Design S enior art major Travis Bond had the opportunity to pursue his passion for visual development with one of the best in the industry, Chris Oatley, a development artist for Disney. Bond connected with Oatley over Twitter and quickly subscribed to his newsletter. A couple weeks later, Bond saw Oately's advertisement for an internship in visual development, which was ideal for Bond, who had wanted to work for Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif., since he was a child. There were only 28 spots, and international applicants were welcome, so Bond knew the internship was a competitive one. The application required a portfolio and a video interview. In the video, applicants shared basic information about themselves, their creative goals and where they would like to go one day. They were also asked to pitch an idea, which would be their project for the class. Oatley asked them to take a well-known story and to change the setting. Bond's idea was to reorient "The Wizard of Oz" Senior Travis Bond gains valuable design experience by taking a class under the instruction of a Disney artist in a Sci-Fi environment. Bond's friends said his talent and passion for his field would bring him success in gaining the internship and in his professional goals. "I think this [class] is really going to take him far," junior Rachel Swift, a friend of Bond, said. "You can just see how much effort he puts into [his work] by the finished product." The purpose of the internship was to work with other students from around the world, learning how to evocatively capture images to be used for animation. "We learned how to paint things that are dramatic, and captivating," Bond said. "There are a lot of pieces of artwork that don't say or communicate anything. They're just pretty pictures. We learned how to take principles like variation of size, shape, light, value, texture and master them to make the picture actually compelling and to make a connection with the viewer." Bond's favorite part of the internship was sharing his work with another student. Bond and his partner worked on each other's projects, utilizing their fresh ideas and different talents to improve the other's piece. "I think it's vital for artists to maintain a strong connection with others who want to do similar things," Bond said. "If you don't enjoy what you're doing and can't find someone who shares an interest with you, you'll most likely lose interest yourself and give up. So the community was probably the best part." The field of visual development was "an intriguing field with lots of opportunities to use one's imagination to create a visual concept," according to junior graphic design major Alex Westjohn. Westjohn went on to say that many artists would consider being a "concept artist" a dream-job. Bond's internship with Oatley prepared him to pursue that ideal career. He thought his time learning from Oatley taught him the importance of doing your best in your work and striving for mastery in all that you do. Mallory Pratt/Savannah Lee Seniors 1131
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