3D Animation Students Show Their Work at One River

On January 10th, students in the 3D Animation program celebrated the opening of an exhibit of their work at One River School. The Woodbury school, which provides digital art and design classes, first partnered with LIHSA for a gallery showing two years ago when they reached out to 3D Animation teacher Chris Fedorczak about showcasing his students’ exciting work at the One River gallery. He immediately knew it would be an excellent opportunity.

This year, One River showed one hundred of the 3D Animation students’ pieces, as well as a looping video showcasing 2D and 3D animations. The exhibition showcased a collection of pre-production animation projects, including storyboarding, character design, and concept art, as well as still frames from both 2D and 3D animated shorts. The images and animations showcased were created using Adobe Animate, After Effects, Photoshop, and Autodesk Maya. The pieces represent a collection of in-class assignments.

“It was fun to see my art and it was a great opportunity for other artists to see my work,” said student Thomas Eisenberg of the experience. “My family really liked being there.” Student Charlie Rudis agreed that bringing his family made the evening more poignant. “It was nice to go with my dad and show him what I have been doing at LIHSA,” he said. “It was an honor to see your work displayed and put up for other people to see.”

Student Madison Villalobos appreciated the progression of her work from year to year. “My artwork and animation has improved and I had so many more pieces in the slide show this year. It was nice to see the other kids’ work too, and it is such a cool gallery – it’s very comfortable. Allowing other people to see my artwork at an art school allows other kids to see what is possible and get inspiration. I appreciate that Mr. Fedorczak took the time to set it up.”

“I liked how One River segmented the art into different sections,” said student JP Haubeil. “One section had dark material with less lighting, concept art and environments were in another section, characters in another, etc. It was organized well. It felt nice to see my work in a gallery and to be recognized. My mom was amazed at all of the work!”

“We like collaborating with schools in the community because it gives us a sense of who is out there and what students’ interests are,” said Bobbie Princette, Assistant Director of Education at One River School. “Students are really interested in seeing what other schools are doing. We have all age ranges here and everyone is amazed by these outside shows. When students come to our school they get to see all different work and it’s a swapping of information. The Long Island community is so small, so it’s important to get to know one another and stick together.  We would love to work with LIHSA again in the future.”

In the 3D Animation program at LIHSA, students bring creative ideas to life by combining traditional artistic skills and techniques to develop projects in 2D and 3D animation.  Animation students develop skills in environmental and character modeling, texturing, lighting, rigging, animation, and more using industry-standard software such as Maya, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe After Effects. This hands-on program supports students with their original characters and the creation of their digital portfolios through design labs and peer review.