Stephen McClure, producer for The Gnomon Workshop says, “Gil Rimmer is an artist’s artist, committed to the traditional arts as well as being a skilled digital artist. His passion for art and storytelling have led him to a position as a Central Art Director for Electronic Arts Cinematic Division in Montreal. These DVDs are a rare opportunity to see inside the mind of this visual genius and to explore with him the process of creating characters for animated features.”

DVD Descriptions:

Character Design for Animation Part 1
Headshots and Creating Compelling Personalities
with Gil Rimmer
In this DVD, Gil Rimmer simultaneously develops two characters, Francis and Paulo, who are classic pugilists in a fictional turn of the century metropolis. This first in a two DVD series focuses on creating the faces and heads of the two fighters, using dynamic silhouettes, rhythms, graphic design and composition principles. Gil stresses the various visual relationships within individual characters while addressing the complementary relationship between the two fighters. Through a methodical process, beginning with a design brief followed by reference gathering, through traditional approaches to silhouette design and ending on detailed orthographic views and expression sheets, Gil shares his thoughts about the design process and its place in the animation production pipeline.

Character Design for Animation Part 2
Look and Feel, Full Body Character Development
with Gil Rimmer
In this second in a two DVD series, Gil continues to develop Francis’ and Paulo’s designs into full-body orthographic and 3/4 views. The demonstration finally culminates in a “look and feel” master shot posing the fighters in an alley behind Paulo’s butcher shop. In the process, Gil reinforces the key principles from the first DVD: dynamic silhouettes, rhythms, graphic design and composition. He then explores the design brief further, introducing unique lighting approaches, shadow and light relationships, larger composition fundamentals, color treatments to complement the mood, and applying textures, atmosphere and visual effects to enhance the final result.

Instructor Bio:
Born in Israel, Gil Rimmer studied industrial design at the Vital Center of Design in Tel Aviv. Finding his true passion in storytelling and visual development for animated films, Gil moved to Vancouver, and for the past three years has worked as a vis-dev artist and production designer developing IPs (intellectual properties) for Rainmaker Entertainment, IDT Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, Blue Yonder Films, Tony Hawk and Mattel. Recently, Gil finished work as a production designer on the animated sequel to the original Nutty Professor, starring the voice talent of Jerry Lewis, as well as working as a vis-dev artist on the animated feature production of Escape from Planet Earth. Currently, Gil works as a Central Art Director at Electronic Arts’ Cinematic Division in Montreal.

About The Gnomon Workshop:

Since 2000, The Gnomon Workshop has provided artists and students with the educational resources they need to succeed as artists in the entertainment industries. Whether they’re interested in design, modeling, effects, animation, storytelling or matte painting, these DVDs provide a valuable educational resource for students around the world. The Gnomon Workshop is the sister company of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, which provides professional caliber visual effects instruction to students and professionals in Los Angeles, California.

Visit http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com for more information on The Gnomon Workshop and our library of over 200 training DVDs.

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