Local Specials
(2011-10-03)
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Rebecka Aigner stands next to the 30-second story she is developing for her computer animation class at SCC.
When they do, the answer usually changes: astronaut, firefighter, baseball player, or musician.
This was not the case for Rebecka Aigner, who says there is only one thing she ever wanted to do.
"Ever since I was little, drawing was just my passion," says Aigner, "I drew ever since I could hold a pencil. I watch cartoons and that stuff brings out a burning passion in me."
Aigner graduated from Clayton Ridge High School in Guttenberg, Iowa this year.
She says when she started looking at colleges, her first thought was graphic design.
"But something about animation kept calling me," says Aigner, "it is so different than all the other art. It is moving, it is film and drawing at the same time."
It was about that time that Aigner learned about Southeastern Community College's new computer animation program from her sister, who happens to live in Fort Madison.
That led Aigner to pack her bags and head 200-miles south to enroll in SCC.
She is one of 26 students taking their first steps into the world of computer animation.
Their teacher is Ben Rosales.
"By the end of two years, our students should be able to model, rig, and animate these characters, along with doing the lighting," says Rosales, "That is our goal for the students in this program so they should be ready to hit the ball running in a studio."
Rosales came to West Burlington by way of Houston, Texas. He was working there with an animation company called Real F-X.
Rosales says it was at that time that he decided to move into the teaching side of animation.
There are more opportunities to do just that as colleges develop animation programs.
Rosales says the curriculum has him excited about SCC's new program.
In fact, the college is touting it as the most comprehensive offered by a community college in Iowa.
An example of that is how Rosales' students are now involved in a concentrated story-telling program, which he says is the most crucial aspect of animation.
"It is giving our students more information at once that they are having to digest and really get it into their hearts and minds how to build their stories before they learn anything about animation," says Rosales.
One of the first assignments for Rosales' students is to create a 30-second story on paper instead of a computer.
Rebecka Aigner knew her story immediately. She says it came to her several years ago when she was listening to the song, Smother Me by the Used.
The song led to a five-minute story about a girl who wakes up one morning with a heart-shaped hole in her chest.
"So she goes out through the park to find the heart she is missing," says Aigner, "but she keeps seeing people who are happy and have their hearts filled."
A bird then finds the girl's heart before transforming into a boy who gives it to her.
Aigner says it has been difficult to cut her original story from five minutes to thirty seconds but she says it has to be done because "this is the piece I have been dreaming of seeing in animation."
Kathy Buxton hopes SCC's program will cultivate this type of passion for animation in every student.
"I am seeing people with different strengths but most of them have good understanding of what story is," says Buxton, "and some understanding of what makes interesting animation art and I see a lot of creativity."
Buxton is CEO for Grasshorse, an animation studio that got its start in Los Angeles before relocating to Henry County, IA.
Its television credits include The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Test, and the Clone Wars.
An animation workshop held several years ago by Grasshorse inspired S-C-C to develop its program.
COO Stephen Jennings says the program will offer a wide range of opportunities for students in a variety of fields.
"We, as an animation company, are going to be interested in the talent coming out of the school," says Jennings, "Rockwell Collins has a need for animation as well. There are a lot of companies out there that have a need for animation."
Rebecka Aigner says her path includes further education in the University of Dubuque's animation program or possibly the Art Institute of Chicago.
"(From there,) what I really want to get into is television," says Aigner, "I would love to have my own television series, my animated series. I would also like to do commercials or even short films."
SCC's new computer animation program could be just the stepping stone students need to turn their classroom doodles into the next great cartoon.
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