The April issue of Frenzy had a really special interview with
Patricia Hannaway, aka fizzokame. She is not
just a long time member of Frenzoo. She is also a professional animator
who has worked on movies like Shrek and Lord of the Rings. If you
haven't seen it in Frenzy, you can read it right here.
Here's a snip it of her interview. Read more here.
Thanks Patricia. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?As
a youngster, I always loved to draw and paint. Would draw for hours at
a time, and loved to color. Never realized this would become my career
at the time, just thought it was a phase. It wasn't. I attended Smith
College and majored in Art History and Economics (to be practical).
Upon graduating with my B.A., I worked on Wall Street as a financial
analyst in Mortgage Banking at Dean Witter, then was admitted a
University to get my M.B.A. In NYC, I loved to spend time at the Frick
Museum, at the Met and the Moma, and would frequently spend weekends
there, and taking some classes at the National Academy of Design with
Harvey Dinnerstein and Ronald Sherr. A professor of mine from college
was in town, when I was packing up to head to business school, and she
told me that I shouldn't give up on my artwork, that I was talented and
give it a chance. Being a conservative New England gal, I was taught
to be practical with economics. My professor told me about a new
school that Andy Warhol, who was still alive at the time, was founding
called the NY Academy of Art. He would take 20 students on full
scholarship to study traditional art, drawing, light and color theory
and anatomy for a year. My professor sent me over to the Academy, and
I was admitted immediately. At that point, I decided to hold of on
Business School for a year and see what happened. I never went back to
get my MBA after that, but received an MFA from the NY Academy as a
member of the first class, and another MFA in Computer Animation from
the School of Visual Arts in NY. From there, I admitted into the
Disney Feature Internship Program to learn animation, and hired into
train as a Disney Feature Animator.
I went from zero to hero, to coin a phrase.
One of the new Frenzoo contests is "Create an Alien" by Weta. How was it working with Weta before on Lord of the Rings?
At
the time, early in 2000, Weta was an unknown little studio in NZ,
consisting of the Weta Workshop, where actual models were made and
directed under the brilliant Richard Taylor and his wife, Tonya, and
another building called Weta Digital, where the CG effects work was
done. Wingnut Productions, Peter Jackson's production company, was
close by as well. Weta is located just outside of Wellington, on the
gorgeous, natural reserve of the Miramar Penninsula, in a neighborhood
with houses, and a school across the street. It was entirely
unremarkable looking, easily accessible, and quite spacious. Many of
the scenes were shot in warehouses across the street, with the Mist
Marshes being shot in a Weta parking lot. I have not been back there
in many years since, so not entirely sure if it is the same or not.
Weta Digital has obviously grown quite a bit, under Jim Cameron and for
Avatar. Richard Taylor's workshop is amazing to see! His craftspeople
are among the best artists in the world.... taking great pride in the
work they do, willing to put in extra hours to do a great job.
Making
LOTR, was rather like making a movie in your garage.... it felt small,
intimate, and like we were doing our best work without anyone even
knowing we existed. We were the underdog.... and I loved that! The
big hollywood honchos were not at Weta, so we always had a sense of
pride and ownership in what we were doing, and Peter Jackson and his
partner (wife Fran), worked very had and always made us feel proud to
work for him and we gave him our best, because he did the same.
Any messages for aspiring 3d creators out there on Frenzoo?
Learn
to draw and express your ideas visually on paper. The computer is just
another tool.... an expensive tool. It does not give you anything that
you do not already bring to it in terms of your ideas and expression.
To many people think the computer will make them artists..... in truth,
you need to be an artist before using the computer.
Keep at it!
Thanks Patricia!
Her art can be seen at www.pathannaway.com
