Mike Stern Animator/Filmmaker currently working at DreamWorks sternio@gmail.comsternio.com var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-15774656-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}Tumblr (3.0; @sternio)http://blog.sternio.com/<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1m52kDNAw1qbo62vo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>The Guardians watch their trailer.</p> <p>VIA <a href="http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/">http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/</a></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/20077684383http://blog.sternio.com/post/20077684383Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:01:32 -0400<iframe width="400" height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aPLiBxhoug0?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br/><br/><p><div class="masthead-search-terms-border" id="masthead-search-terms"><span id="eow-title" title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer">Rise of the Guardians Trailer.</span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer"><br/></span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer">I’ve been asked </span><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer"> what I have been working on </span><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer">a few times over the last couple of months and for some reason I’ve had a difficult time explaining the premise for Rise of the Guardians.</span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer"><br/></span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer">I’d usually say something like. “It’s about Santa, The Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and the Sandman taking on the Boogeyman, but it’s good!” </span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer"><br/></span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer">I was met with a lot of blank stares.</span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer"><br/></span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer">Well, the trailer is finally up and I think that it does a great job explaining the premise as well as representing the story that we are actually telling in the film.</span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer"><br/></span></div> <div class="masthead-search-terms-border"><span title="Rise of the Guardians Trailer">From this point on, I will no longer attempt to explain the premise. I will just point people in the direction of the trailer.<br/></span></div> <div id="alerts"></div></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/20066666811http://blog.sternio.com/post/20066666811Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:48:00 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyflrkHV5d1qbo62vo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://blog.sternio.com/post/16549633168http://blog.sternio.com/post/16549633168Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:38:08 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lscidrQWeu1qbo62vo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://blog.sternio.com/post/10851833380http://blog.sternio.com/post/10851833380Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:10:39 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq4xhyiyD41qbo62vo1_500.gif"/><br/><br/><p>Puss in Boots.<br/>via <span class="screen-name screen-name-mslackinoff pill">@mslackinoff</span></p> <p>It’s just a tumblr kind of day</p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/9085843279http://blog.sternio.com/post/9085843279Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:49:09 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq4udeV0Dg1qbo62vo1_r1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Circle of Life for an Animator.</p> <p><br/>posted on Google plus by <span class="fn">Stonzi Morgan.</span></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/9083590589http://blog.sternio.com/post/9083590589Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:41:00 -0400<a href="http://www.sternio.com">Holiday Housekeeping</a>: <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sternio.com"><img height="351" width="500" border="0" alt="new site thumbnail" src="http://www.sternio.com/pics/site_thumb.jpg" align="left"/></a></p> <p>I took some time over the holiday weekend to organize my site a bit. I grabbed all of the bits I had floating around the internet and tied ‘em up in one place using <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cargocollective.com">cargo collective.</a> I also took the new look and feel of the site and shared ‘em back to this blog.</p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/7278105210http://blog.sternio.com/post/7278105210Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:08:00 -0400<p>Without a doubt. Starting a career as an animator is challenging. There is a lot of competition. At this point the work on your reel needs to look like the work that is on the big screen in order to be considered.</p> <p>That being said studios are always looking for new talent. The path in is challenging but the work is really rewarding.</p> <p>Animation was a second career for me, so my road was different than most. I went back to school to study animation after working in the advertising industry for three years.</p> <p>These links have some more details about the path that I took.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.vancouveranimation.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=123:the-animator-element-mike-stern&catid=30:animation-artists&Itemid=98">The Animator Element</a></p> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.animationmentor.com/webinar/replay/2008-learn-how-to-be-an-animator-with-bobby-beck.html">How to Become an Animator (Animation Mentor Webinar)</a></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/7036827370http://blog.sternio.com/post/7036827370Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:58:00 -0400<p>Yes! We used a ton of animal reference. For Toothless we used a lot of cat and dog reference as well as eagles and bird reference for the flight. Nadder movement was influenced by parrot and big bird movement. Gronkle had some bumblebee in there and Monstrous Nightmare was inspired by lizard and bat movement.</p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/7036443922http://blog.sternio.com/post/7036443922Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:42:05 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnbug4mcUm1qbo62vo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><span><strong>I just found out today that I will be spending some time with this character.