Anatomy Lab: Entomology for Creature Designers — Demonstration & Discussion
Join us on Saturday, April 23rd, at 12 PM for an inspiring afternoon session that will introduce creature designers to the science of entomology. The panel of experts will bring together artists working in the entertainment industry alongside members of the BioSCAN Team from the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles to discuss the science of insects and demonstrate how artists can use the knowledge to create better-informed designs. Learn the natural history of insects, discover how Hollywood blockbusters both hit and miss with their concepts, and expand your knowledge with intriguing facts about various species, including defense mechanisms, identification, microscopy, and more. The afternoon will wrap up with a ZBrush demonstration by Jared Krichevsky, who will design a creature that puts the science into practice.
The event is free and open to the public. RSVP today. Seating is on a first-come-first-served basis. If you can't make it to Hollywood, be sure to follow Gnomon on Livestream to tune in online. Questions can be pitched to the panel on Twitter during the live event using #gnomon.
Schedule:
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM: Evolution for Artists with Andrea Adams
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM: A Look at Insect Chemical Defense Mechanisms with Eric Keller
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM: Science at the Movies: An Insight into Hollywood Insect Myths with Lisa Gonzalez
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM: Intermission
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Understanding Species and Behaviors with Emily Hartop
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM: Insect Photography and Microscopy with Kelsey Bailey
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Insectoid Creature ZBrush Demonstration with Jared Krichevsky
Guest Speakers
Illustrator, Instructor, and Director of Educational Administration at Gnomon, Los Angeles
Andrea has an extensive background in many different aspects of visual arts, from theater set construction to corporate illustration. Her experiences in independent film and television include storyboarding, production design, and costume design. She has created conceptual illustrations for clients as diverse as JPL/NASA, Project Runway, and HBO.
Photographer, Natural History Museum, Los Angeles
Kelsey photographs the magnificent and diverse insects that the Natural History Museum catches in traps throughout Los Angeles. She loves revealing these microscopic creatures to the public and exposing people to the world that’s out of sight. She believes that photography can promote curiosity and appreciation for the little-known parts of our environment.
Assistant Collections Manager, Natural History Museum, Los Angeles
Lisa has been working on the BioSCAN Project for three years, although she first started as a volunteer in 2001 in the Insect Zoo. For Lisa, a day spent with eyes glued to a microscope is a day of blissful Zen. She takes pleasure studying the insects that live in the backyards of fellow Angelenos. Her second passion is for cult, horror, and B movies.
Assistant Collections Manager, Natural History Museum, Los Angeles
Emily spent her childhood turning over rocks, looking for insects. Rather than necklaces and bracelets, she kept a dead bug collection in her jewelry box, and at an early age learned to rescue misunderstood "stink beetles" from harm's way. She is now a specialist on the genus Megaselia and enjoys the challenge of working on an "impossible" group of small flies.
Eric has over 13 years of experience in the visual effects industry. His background in creating animation for scientific visualization provided a groundwork for his diverse client roster, as well as his animations for title sequences, feature films, television shows, and commercials. Eric continues to work in the scientific field as an author, animator, and guest lecturer.
Creature Designer at The Aaron Sims Company and Instructor at Gnomon
Jared's career spans a host of blockbuster projects that he has had a critical hand in as a CG generalist and creature/character designer. His work has been featured in print and online as well as in short and feature films and on TV. Jared brings his traditional background to his digital work and his teaching methodologies. His credits includeGhostbusters, Independence Day 2, and many others.
