Look into the eyes of Yoda, Iron Man and Davy Jones — see the way their lips curl, their smiles form and eyes roll.
Jamy Wheless, Auburn alumus, gave them life.
As the co-founder and president of Lightstream Animation Studios, Wheless has embarked on a journey of telling stories and his company is succeeding. Just recently, Lightstream Animation Studios was accepted into the Annecy International Animation Film Festival held in France for their production of the short film, "The Pig on the Hill."
"When Pig's free-spirited and energetic new
Receiving an invitation to the Annecy Film Festival is one of the highest honors in animation. There are 3,000–4,000 applicants and they invite 200–300 filmmakers.
Winners are Oscar-qualifiers, as well.
"If we should win an award, we would be on the Academy Award long list," Wheless said.
Wheless has been invited to a number of other festivals, and the hope is for more name recognition and eventually a feature film based on the short film.
Aside from his personal career, Wheless taught a semester-long course on animation and design last year at Auburn.
The online class communicated through the video chat program, Zoom. Wheless said the class learned the basics of animation starting with how to make a ball bounce.
Wheless is planning to circle back in the fall for his second course and has a breakdown for a four-semester-long curriculum for students who wish to continue learning animation.
The first semester will include story development, an introduction to digital tools, animation principles and composition. The final semesters will include 3D animation, one of Wheless' passions.
"It's a curriculum that I am passionate about because at the end of the day, it all comes down to putting together a visual story," Wheless said. "A story is an important foundation, and that story is the character and the character development."
Wheless said everything comes into play when creating a story and using the tools to do so. Animating from the heart, understanding the forces around humans and visualizing what you must say are all elements of creating content one can hang their hat on.
The students used the program MAYA for the curriculum. For many, MAYA was overwhelming in the beginning, but Wheless said they got the hang of it over time.
"They came up around the curve fairly quickly," Wheless said. "I totally get that because I am your typical 2D animator that went to 3D. It was a huge mountain for me to get over, but once I did, it was easy."
When Wheless graduated from Auburn, there were no computers on the campus for students. He graduated with a degree in illustration and thought he was going to stay in that realm.
He taught himself everything he knows today.
"What I am trying to teach and the business that we are in — the business of creating movies and creating games — it's a teamwork business," Wheless said. "You are going to work in the highest artform where creative and technical are thrown together, but at the end of the day, you learn your discipline, and you have to work with other teams that know theirs."
Wheless compared this participation to an orchestra; one violin doesn't make the final sound. He said this is one of the biggest lessons beginners must learn.
Wheless said as a CEO of a company, he hopes to train students on the foundational aspects, so they can go straight into a job or internships after receiving their degree.
The field of commercials, films, games, virtual reality is growing at a rapid speed, Wheless said, and there will be a massive need for graduates with the skills he is teaching.
"I always say, to be able to create content in animation is the highest artform one can do," Wheless said. "I came from the pencil drawing to the painting, into the 3D. We live in a different world. It's only going to get more visual."
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