Agent Art

Ultimate Art Warrior

Agent Art has been a little under the weather so I apologize for going incognito.  I thought it was important to show you the Art Wars final winner at SIGGRAPH 2008.  Even if I am a little tardy...

His name is Kit Bayer and he is a student from The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago.  Kit won a MacPro and a 12" WACOM Tablet with a retail value of about $3,799.  :|  Whoa.  One question - how did Kit get this stuff on the plane?  I'd ride with it under the plane just to make sure everything was okay.  Anyway, congratulations to Kit and to all of the people who participated in Art Wars.  It was intense and each of them are to be commended for stepping out onto the battlefield! 

Pictures speak louder than words

So let's take a look at day 2 of SIGGRAPH 2008, shall we?

      

  

   

Na na naaaaaaaaaa Na na naaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 *runs up stairs*
*jumps up and down*

Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Do you get it? Huh? If not, I'm not explaining it. Ask that guy sitting next to you.

Yesterday we saw the culmination of the first epic battle at Art Wars.  Congratulations to Kenny Roy of Santa Monica! Kenny's winning sketch, an interpretation of the theme 'Suspense', won him a MACBOOK! bowchicawowow... How incredible is that?!

The crowd was so thick that people were standing on tables at the booths across the aisle. No one could pass through, not that they wanted to. It was a lot of fun and we saw some amazing work yesterday. The bar has been set! Let's see if anyone can jump it.

Stay tuned for more info on today's clashes!

Kenny's winning sketch, inspired by the theme 'Suspense'. Yeah, he did this in 20 minutes.

Crowd favorite Lisa Allen. Liiiiiisa! Liiiiiiisa!

The final round of sketches

The crowd. Our booth. The Suspense. *gasp*

 

Ai OnLatte

You know how they always say that if you can get your face on a billboard you've made it?  Maybe the new tell is your face on a latte...

OnLatte, Inc. is a Cambridge, MA company here at SIGGRAPH demonstrating their new service and they were kind enough to show us what our logo would look like, where else but on a latte.  Only at SIGGRAPH people!

We're making a scene.

 The first 3 hours have been a total blast here at SIGGRAPH.  We've had three Art Wars competitions, which means we have our first three competitors for the final heat this afternoon.  The first winner, from The Art Institutes Student heat was none other than Arthur Bullock, one of our student competition winners here at the show!  Congrats Arthur!  We'll be hearing more from Arthur and his colleagues, Larry Battersby and Cody Cobler, this afternoon when they discuss their winning work, 'Bogatyr'. 

I learned yesterday that the "G" in 'Bogatyr', is a total hoax.  It's pronounced bo-ha-teer.  I think these guys did that to mess with people.  If you met them, you would understand. 

Here are a few shots from the booth and a couple of the Art Wars competitions.  Look how intent everyone is...

Our HP/Saytek student competition winners.  I think they were throwing a few elbows.

 

Janice Bartels and Carl Huhn tallying up the Art Wars scores.

  

20 Minutes to go...

Doors will be opening very soon.  The group is enjoying the calm before the storm...

Setting up and revving up...

Can you feel it? There's a buzz in L.A. SIGGRAPH 2008 is upon us and it is going to be a sight to behold. Right now the final touches are being put on booths for some of the most prominent companies in the media arts and animation industry. And The Art Institutes is no exception! Check out the picture of our booth to the left.

We plan to captivate the SIGGRAPH audience with a bunch of events over these three days. Visitors will witness the debut of the “Best of Class” animation DVD showcasing top animation from Media Arts & Animation students throughout The Art Institutes system. The winners of HP/Saytek/Art Institutes National Student Animation Competition and The Art Institutes Student Design Competition sponsored by Adobe will be on hand to present their award winning work. I've seen their pieces and I think the best thing I can say is I can't wait to see them again!

 

Oh... and probably the most engaging aspect of the booth will be The Art Institutes ART WARS. Seven 20 minute competitions will be held each day. Show attendess can compete against their peers using a WACOM Cintiq. The winner of each heat will have an opportunity to go head to head in a final “ART WAR” where the winner will receive a grand prize, a computer or laptop, courtesy of Apple Computer and The Art Institutes. 

 

Um, hi.  You can win a computer or laptop for just a few minutes of work. You're probably asking yourself, "Why am I not registered for Art Wars yet?" So go to aiartwars.com and get registered.  Did I mention you could win a computer? Okay. Just checking.

 

So see you tomorrow!  Here's a little game... see if you can figure out who I am at the show.  You won't win anything except your own vindication.  But what's better than that?

SIGGRAPH 2008

SIGGRAPH 2008 approaches!
*cue Mission Impossible theme*

The Art Institutes has a lot in store for the show.  Check here for updates and pictures from the floor.  It's going to be something else, that's all I can say.

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