships. Erik Segriff has joined us for his second summer in a row this year and he is a very valued addition to the team, his teammates and supervisors were thrilled he could join us again this year. We also have Jana Kosanavich joining us this summer as a Rigging Intern. We are very happy to support the Animation Program at Max the Mutt and will continue to have them at the top of our list for Campus recruitment.”

Christine Huot
Recruitment & Resourcing Manager
www.brownbagfilms.com

Contact us for more information about Max the Mutt’s 4 year Classical & Computer Animation & Production and Concept Art Diploma Programs!

Book a tour today! Or email us at admissions@maxthemutt.com

And if you are considering an Art-based career, check out our eBook to help you decide.

2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards: Congratulations Adam Homonylo and Sergi Iranzo – Finalists for Concept Art

Thursday, May 9/19 was a great evening at Ubisoft Toronto, and a great evening for Max the Mutt’s 2 finalists.

In a year when none of Max the Mutt’s year 4 Concept Art program students entered, Sergi Iranzo, who just completed his second year, came in third, and 2018 Concept Art graduate Adam Homonylo came in second for the Ubisoft NEXT Awards competition Concept Art category.

Adam Homonylo - 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT - 2nd place Finalist — Adam Homonylo – 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards Entry – 2nd place Finalist

Ubisoft Toronto NEXT is an annual competition designed to display the talent of video game development students in Ontario and to help kick-start their careers in the industry. Winners of each category spend the summer learning from the studio’s top talent with a paid apprenticeship at Ubisoft Toronto.

Max the Mutt year 2 student and third place winner, Sergi Iranzo, here with Max the Mutt 2018 Concept Art Grad and second place winner, Adam Homonlyo with friend at the 2019 Ubisoft Nxt Awards — Max the Mutt year 2 student and third place winner, Sergi Iranzo, here with Max the Mutt 2018 Concept Art Grad and second place winner, Adam Homonylo with friend at the 2019 Ubisoft NEXT Awards

Sergi Iranzo, a friend, Adam Homonylo, Maxine Schacker -Max the Mutt Co-Director-, and Hilary Phillips- Concept Art Co-ordinator-, at the 2019 Ubisoft NEXT Awards

One of the best things about social occasions like this is networking and, for students, getting encouragement and feedback from the pros. Sergi really appreciated getting a chance to speak with Patrick Ingoldsby.

Patrick Ingoldsby, UbiSoft art director, with Max the Mutt year 2 student, and second place winner, Sergi Iranzo. — Patrick Ingoldsby, UbiSoft art director, with Max the Mutt year 2 student, and third place winner, Sergi Iranzo.

Max the Mutt 2018 grad and 2018 winner, Dhenzel Obeng was there and so was Zabi Hassan, 2018 graduate and third place winner in 2017. Both are now Concept Artists at Ubisoft Toronto.

Here’s a compilation of all Finalists for all Categories for the Ubisoft Toronto NEXT 2019 competition:

Congratulations to Damir Musken, of Fanshawe College, who won the first place Finalist and to all Finalists for the 2019 competition!

Check out Max the Mutt’s 4 year Concept art Diploma Program!

First Year Student Art Show! Visit Max the Mutt Saturday, April 27th & Sunday, April 28!

Max the Mutt will be hosting a First Year Student Art Show, an exhibition of first year student art work from all programs, on Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, April 28th from 11 am to 3 pm !

Our semester is ending, and soon we’ll be setting up this year’s show! Below are photos from last year’s preparation ……

All are invited! So save the dates and come help us celebrate our students’ extraordinary achievements that came from their dedication, hard work, inspiration, and the great instruction they received from MTM faculty!

Where you will enjoy representational drawings, paintings, design, perspective drawing, and classical animation too!

We look forward to seeing you!

And for more information, email us at admissions@maxthemutt.com or contact us if you have any questions. Make sure to check out our newest art workshops and upcoming dates.

2018 Concept Art Grads, Dhenzel Obeng and Zabi Hassan Talk About Being An Effective Concept Artist!

Students stayed on after classes last night to meet with Zabi Hassan and Dhenzel Obeng , 2018 Max the Mutt Concept Art for Animation & Video Games graduates, who are both working as Concept Artists at UbiSoft Toronto. They were introduced by Dayna Griffiths, year 4 Concept Art student and Tiffani Brown, another year 4 student, took the photos and sent this report:

“Some of what was discussed:

-Transitioning to workplace from school. Leaving ego at the door and understanding you’re working to achieve a whole.
-What to expect on the job – problem solving and collaboration. Many art directors. Communication is key. You have awesome people with great knowledge at your fingertips. Use them.
-Exposing yourself online and in a community (events, “meetups”,etc) outside of school. Getting comfortable with being vulnerable with your art. The importance of being open to critiques.
-Understanding that even now, as students, you’re making connections. Value them.

Of course they shared tons more and the students were very engaged. It was a great evening!”

Find out more about Max the Mutt’s 4 year Concept Art for Animation & Video Games Diploma Program!

For more information, email us at admissions@maxthemutt.com or book a tour today!

YOWZA! Animation Visits Max the Mutt And Interviews Year 4 students!

Yowza! Animation dropped in to talk to our Animation and Concept Art students last Friday.