</strong></span></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/6890787344http://blog.sternio.com/post/6890787344Fri, 24 Jun 2011 23:45:40 -0400<iframe width="400" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/55gmAtakjJ4?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br/><br/><p>Here is the trailer for Puss in Boots. This is the film that I have been working on for over a year now. Meow!</p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/6854919238http://blog.sternio.com/post/6854919238Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:49:31 -0400<iframe width="400" height="299" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uxezt4Ks5XA?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br/><br/><p>Unreal! Distraxion just passed 1 million views today. I guess the masses agree that the office is no place for smooth jazz.</p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/5370218740http://blog.sternio.com/post/5370218740Tue, 10 May 2011 17:27:51 -0400<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20633584" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><br/><br/><p>Better late than never. Here is a collection of shots that I worked on for How To Train Your Dragon.</p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/3638986904http://blog.sternio.com/post/3638986904Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:51:11 -0500<a href="http://www.animationmentor.com/newsletter/0211/tipsandtricks.html">Dragons Webisode-Video Reference</a>http://blog.sternio.com/post/3349581653http://blog.sternio.com/post/3349581653Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:13:22 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgdfi1Q8HX1qbo62vo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a target="_blank" href="http://dreamworksdrawings.blogspot.com/">Naked Wednesday.</a></p> <p>Check out some sketches from the DW figure and gesture drawing classes.</p> <p>We are now blogging our progress (or lack thereof).</p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/3204862116http://blog.sternio.com/post/3204862116Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:22:48 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lc5p28Xk4q1qbo62vo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/11/national_geographics_photograp.html">Nat Geo photo contest winners.</a></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/1622095549http://blog.sternio.com/post/1622095549Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:54:08 -0500<iframe width="400" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IIJ99Sns11I?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br/><br/><p>A group of animators from DreamWorks spoke with <a href="http://www.animationmentor.com/">AnimationMentor</a> about <a href="http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/">How To Train Your Dragon.</a></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/1321408026http://blog.sternio.com/post/1321408026Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:53:00 -0400DreamWorksHow To Train Your DragonAnimationAnimationMentor<a href="http://www.awntv.com/playlist/professional-spotlight/professional-spotlight-simon-otto-at-fmx2010-part-1/">Simon Otto Interview: HOCA on How To Train Your Dragon.</a>: <p><a href="http://www.awntv.com/playlist/professional-spotlight/professional-spotlight-simon-otto-at-fmx2010-part-1/"><span><img src="http://www.411mania.com/siteimages/howtotrainyourdragon_48139.jpg" width="400"/></span></a></p> <p><span id="internal-source-marker_0.39665233759704044">Simon Otto was the Head of Character Animation on How to Train Your Dragon. <a href="http://www.awntv.com/playlist/professional-spotlight/professional-spotlight-simon-otto-at-fmx2010-part-1/">In this interview</a> he delivers some insight into the film making process at DreamWorks. </span><br/><span></span><br/><span>In my opinion, the most important discussion in here is about the relationship between the directors and the artists working on an animated feature. When a  level of trust exists, animators are able to create their best work. When that trust breaks down the artists become just another pair of hands and the work suffers.</span><br/><span></span><br/><span>Simon also takes on that inevitable question that seems to come up and is usually avoided in every DW artist interview. “How would you compare DreamWorks to Pixar?”</span></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/1263523963http://blog.sternio.com/post/1263523963Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:24:00 -0400DreamWorksHow To Train Your DragonAnimation<a href="http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/2010/08/do-you-have-any-tips-on-how-to-take.html">Some Tips on Shooting Video Reference</a>http://blog.sternio.com/post/1021376436http://blog.sternio.com/post/1021376436Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:44:48 -0400animation,video referenceanimtip<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.23513549574713455">Hey Daniel,</span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That is quite an ambitious dialog test that you have there. I really dig that line from the Hurt Locker. There are a lot of really nice beats in the read. My biggest concern with taking on the whole line as a short is that it is extremely complex.</span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If you are serious about leaning animation I would consider taking on less and doing more with it. To do quality animation you need to really take time and hit all of the details, especially if you are doing subtle animation, which is what this dialog would call for.</span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Start by animating your favorite section of the line and taking the section to a final polish. If you can do that and you still have interest in taking on more than pick up on another section.</span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">You would be much better served to have fully animated two small sections of this dialog, than to have the entire line animated roughly.</span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br/><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hope that helps.</span></p>http://blog.sternio.com/post/1011846651http://blog.sternio.com/post/1011846651Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:48:04 -0400