Register : Videos

Animation Mentor, the state-of-the-art online animation school founded by animators for animators, announced today that Dr. Stuart Sumida, professor of biology at California State University, San Bernardino, will be featured in the webinar Anatomy of a Fight on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pacific Time.

This event is free to animators, students, Animation Mentor alumni and others who register in advance. A second airing will take place later that day on the Animation Mentor Facebook page.

In addition to his university tenureship, Dr. Sumida is a world-renowned paleontological researcher and the foremost authority of anatomy and fight choreography for the animation industry. “Anatomy and fight scenes are near and dear to me as I've been doing martial arts since I was eight years old,” says Dr. Sumida. “This webinar takes everything that I love and puts them into one event.”

The Animation Mentor curriculum emphasizes the skills needed to animate realistic character and creature performances in any setting, including difficult fight sequences. Anatomy of a Fight will combine physical demonstrations by Dr. Sumida, footage from classic live-action and animated movie fight scenes, detailed descriptions of anatomical principles, explanation of skeletal anatomy and other valuable insights to increase the skills of animators. “If you're an animator who wants to learn more about the anatomy of an animated fight scene, this webinar will be an eye-opening experience,” says Dr. Sumida.

Dr. Sumida to Appear with Animation Mentor at CTN animation eXpo
Dr. Sumida will also join Animation Mentor at the upcoming CTN animation eXpo in Burbank, Calif., from November 18 – 20, 2011. He and the school will discuss character and creature animation from films and the Animation Mentor curriculum, and how to believably animate a punch, kick or take down. In addition, Dr. Sumida will perform a demonstration with martial arts experts.

“Everything we do is designed to provide the most personal and fulfilling learning experience on the planet!” says Bobby Beck, Animation Mentor’s CEO and cofounder. “Having someone of Dr. Sumida’s standing is an incredible honor for us. His excitement and passion for his craft inspires all of us — students, alumni, staff, and hopefully some new friends and future students, too!”


About Dr. Stuart Sumida
Dr. Stuart Sumida, a comparative anatomist and paleontologist, is a renowned expert in biomechanics and the evolution of locomotion. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1987, having previously taught in the Department of Anatomy and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He is the author of three books and numerous scientific papers. His paleontological research has taken him throughout North America and Europe with the support of many museums, the National Geographic Society and NATO. Dr. Sumida’s teaching focus is primarily on comparative vertebrate anatomy and human anatomy. He has been an anatomical consultant to special effects artists and animators on over 30 feature length films, for such groups as Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks and DreamWorks PDI, Warner Bros., Rhythm & Hues Studios, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Walt Disney Imagineering. His animated film credits include Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, George of the Jungle, Tarzan, Dinosaur, Lilo and Stitch, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Reign of Fire, Brother Bear, Shrek II, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Surf’s Up, Ratatouille, Bolt and Kung Fu Panda. He also worked with the animation teams on the live-action movies Cats and Dogs, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Scooby-Doo, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, 101 Dalmatians, 102 Dalmatians, Stuart Little and Stuart Little 2.



For further information and to register for Anatomy of a Fight, please visit AnimationMentor.com/Events/Fights-Webinar.