As long as we’re exploring student CG from around the world, here is Pombinha Branca by Fernando Augusto Dias, produced while studying at Melies—School of Cinema and 3D Animation in São Paulo, Brazil. Undeniably bright and charming, it probably makes a stronger impact on Brazilians who are familiar with the nursery rhyme on which it’s based. In fact, it won the best Brazilian student film award at this year’s Anima Mundi festival.

CREDITS
Director and Animation: Fernando Augusto
Character Design: Fernando Augusto and Dalton Muniz
Musical Production: Fernando Augusto and Ítalo Lenker
Arrangements: Lua de Prata Group
Sound Designer: Herbert Perez de Lima

A graduation project made by Arjen Klaverstijn at the Utrecht School of the Arts in The Netherlands. One of my most frequent bits of advice to students is to keep their films as short as possible. This is a good example: a cute, well-executed concept that shows a clear knowledge of art and design principles. It may not change the world, but it showed some personality and kept it entertaining for a minute and forty seconds. Mission accomplished. Some behind-the-scenes artwork posted on Klaverstijn’s website.

CREDITS
Director and animation: Arjen Klaverstijn
Additional artwork & consulting director: Lois van Baarle
Music composition & sound design: Thilo Schaller

How do you top your freshman student film when that film is the impressive Who’s Hungry? Now a sophomore at CalArts, David Ochs posted this clip from his latest project called 2 Bajillion A.D. According to the video description, it represents “what I have finished so far for my second year film at CalArts.” Ochs uses a decidedly different style from his earlier short—I sensed some Gorillaz influence in design and motion—but it is no less impressive with skillful filmmaking, characters that act naturally and believably, and well-observed, nuanced animation. Somebody pull this kid out of school and give him his own studio—he’s more than ready to take over the animation world!

(Thanks, Celia B.)

Martin Schmidt’s Precise Peter is an inventive bit of CG filmmaking, made more impressive by the fact that it’s a student film produced at the German school University of Art Kassel. It’s fun to see a film in which the animation itself plays such an important role in the storytelling. The sound design, which has a rhythmical quality of its own, adds to the experience. More of Martin’s work can be seen at HerrSchmidt.tv.

(Thanks, Thomas Meyer-Hermann)

Watch Always, Only, Ever below:

Always, Only, Ever was created by Barbara Benas at the Columbus College of Art and Design. There’s so much to like about the film including Benas’s expert handling of color, design, and storytelling, but what stood out above all else was the quality of her animation, both technically and emotionally. From the tender, drunken behavior of the main character to the exuberant choreography of the women, the animation in Always, Only, Ever carries us into a world that is both familiar and magical.

More details about the making of Always, Only, Ever can be found on the film’s Cartoon Brew TV page. Comments are also open on that page.

Bruce is a powerful graduation film directed by Tom Judd at Royal College of Art. A simple gag on the surface, there are some thought-provoking and disturbing ideas beyond the surface—for example, how should we feel about synthetically created and controlled lives? According to Tom, “It was all animated in Photoshop CS4. A few of the more dynamic shots were done in Maya and then rotoscoped in PS.”

Here’s a talkback post dedicated to all the students who have graduated from animation schools in 2010. Now that it’s been three to four months since graduation, I’m curious to hear who’s had success finding a job in the animation industry. Would love to hear from students all over about what the job situation is like in your part of the world. And with schools starting up again right now, this year’s juniors and seniors will find your experiences useful to hear too.

Here are some things you could address:

1.) What school did you graduate from and are you looking for full-time work in the industry, freelance work, or are you working on independent projects?

2.) What kind of work in the animation field have you been able to find?

3.) Is the job market what you expected it to be based on what you’d heard in school?

4.) Are you optimistic about the current state of the industry?

We’d appreciate it if only students who have graduated in ‘10 would respond to this post.

The spirited fun of Tex Avery, Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones is alive and well in today’s animation world, and it’s in the Netherlands. The filmmakers are David de Rooij and Jelle Brunt, and their film Slim Pickings Fat Chances is our pick for this week’s episode of the Cartoon Brew TV Student Animation Festival.

More details about the making of Slim Pickings can be found on the film’s Cartoon Brew TV page. Comments are also open on that page.