PICTOPLASMA ACADEMY
Berlin, 12-20 October, 2013
http://academy.pictoplasma.com

Deadline to send your application: July 26!

The Pictoplasma Academy is a new intensified programme, suited for all longing to expand and professionalise their practise in a specific field related to the creation of characters – whether as illustrators, animation filmmakers, fine artists, or graphic, fashion, and product designers. 

THE FACTS:

Participants (20 max) will have the unique chance to closely collaborate with leading visual artists and producers and find a path to further develop their own personal projects. 
The deadline for applications is July 26. The Academy's tutors will review all applications during the last week of July. Selected applicants will be notified by early August. 
The fee for selected participants is 990,- € (incl. 19% VAT), and covers the full 8 day Academy including all lectures, workshops, excursions, materials and a healthy, daily lunch.
The schedule of the 2013 Academy is insanely dense and will keep participants busy each day from the early morning till late at night.  A first draft can be viewed here. 
An exhibition will showcase works by the participants in a central Character Walk destination of the upcoming Pictoplasma Berlin Conference and Festival (April 2014).

BRING YOUR PERSONAL CHARACTER-DRIVEN PROJECT TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

The programme takes place this October 12 - 20 and will admit a limited amount of participants selected upon application for a dense 8-day summer-school experience in the heart of Berlin. Under the close guidance of some of today's most outstanding professionals, participants will focus on refining their own character-driven projects and ideas. 

Every morning varying lecturers give inspiring incentives to the group and act as critics to presentations by participants. Daily Workshops challenge participants to understand a diverse range of technics, work out the visual essence and refine the conceptual framework of their character and bring it to a variety of media, from free hand sketching and clean up, to sculpting (hands on), 3D-modeling (software) or narration/animation. Additional field trips, studio visits, excursions and evening panels will not only give further input from an artistic angle, but also offer insight on aspects such as copyright, licensing and production.

The Pictoplasma Academy aims to bring the participant's personal project to the next level and help them find the strategic path to connect with key partners for its further development. Furthermore, all participants of the Pictoplasma Academy 2013 will be invited to present their work in a group exhibition to a professional, international and interested audience as part of the upcoming Pictoplasma Conference and Festival 2014 in Berlin.

MEET THE FACULTY

RILLA ALEXANDER: FROM SKETCH TO CHARACTER 
Rilla Alexander is a member of the famed design collective Rinzen. Her characters dance across Madrid's Museo del Prado's ceramics and stationery products, populate Swiss Credit Cards for Cornér Bank, appear at Colette in Paris and sleep on the walls of Hotel Fox in Copenhagen. Rilla will help participants to re-fine and outline their character hiding in a pile of pencil lines and work out its main graphical value via expression, posing and silhouette.

NATHAN JUREVICIUS: THE CHARACTER'S CORE
The work of Nathan Jurevicius has appeared in numerous publications, advertising campaigns and galleries around the world. His Scarygirl brand has developed a huge fan following and manifested itself as graphic novels, limited edition figures, animations, video games, specialty products and internationally exhibited artwork. Nathan will work with the participants on defining the essence of their character, while minimizing it to the max and preparing it to remain appealingly unique throughout different media, techniques and styles.

TOYKYO/CASE STUDYO / BENJAMIN VAN OOST: SCULPTURE WORKSHOP
Founded in 2006, Belgium based Toykyo/Case Studyo helps international graphic artists to translate their visual creation into beautiful 3D object, spatial installations and art editions. The studio manages the complete production process of creative products for artists such as FriendsWithYou, Parra, Todd James, Craig Redman or Jeremyville, and will contribute towards the Academy with a hands-on workshop of the entire production process for limited edition designer toys, art sculptures and multiples.

MARK GMEHLING: 3D ILLUSTRATION WORKSHOP
Mark Gmehling is not only one of the leading names in German Street Art, but foremost known for his twisted digital illustration, unique contortionist characters and elaborate animations. With an unparalleled knowledge of the Cinema 4d software under his belt, specializing in character design, animation and rigging, and experienced as teacher for graphic design, communication design and digital illustration, Mark will lead participants through all steps of 3D creation.

DAVID KAMP: LIVE DRAWING SESSION
The composer & sound designer David Kamp is specialized in the audio creation for everything animated and animating. He has collaborated with numerous directors and production companies such as Buck, Studio AKA, Sehsucht or David OReilly and won the "Young Guns Award" from Art Directors Club New York, and "best use of sound design" in the category Film at "Music & Sound Awards" London. David will contribute with a Sound Creatures session: Short snippets and loops of audio depicting fantastical sound creations invite participants to draw out their visual version of the sound as a character. 

MORE LECTURERS & WORKSHOP HOSTS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON…

CHARACTER ANIMATION & NARRATION:
How to set up your character's attributes, biography and depth, to enable strong stories and memorable encounters. 
IN CHARACTER / OUT OF CHARACTER:
Every pose has a meaning, every artistic decision needs a reason: How to balance visual eye-candy vs. emotional appeal. 
COPYRIGHT & LICENSING: 
Consultation-hour with a professional lawyer on international copyright regulations, national absurdities, and advice on how to protect your property.
REVEAL YOUR TRUE CHARACTER:
A special guest unfolds how to balance a career between artistic visions, commercial work and adventurous entrepreneurism - and remain sane!

Characters Ahoy,

peter, lars, rilla, nathan, benjamin, mark, david, mr.x, and the entire academy staff

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