{"id":2393,"date":"2022-11-02T17:49:13","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T17:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/?p=2393"},"modified":"2022-11-02T18:39:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T18:39:21","slug":"bridging-the-traditional-and-the-innovative-john-losacco-on-animation-the-importance-of-fundamentals-and-failures-function-in-the-creative-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/bridging-the-traditional-and-the-innovative-john-losacco-on-animation-the-importance-of-fundamentals-and-failures-function-in-the-creative-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Traditional and the Innovative: A Conversation with John Losacco"},"content":{"rendered":"

For John Losacco, who returns to the Interactive Arts and Media Department this year as a newly-minted full-time faculty member, the path to the future of game animation lies in the basics. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Take his Drawing for Animation course, for example, which provides students the opportunity \u201cto dig into the philosophy of animation, the theory, and to explore what the different parts of drawing animation can do…in a way that is not explored as much as it should be.\u201d This class allows Losacco to emphasize to students the importance of building\u00a0the bones of their art before layering in the muscles and skin.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you are an industry professional,\u201d says Losacco, \u201cyou need to know this stuff\u201d–this \u201cstuff\u201d being the basics. \u201cI look at tons of reels and can tell if a student knows the fundamentals or not. I can teach you how to animate but there needs to be a good bedrock of fundamentals.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And he definitely knows a thing or two about forging a successful career in the industry. Prior to joining IAM as an adjunct faculty in 2016, Losacco received his BFA in Media Arts and Animation from the Illinois Institute of Art and worked as an animator for Play Mechanix<\/a> for 14 years. There he collaborated on classics like the Big Duck Hunter series, Terminator Salvation, Alien: Armageddon, and Minecraft Dungeon.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since his first 2D Motion for Games course 6 years ago, Losacco\u2019s approach to teaching has been two-fold: preparing students for successful careers in their chosen field while encouraging their innate interests and styles. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Losacco has noticed that \u201ca\u00a0lot of students don\u2019t have a real idea of what it\u2019s like to work in the industry,\u201d so he decided to teach with keen attention to students\u2019 strengths, weaknesses, and grasp of fundamental skillsets. \u201cThe approach was if I hired you, what would I want you to do, and what would I not want you to do? It was a really good chance for me to build that idea early!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, he\u2019s eager to nurture students\u2019 individual creativity and passions. He especially enjoys teaching Intro to Traditional Animation for this reason. \u201cI get to get them [the students] at the beginning and see what they\u2019re interested in and focus on that. I want to build off what is exciting for the students!\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the basics and traditional industry-preparedness are only the tip of Losacco\u2019s pedagogical iceberg. He\u2019s also thrilled to be part of the department\u2019s push toward curricular innovations in terms of game design for VR\/AR platforms.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReally understanding how game design is going to VR and how we can adapt that and how we can make changes in that field is so fun!\u201d And luckily for Losacco and the rest of the faculty, IAM gives them \u201ca lot of freedom\u201d when it comes to exploring how best to teach and create toward this future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of the creative process, Losacco shared two key pieces of wisdom on igniting inspiration.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKeep your brain moving and do a bunch of different stuff! I keep telling my students to take a break from their work and do personal stuff because it can be a great way to reinvigorate the creative flow, so that when you get back to it your work will feel brand new again.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And when constructive procrastination fails? Embrace the inevitability of failure itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a trial-and-error industry,\u201d says Losacco, \u201cand the faster you fail, the faster you can take what you learned and use it on the next project. Don\u2019t be afraid to fail. Don\u2019t be afraid if it doesn\u2019t work out great. Try it again.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For John Losacco, who returns to the Interactive Arts and Media Department this year as a newly-minted full-time faculty member, the path to the future of game animation lies in the basics. \u00a0 Take his Drawing for Animation course, for example, which provides students the opportunity \u201cto dig into the… Continue Reading Bridging the Traditional and the Innovative: A Conversation with John Losacco<\/span><\/a>Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":2394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,44,42],"tags":[11,5,120],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2393"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402,"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393\/revisions\/2402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iam.colum.edu\/iamwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}