AIE News
3D Animation
AIE Alumni Industry Insight: Tina Tsou
After being a graphic designer for several years, Tina Tsou had a change of heart and decided that she really wanted to work in the film industry. To shift her path into animation from graphic design, she attended the Academy of Interactive Entertainment to achieve her industry dreams, and graduated from the 3D Animation &…
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AIE Alumni Spotlight: Andy Burt
Andy Burt was honored as a Valedictorian for the graduating 3D Animation & VFX for Film class of 2019. Valedictorians are recognized for their dedication to one’s study, and you can always count on their eagerness to exceed the status quo. They lead by example, and as a result, they prove themselves to be exemplary…
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What Are the Most Sought-After Skills in the VFX Industry
The VFX (visual effects) industry looks for more than an animation education and a decent portfolio. Technical skills learned at school must be added to softer, business-world skills and then combined into a stellar application, portfolio and that showcases individual creativity. We’re going to look at what some of those technical skills are, but before…
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A Tour Inside Valve Headquarters
Our students had the opportunity to get an inside look at the legendary Valve Corp Headquarters, the studio that has brought us the Half-Life series, and the distribution platform, Steam. Kelly Cline and Mike Belzer, who were our guides for our group throughout the tour, showed Valve’s state of the art motion-capture room, sound design…
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Artcade Shows How to Really Have Fun During a Storm
The Academy of Interactive Entertainment in Lafayette once again hosted Artcade! The fifth annual Artcade event took place on May 11th with a wide array of local game developers, artists, and film exhibitors. However, this year the event location was not at the Lafayette Science Museum where it’s been previously held. This year, Artcade was…
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AIE Behind the Scenes: VFX Film Shoot
Film day for the VFX crew was set at the Book-It Repertory Theatre. From 7am to 5pm, the 3D Animation & VFX for Film crew was busy on set! Lighting equipment, dolly and camera equipment was provided by David Burns, a Seattle director of photography and long-time co-worker of Vic Bonilla, 3D Animation & VFX…
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VFX Alumni Animates Mobile Augmented Reality Game
AIE USA is excited to announce that AIE Lafayette alumni Kristina Zavala (3D Animation & VFX for Film 2018 graduate) and Dana Nicholle (3D Animation & VFX for Film 2018 graduate) have joined the team at Blipd, an iOS developer in Sterling, Virginia. Kristine Zavala 2018 Alumna Dana Nicholle 2018 Alumna Both Kristina and Dana graduated…
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Jobs for Creative Introverts
A lot of people consider jobs for introverts to be ironic, but it’s more of a stigma than most people realize. At the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, an overwhelming majority of our students and those interested in studying on our campus, consider themselves to be introverts. Our staff and instructors understand and recognize that both…
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Game Art & Animation 1st Year Assessment: Character Pipeline
Erika Amos (Game Art & Animation) Kylie Walker (Game Art & Animation) The Game Art & Animation students are now is their team assessment, which features a Good vs Evil Character Pipeline. In this creative battle, students are split into team formation to produce a group of models that are ready for production, complete with…
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Cacophony and Ink: VFX Final Film Score Arrangement
“There’s a witch that has this magical ink. She brings things to life out of the canvas, then she leaves, then the apprentice comes out. He tries to do it himself, but it’s just cacophony and ink.” – Alyssa Sperling (2nd Year VFX) Video game and film composer, Douglas Yassen (Iron Heart Music Studios) visited…
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VFX Alumna Recruited by The Love Foundation
3D Animation & VFX for Film alumna Tyler “Dione” Arnold was recently recruited by The Love Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the nation of Belize’s privately-owned multimedia company. The Love Foundation also advises and administrates donor and charitable funds. They have successfully donated over $2 million in promotions to non-governmental organizations, helping them achieve their…
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Big Fish Games at AIE
The art team at prestigious mobile studio, Big Fish Games, visited our Seattle campus today. The veteran artists reviewed portfolios of our students specializing in several forms of art and animation. “You all are doing a 2-year program? That’s awesome – I did exactly that too, years ago.” – John Nangle (3D Modeling, Unity, Game…
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5 Things Every Game Developer Needs to Know
Andrew Ward is a Game Programming Advanced Diploma of Professional Game Development alumnus, and CEO of successful indie game startup: Grunka Munka Games. Taking on the lead role among the team of AIE alumni, Andrew took Collidalot from prototype to the launch on Nintendo Switch. We asked Andrew what he would have done differently, and what kind of advice…
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AIE Alumni Launches Collidalot on Nintendo Switch
From college project, to launching on Nintendo Switch. We are immensely proud of our AIE Alumni Andrew Ward (Game Programming), Connor Adam (Game Programming), Matthew VanCompernolle (Game Programming) and Tim Tsai (Game Art & Animation) for launching their debut game on Nintendo Switch! All second-year students from all programs form into groups to create their major…
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Tips from Our Alumni
If you plan on starting your educational journey at AIE in 2019/2020, here are some awesome tips from our alumni. Leadership and being a team player are not mutually exclusive. “What I have discovered that gives you an edge in this industry, is learning the pipeline and how your role affects other team members. If…
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Mentorship at AIE
“The mentorship at AIE was enlightening. I got to see what the second years were working on and understand how they problem solved the very things I struggled with. I learned the importance of community, and being able to share your discoveries and grow as a team. It’s something I’ve taken with me into the…
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Cat Jeong Accepted in December RAW Showcase – Dec 20th 2018
We are super proud of Cat Jeong (3D Animation & VFX for Film) showcasing her work in this year’s Holiday RAWk, presented by RAW Seattle! The event will be held on December 20th, and you can buy tickets $22 in advance, and $30 at the door. Space is very limited and you can find out…
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How to Succeed in 3D Animation and VFX for Film
If you’ve been wondering on how to succeed in 3D Animation & VFX for Film, this is your chance to discover if you have those traits often found in the VFX artists who help create award-winning films and are employed by the industry’s top studios. Grit For some people, passion is like an unquenchable thirst.…
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3 Unconventional Tricks for Storyboard Artists
We are immensely thankful to have expert storyboard artist, Victor Fuste, share with us what his top 3 Unconventional Tricks for Storyboard Artists are. Victor has taught as an Artistic Development Trainer for DreamWorks Animation for several years, and a plethora of creative studios in the animation industry. If your dream is become a storyboard…
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3 Reasons Why You Should Cross-Train
Cross-training in game development is not only more respected than you may think, but it is expected among an array of concentrations. While specializing in a certain software or mastering a technique or aspect of your expertise is what you should strive for, there are 3 great reasons why you should cross-train to solidify your…
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Intro Courses in Game Development and Film
Are the Intro Courses right for me? Intro Courses are a great way for anyone who may be interested in getting their feet wet in a certain program in a small classroom setting, or if someone is particularly interested in what a career in video games or film might be like. Whether you are in…
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3 Things Studios Want in a VFX Artist
Whether you’re looking into visuals effects as a career path or you’ve already established yourself as a VFX artist, this is our answer to the question we hear quite often: what are studios looking for in a VFX candidate? Without further ado, let’s go over the top 3 things that studios are looking for in…
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Interactive Experience Day – July 14th 2018
AIE’s Interactive Experience Days are a great opportunity to learn about the local and international game development, 3D animation and visual effects industries.
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Level Up Industry Lesson: 3D Animator
So far, we went over the career path of the Game Designer and the Video Game Producer; this time, we are exploring the career track of a 3D animator. In this Level Up Industry Lesson, we’ll be going over what a 3D Animator does, and the requirements of what it takes to become one. Meet…
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