Brooke Eilers Q&A, Animator Extraordinaire & Year 2 Art Scholarship Winner
Brooke Eilers was the winner of our second Zinggia Ohio Art Scholarship for 2015-2016! We followed up with Brooke to see how she was loving art school. And no surprise, she loves it! She has a brand new website too, so check it out!
Q. You’ve now been going to the Savannah College of Art and Design for 1.5 years now. Would you catch us up on what classes you’ve had so far?
So far I’ve had Drawing I, 3D Design, a public speaking class, Drawing II, Color Theory, a Survey of Computer Applications class, life drawing, Intro to Sequential Arts, Principles of 2D Animation, Digital Form, Space, and Lighting, 20th Century Art History, Introduction to Programming for Visual Effects, Principles of 3D Animation, and Digital Materials and Textures. I’ve been taking a variety of classes on different subjects to really figure out specifically what I want to do in the film industry.
Q. Has your school work load increased significantly since your first quarter?
Oh my goodness, yes. I wish I could go back to first quarter where I spent all of my nights in my own bed. Nowadays I’m lucky if I get a few hours of sleep face down on a computer keyboard.
Q.Do you have a part-time job or are you just concentrating on school 100% of the time? If you are working, do you find it difficult to juggle both work & school?
Q. What’s the most interesting school project you’ve worked on so far?
I’d absolutely say my final project for my Digital Materials and Textures class. The class was all about making 3D models look as real as possible through a process we call Shading. Our final project dealt with organic materials, where you had to take a new version of some organic matter and make it old. I chose to do food; a plate of eggs and toast. To do an old version, I had to make it rot. I never thought in a million years I’d be studying decay and rot and the growth of mold in college. Somehow I didn’t lose my appetite for eggs and toast despite having to let these foods sit on my kitchen table and rot for reference.
Q. Have your classes incorporated any “real world” experiences such as working with clients or customers on projects?
The amazing things about SCAD is the countless opportunities for students to work with companies and clients all the time. These classes are usually only offered to Juniors and Seniors, so I haven’t had the benefit of working on any myself, but I know our Visual Effects department recently worked with NASA to do a promotion video for an upcoming mission taking place in 2018. You can view it here:
Q. Do you ever collaborate on projects with other students? If so, we’d love to hear details on the project & how it went.
All. The. Time. That’s really what SCAD is about. I work with many seniors on their films and projects doing all sorts of jobs. I’ve animated 2D and 3D scenes for a few films, and next quarter I’m expecting to be a texture artist for a few films, and maybe a couple games. It takes teams of people to create all the amazing work that comes out of SCAD. We are taught to help each other, to improve each other, rather than compare ourselves to each other in competition.
Q. Have any of your professional goals changed since you first started college? Do you see yourself working in a different area or even studio than you originally thought while in high school?
Absolutely. Going into college I would have said I wanted to be a character designer and concept artist for an animation company. Now, after dabbling in a bit of that, learning character animation, and taking a few courses in the visual effects department, I definitely want to pursue more of the visual effects careers. I’m still learning animation, but I’m taking a large number of visual effects classes focused on something we call Look Development. Essentially what I want to do is take the concept art and translate it into a 3D space. I make 3D models, texture them, and light the scenes. My career path is still focused in the film industry, but I would happily work for a game studio or a commercial company. I really thought I’d want to stick to drawing when I came to SCAD, but I’m learning more and more of the 3D programs every day, and I’m learning my strengths are carrying me other places.
Q. Did you ever catch your apartment on fire doing “Grilled Cheese Thursdays”? Can you share any other questionable food-atrocities you’ve committed?
This made laugh! Thankfully no, we never caught my dorm on fire making grilled cheese on an iron. Now I live in a place with a full kitchen, so I haven’t had to make any other makeshift kitchen appliances. But, like many other college kids, I find myself just throwing food into a pan and hoping for the best more times than not. I mean, what college kid one, has time to cook a decent meal, and two, REALLY knows how to cook a decent meal? I’m slowly learning, though!
Here’s a peek at some of Brooke’s recent work including her demo reel.
Read all of the Q&A Artist Interviews with our past Zinggia Ohio Art Scholarship Winners.
