On a Tangent

Hey listeners! We had the opportunity to interview animator Jordan Blit. He is a 2005 SVA Computer Art alumni working primarily as a freelance animator on the East and West cost. Jordan also teaches animation here at SVA! We talk about Jordan's animation journey, what it takes to be a freelance animator, and much much more! We really enjoyed recording this episode, hope you all enjoy listening!

Hey Animators! On a Tangent is back! Joining us to kick off season 4 is the SVA BFA Computer Art Chair Jimmy Calhoun and SVA BFA Animation Chair Hsiang Chin Moe. We talk about future collaboration between SVA's Computer Art and SVA's Animation department, old cartoons, Bob Ross, and much more! Hope you guys enjoy the podcast!

Jenna Howard is a 2017 Alumni from the BFA Computer Art department here at SVA. She is currently at MPC Montreal. Where she has been animating since graduation.

Happy New Year listeners! We have a very special guest this episode. David Han, a 2008 SVA Computer Art alumni. We talk about his time freelancing in NYC to animating at Sony Imageworks in Vancouver and his most recent work on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. His work on the film put him up for an ANNIE nomination. Hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did making it!

Hey listeners! We finally had the opportunity to interview animator Thomas Shek. He is a 2014 SVA Computer Art alumni. We talk about his time in school as an aspiring animator and how he worked up to a staff position at New York's Aardman Nathan Love. Tom's a great guy and hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!

“…this is where my love for animation grew and developed.“ -Ruel Smith Hey everyone! In our first episode of season 3, we have 3D animator and filmmaker Ruel Smith. Ruel is a 2004 SVA Computer Art Alum who is currently working as an animator at Digital Domain. He most recently animated on “Black Panther” and “The Jungle Book.” During this podcast, we dive deep into Ruel’s journey. Born in Jamaica, he came to New York City to pursue a career as an animator. As a student, Ruel shares with us his time at SVA, discussing teachers he clicked with, the countless amount of hours spent animating, and watching tutorials. Ruel blessed us with wisdom that not only young aspiring animators should know, but young artists as well. Lastly, Ruel shares his future steps in the industry as he showcases his talent as a Director with the release of future film projects. Hope you guys enjoy this episode and stay tuned for our next one in November ;)

"You're just jealous because I'm good at what I do and I look good while I'm doing it!" -Liz Ku Hi everyone! In this episode, we have 3d modeler and look dev artist Elizabeth Ku-Herrero Liz Ku is a 2015 SVA computer art alum who helped create the award-winning student film "Taking the Plunge" and is currently working as the lead CG artist at Aardman Nathan love. We talked with her about her journey from SVA and climbing up the career ladder around New York City. Liz Ku talks with us about how her managing skills acquired during the production of her thesis film translated into how she approached her tasks and jobs given to her around different studios. Liz also shares with us her experience in the CG as a woman, how other women coming out of college are moving up in the CG industry, and how the industry is trending towards female leadership. Hope you guys enjoy the episode!

Hey Everyone! Today's episode will be a curveball since we interviewed 3D modeler Christina Faraj! Christina is a 2016 SVA computer art alum who is currently working as a Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios. Christina shared with us her path as a modeler and the relentless motivation and determination she put into her work from freshman year to landing her first production credit on Pixar's film, Coco. We went through a motivational conversation about keeping the artist passion alive, concerns about finding work, and how to pick yourself up and keep moving forward. If you are looking for a motivational episode, then Christina's interview if just for you! Enjoy the show, everyone! Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all of our listeners! See you all in 2018!

What's up everybody?! For this episode, we got to interview the chill 3D animator Ryan Moran. Ryan is an SVA Computer Art alum of 2007 who currently working as Lead Animator at Psyop and Advance Character Animation Professor here at SVA. We talked about Ryan's lengthly drive to absorb as much information he could get in order to push his quality of work further, advice on how to utilize online animation schools like iAnimate and Animation Mentor, and suggestions on how to develop your reel for applying for studios. Enjoy the show guys!