Sally Walker, Studio Coordinator of Yowza! Animation, gave us a call in January to suggest visiting MTM for early portfolio reviews with year 4 Animation and Concept Art students. We agreed on February 22 to give students a little more time to get ready for this very early and exciting chance to show their work (they won’t be graduating until May!).

Yowza, a major Toronto animation studio that does work for Disney, Warner Bros, and Dreamworks to name a few, is also well known for how well they treat their employees!

We were very happy that Animation Director Tom Joliffe, Art Director Jeffrey Timmins and Studio Coordinator Sally Walker took the time out of their busy schedules to visit us.

They were able to enjoy a quick tour of the college and saw three floors of halls with student work on exhibit. Then they gave their presentation to year 2, 3 and 4 students. During the presentation they spoke about Yowza’s philosophy and artistic aspirations, and the skills the studio is looking for — then they gave us a chance to see some of their beautiful recent work! We were truly excited about the quality and beauty of what they are creating. Sally tells us that Yowza is contributing to a high-end 2D feature film, several hand-drawn series, and a stop motion preschool show for CBC (Kiri & Lou).

The presentation was followed by the opportunity for each graduating Animation and Concept Art student to have a personal portfolio review with both Tom and Jeff.

Year 3 students were also encouraged to submit applications for paid summer internships! This was an exciting and inspiring visit for all of us!

Thanks so much to Tom, Jeff and Sally from YOWZA! Animation for your time! We look forward to your next visit!

PS Sally recently emailed us: “About the visit, …. the students were a beacon of intelligence in our future industry and we are thrilled to have a connection with the school. Working with MTM graduates for years has been a pleasure and we see them going very far.”

For more information about Max the Mutt Contact us to schedule a tour and learn about what our school offers and why studios, like Yowza, want to hire our students.

UbiSoft Art Director Patrick Ingoldsby Visits Max The Mutt!

Concept Art students at Max the Mutt enjoyed a presentation by UbiSoft Toronto Art Director Patrick Ingoldsby.

Pat has supported Max the Mutt from the very beginning of the 4 year Concept Art Diploma Program, and attended the very first Industry Event that included the first Concept Art graduates, but this was the first time he held a meeting to speak with students about his career, about UbiSoft and what students should be including in their portfolios.

Hilary Phillips, Concept Art Program Coordinator, had this to say about Patrick Ingoldsby’s visit:

“Patrick spoke in depth about working for UbiSoft Toronto, a company and community he really enjoys. He’s been directing there for 9 years and feels it’s the best job he’s had. Pat gave the students real insights into what kind of skills Ubisoft is looking for, both hard skills like what to put in a portfolio, and soft skills like professionalism, team work, how to comport themselves in an interview. His break down of the departments in game creation gave the students an idea of the various career paths that the skills they are developing will open for them.

Finally he spoke of his personal journey as an artist and the jobs he had before becoming an Art Director at Ubisoft. Pat is a former production artist, now Art Director. He was a production 3D artist in games before becoming an Art Director, and before he got into games, an illustrator in both print and animation. The story of Pat’s professional journey really resonated with the students, who are thinking themselves about how their careers may unfold once they graduate.”

Visit from Ubisoft Art Director- Patrick Ingoldsby - Jan 17/19 - with Hilary Phillips — Ubisoft Art Director- Patrick Ingoldsby – with Hilary Phillips, MTM Concept Art Program Coordinator

Our sincere thanks to Patrick Ingoldsby for taking the time to visit Max the Mutt’s Concept Art students!

We are proud that many Max the Mutt graduates, including two 2018 graduates, are currently working as concept artists and animators at UbiSoft.

Our Trip to the Royal Winter Fair – Thoughts from Tina Seemann

Every year in November Max the Mutt students and faculty attend the Royal Winter Fair. A great opportunity to spend a day drawing animals and people on location.- Tina Seemann, MTM Co-director and Animation Program coordinator, had these thoughts to share about their day:

“With November comes our annual trip to the Royal Winter Fair, when the country comes to the city. A grand day out, it offers the students a combined drawing opportunity to capture people and farm animals together on the same page.

Royal Winter Fair 2018 sketches - by year 3 Concept Art Ben Kruck — sketches – by year 3 Concept Art Ben Kruck

The horse jumping competitions are difficult enough to catch on paper, never mind the manic ‘Superdogs’ show which has hundreds of school kids screaming! Our students drew everything; from the sheep shearing, to the poultry exhibition, from the heifer auction to the petting zoo.

Royal Winter Fair 2018 sketches - by year 3 Illustration student Theo Murgan & year 3 Concept Art student Soho Park — sketches – by year 3 Illustration student Theo Murgan & year 3 Concept Art student Soho Park

Royal Winter Fair 2018 - by year 3 Concept Art Soho Park — sketches – by year 3 Concept Art Soho Park

I had bought a few tiny plastic horse models and the Animal Drawing texts so that the students might see animal skeletal landmarks.

(Funny that this image is the only one to feature students and ‘animals’, makes us look like giants!)

Ed, Allen and Steve were also shepherding the group and added their life drawing expertise.

Bison burger anyone? How about a ‘beaver tail’ or taffy apple?”

30% off Summer Portfolio Development until April 20th!

Category: News from Max the Mutt