SURVIVOR'S GUIDE FOR TV STORYBOAD ARTISTS

  LOS ANGELES, CA - 11/18/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Master figure artist Karl Gnass is debuting his new book "Head Shots – An Artist's Guide to Head Drawing" at the CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, CA with two booksignings this weekend. He is also presenting a workshop with Phil Weinstein, director at Disney TV Animation, titled:

"Faster, Better, Cheaper - A Survivor's Guide for TV Storyboad Artists"

Karl Gnass is a master figure artist and one of the most sought-after teachers in Los Angeles, whose students include luminaries of the animation and CGI industries. Karl has been teaching drawing, painting, and storyboarding for over 25 years at Disney, Dreamworks, Sony ImageWorks, Nickelodeon, and Warner Bros Features Animation, among others.

He storyboarded at Disney Television Animation for such shows as DarkWing Duck, Gargoyles, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Masupilami, Bonkers and direct-to-video Aladdin Prince of Thieves. In film, he developed the character expressions and anatomical breakdowns for Stuart in Stuart Little, character breakdowns for Harry Potter and for Hollow Man.

At Glen Keane's request, he developed a class to help CGI animators working on 'Tangled' to understand the dynamics of movement. His latest project was working as an Anatomical Dynamics Consultant with Disney's animation team on the highly anticipated feature movie "Moana" which will be released on November 23. Disney's renowned Bill Schwab, Art Director of Characters, said, "I asked him if he would come to the studio and look at our characters and look at our rigs where they were at the time, and actually do draw-overs, and so he did three sessions, one for Maui, one for Moana and one for Tala. We had the rigging team, the animation team, and the design team all in one room with Karl, and I’d say that was quite a jumpstart. He really felt good about what we had, but he really pushed us to go to the next level."

Gnass says that to the layperson, it may not be apparent how traditional figure drawing fits in with the animation field which is now highly computerized. Yet it's precisely because of technology's sophistication that Karl Gnass is frequently brought into Hollywood's major animation studios to provide his unique training to their animators.

Karl acknowledges that an enormous effort goes into animated feature films. The people involved are numerous and talented, including the stars, producers, directors, story writers, art animators, the production team, etc. Yet, he says, at the end of the day, if the animation doesn't feel authentic, the characters may not be as convincing as we would like them to be.

Gnass is often brought in to the process to inform the animation team on body mechanics and movement dynamics for the major characters in animation features.

Karl said, "It’s one thing to learn how to draw. It’s another to learn how to draw with intent—to infuse a sense of story and purpose into the figure." He helps his students to create figures with more compelling movements and gestures. Many of his students go on to work at the major animation studios, and often study with him for years, each time peeling away the layers toward a deeper understanding of their art as they progress in their skills.

Karl Gnass will be at the CTN eXpo (Burbank Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, CA) with a booksigning for his new book "Head Shots" on November 19 at 1:30pm and November 20 at 3:00pm . On Sunday, November 20^th, he and Phil Weinstein, director at Disney TV Animation, are giving a talk entitled "Faster, Better, Cheaper - A Survivor's Guide for TV Storyboad Artists" in the Executive Boardroom. More information on Karl and his Los Angeles classes and workshops can be found at GnassStudios.com.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcHZITz9GM4

Note: Karl Gnass is available for live in-studio media interviews in Los Angeles and through phone and/or Skype worldwide. Contact GGI at 818 254-8359.