The creative talent network (CTN) was founded by Tina Price. It all started when she left Disney after 25 years and a dozen films. She left along with a group of traditional animators as Disney was becoming less involved in 2D projects. The CTN was a way for these artists to stay connected.
The CTN expo expanded this network. For 3 days, starting on November 20th 2009, over two thousand students, professionals, and elite artists gathered to meet, share ideas, inspire each other.
From the aspiring to the accomplished the halls were a constant buzz with artist with all levels of experience. It was a once in a life time opportunity for young artist to meet legends in the industry. Also it was a chance for the veterans to get a glimpse of the scope of their influence.
The exhibition hall had 100 booths with individual artist, studios, book sellers, schools, and software developers.
During the weekend there were at least 3 demo’s like this - the amount of talent was staggering.
There were Dozens of panels and interviews. Two 200 seat rooms had speakers and panels every hour. Many people could not get in because they were full. This is a good problem - next year there will be more room.
Here is an interview with the legendary Art director Andy Gaskill. It was so cool to just bump into him in the hallways and have a chat.
One of the three panels that I moderated was called “From Pixie Dust to Pixels”. Mauro Maressa and Dale Mayeda are both Disney effects artists. It was a pleasure getting to know them.
Peter De Séve, known for his New Yorker covers and character development on Ice Age. Gave an inspiring presentation - lots of laughs and ah-ah moments.
Every where you turned someone was making creating artwork. I espically like looking through the students sketchbooks .
On a personal note - it was very nice to have a much needed break by the pool. Us folks from Seattle don’t get to see the sun much so it was wonderful to take in a few rays before going home.
Be sure to check out the creative talent network’s web site news. Also, I was told that the presentation will be posted as video streams on their site.
