animation studio tour (Houston, Dallas, Austin: movies, design, office)

[clr1216]

Does anyone know of an animation studio in Houston that offers tours? My child is an aspiring artist and loves the animation process. I wanted to take her this summer to see hands on what it was like. We also posted this thread in the Dallas area.

[deckhanddavy]

Hmm, do you mean cartoon animation such as Disney and Japanese style animation? Or do you mean computer animation such as Pixar and Dreamworks?

I don't believe there are any cartoon/anime based animation studios at all in Texas. Also, most modern cartoon animation are drawn in computer applications now instead of the old ink and cell method used years ago.

If you are looking for CGI computer animation such as the movie Wall-e or Up, then most of the large studio's are in California. Houston or Austin should have some small local companies that do that sort of work if you are comfortable with good (but not Pixar quality) computer animation. Also, you may want to check out the Art Institute Houston. They may allow you and your daughter to sit in on a 3d Computer Animation class. They may even have a conceptual design class that plays a large part of the artwork that is the foundation of animated movies.

Here is a local CGI animation studio that I found in Houston: http://www.illusionstudioinc.com/contact.html
(after looking at their portfolio, I'm actually quite impressed with the quality of their work...I would definitely check them out!)

It seems that they have a physical office/studio that you may be able to tour. Also, here is more information about the founder of that studio, and his animation team.
http://www.bouncingpixel.com/

[Svensk08]

Call the UH art department office at the main campus. They may have classes or know of a local studio you could visit.

Since computer animation is also a fine art medium, you might call the Lawndale Art Center for some leads.