Hey guys! Welcome back for season 2 of On A Tangent! To kick off the season right, we had the great pleasure to interview Jun Zee Myers, a 3D animator and SVA 2004 alum. During this episode, Zee shares her long career path from bar-tending in New York to animating at Weta Digital to becoming Animation Studio Lead at Buzzfeed LA. We talked about her experience across different forms of animation and working on projects remotely with other creators through Artella. Thank you Zee for chatting with us and starting off season 2 of On A Tangent! To our older listeners who have followed the podcast from the beginning, It's great to be back again! And to our new listeners, I hope you enjoy and learn something new from our interviews. Let's get this year started guys! :D

Hi guys, hope you're doing well! For our last episode of the season, we had the privilege of talking with Karis Oh, a 2D animator, illustrator, and SVA 2016 alum. Karis is well known for her thesis film "The Moment," which has gotten a lot of press this past year, including a vimeo staff pick! It is a beautiful story about an artist who learns about the importance of the things unseen. The Moment is definitely an SVA favorite. Since graduating, Karis has worked at various NYC studios such as Humble, Framestore, and Psyop. During this episode, Karis shares her amazing experience with us. We learned about her storytelling process, what it means to be a director, and the challenges that comes with taking risks for your passion. Thank you Karis for chatting with us, and thank you to the listeners who've supported our podcast thus far! Till next season! :)

For this episode we invited our beloved friends and 2016 alumni, Elaina Brillantes and Yana Pan. Elaina Brillantes is currently a junior compositor at Framestore. She has also worked as a vfx artist at the Molecule. Yana Pan is currently a 2D/3D animator at Humble TV, and she has also worked at Digital Evolution NYC. Together, these two artists created their thesis film Awesome Adventure. It is a story about two unlikely friends going on a life changing journey. During this episode, Yana and Elaina chatted with us about their recent post-grad life, working together as directors, and having a positive attitude during senior year. We had a lot of laughs and we were so glad to see these two again!

Happy 2017 Everybody! We're kicking off the New Year with designer and animator Kevin Li! He created and directed Burger Bros, an original short for Nickelodeon's Shorts Program. He also worked at various commercial studios including Nathan Love, Psyop, Framestore, and HOPR. Aside from animation, Kevin runs an online store called Kitchsn Co. Suejee loves their pins and ardently asks for socks to be in stock for the future. In this episode we talk about thesis, directing your own short, the perks of 2D animation, and much much more! This is not one you want to miss!

Hi all! For this episode, we had the privilege of talking with Annlyn Huang. Annlyn is currently a character designer at Blue Sky Studios. The latest Blue Sky film she worked on was Ice Age: Collision Course. Before Blue Sky, she graduated from San Jose State University in 2013, and interned as a background painter on the oscar-nominated short film, The Dam Keeper. This conversation really hit home for us and it was great to talk to not only an amazing artist, but also a wonderful person. :)

Howdy everybody! For this episode, we are honored to talk to Ellen Su!! Ellen is currently an art director at Aardman Nathan Love, but she has also worked at Moonbot Studios, R/GA, Psyop, and so much more. Ellen is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts BFA Computer Art department, and she herself is an alumna of the class of 2013. Her thesis film Spacebound is a SVA Computer Art favorite. She is not only admired for her talent in multiple disciplines (design, 2D animation, lighting), but also her tenacity and confidence. Ellen was a pleasure to talk to, and we learned so much from our conversation with her. This is not one you want to miss!!!

Hello beautiful people! For this episode, we are honored to talk with the founder of our 3D Animation Club, MontaQue Ruffin! SVA Class of 2013, MontaQue is a 3D animator that has worked at various studios (Framestore, MPC) before starting his career at Pixar Animation Studios. At Pixar, he has worked on some amazing films such as the Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory. MontaQue also enjoys pursuing personal projects like the Book of Mojo and he is also teaching his first AnimSchool term class this fall. Take a listen and absorb the wisdom and positivity that is MontaQue Ruffin~ We really enjoyed talking with him! :D

WAAAH, Welcome to On a Tangent! This is the episode where you learn more about the hosts---Matt, Kenny and Suejee. We have our own unique journey with animation, but we find ourselves at this common ground to start up a podcast. We love to hear experiences from our mentors and other artists we look up to, and we hope that you will enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking with these brilliant individuals. Thank you so much for the support~ And please excuse our derpiness--the interviews get SO much better. :)