Meet our INTERNS (2 of 3)

Part 2 of 3 - Read the first post and the third post This week, meet Siran, Lindsay and Jose - three of the 10 interns for Summer 2013.

Siran Liu is from Beijing, China. He is interning in Lighting and Look Development. Seeing characters change from a 2D design to 3D render is one of his favorite things. In 10 years he hopes to be working in an animation studio doing lighting or look development. If Siran were an animated character he would be Dori, from Finding Nemo, because of her optimistic attitude. Siran hates prejudice, and could live on Chinese food and watermelon. You can see his demo reel here.

Lindsay Gilmour is from Las Vegas. She was inspired to pursue animation as a career by The Man Who Planted Trees. It was then that she glimpsed the minds behind the drawings she loved. In ten years, Lindsay hopes to be drinking a beer someplace she can comfortably call home. If Lindsay hates anything, it's pumping gas. She could live on vegetarian burritos, and she loves indoor rock climbing.

Jose Diaz is from Panama City, Panamá. He is interning in Motion Design & Compositing. He is passionate about storytelling, and chose animation because it's his favorite to watch. In ten years he hopes to be in a directorial or art direction position. If Jose could be any animated character, he would be Otto from Rocket Power. He hates when he has to work in a file whose layers haven't been named. He could live on Thai food alone, and he loves playing soccer.

Estrif | Senior Thesis from Jose Diaz on Vimeo.

Photos by Jedidiah Fugle

Meet our INTERNS (3 of 3)

Part 3 of 3 - Read the first post, and the second post. This week, meet Simon, Michelle, Brian, and Jon - four of the ten interns for Summer 2013.

Simon Thelning is from Queanbeyan, Australia. He loves animation because it's, as he says, "the perfect fusion of drawing, coming up with stories, watching movies, having serious arguments about imaginary stuff, reading about history, observing the world, talking about art, making sound effects with your mouth..." If Simon was an animated character, he would be some sort of benign object turned into a sidekick, like an enchanted bike or a wise-cracking catheter. He hates when books get reprinted with the movie poster as its cover. He could live on cereal, or Vegemite on toast. He wants everyone to know that he loves to use the phrase, "crème de la crème." But he can't pronounce it. Check out Simon's work here.

Michelle Kwon is from Seoul, South Korea and then Virginia. She is here to learn and make friends. Dragon Ball Z got her interested in animation. In 10 years she imagines she'll be lying in a hammock near a beach, playing her ukelele. If Michelle were an animated character, she'd be Russell, from UP. She hates negativity (and insects.) She could live on rice, and she wants you to know that she was NOT named after the ice skater. Check out Michelle's blog here.

Brian Aebi is a local, from Salem, Oregon. He is interning in Motion Design/Compositing. He will be happy with wherever he is in 10 years as long as he has a Winnebago. If he were an animated character he would be Hobbes. Brian hates being bound by time, peanut butter, and hashtags that include the word "vibes." He could live on popcorn or strawberries, and he wants everyone to know that he can milk goats. Check out his blog here, and his demo reel and website here.

Jon Upton is from Western New York. in 10 years he hopes to be an art director or production designer. Or an actor or writer. If he were an animated character he would be Edna Mode from The Incredibles. He hates when strangers on the sidewalk touch him. He could live on bubble tea, naan, or peanut butter toast. Check out his blog here.

Meet our INTERNS (1 of 3)

Part 1 of 3

For the last four years, LAIKA/house has hosted young talent from around the globe and invited them to play with our established artists in CG, stop motion and 2D.  Meet the 10 members of this year's Class of Interns and see where the future of animation is headed... to a good place.

Read part 2 of 3 - Siran, Lindsay and Jose.

First up: Sharon Huang, Quay Mims and Gang Maria Yi.

Sharon Huang is from Taoyuan, Taiwan. She's interning in the Concept/Storyboarding department to improve her design skills and learn from industry professionals, and because if she wasn't working, she would be laying on her couch eating Cheetos in front of the TV all summer. In 10 years she plans to be on vacation with her family in Europe. She hates Shiitake mushrooms, and could live on red curry. Sharon is proud to be Taiwanese Canadian! Check out her blog here, and a great comic she drew about working at LAIKA/house here.

Quay Mims is from Texas. He is a Lighting/Look Development intern. He always wanted to draw for animated films but Toy Story pushed him into 3D animation. In 10 years he hopes to have achieved world domination. He could live on pizza, and went to school at Brigham Young University in Utah. Check out his blog here.

Gang Maria Yi is from Korea. She's interning as a CG modeler. In ten years she plans to be a big nerd who works at the studio 24/7. Rude people stay away; she can't stand you. She could live forever on an endless bowl of white rice. She would like everyone to know, "You can talk to me. I am not harmful; it's just my eyes." Check out Maria's blog here.

Photos by Jedidiah Fugle