Agriculture and Animation, Together in California
Contest’s Creativity
In central California, a contest called “Imagine This” drew wonderfully imaginative ideas from middle schoolers in the hopes of having their story or essay turned into animation. The contest is sponsored by an agricultural foundation, and the stories are all agriculturally themed.
This year, stories about animals and foods coming to life, and others on Mexican immigration and even labor camps comprised this year’s entries. Characters include a mother hen, a grape, a Mexican immigrant, trees, and even someone called “Compost Man.”
The stories are reviewed and then brought to life by animation college students as well as future animation students at high schools in the Sacramento area.
Some Writers, Some Animators
The student contestants whose stories are created into animation are awarded for their creative efforts by seeing their creations animated on screen. The animation students working on those stories are given content and honing their skills while getting ready for careers in animation.
Animation School
Attending animation school does not simply mean drawing cartoons and illustrations. Although cartoon animation is still very much alive, it’s taken a backseat to computer animation (the highest sought after animation in the world). Animation students can choose from a variety of courses at animation school, from 3D modeling of computer animated characters to “good old fashioned” pencil illustration. There is a place in the industry for both skill sets, and specific animation courses to go along.
