Escape the ordinary and prepare for a grand adventure with FableVision’s summer 2017 interns. Each with their own vastly different skills, this season’s cohort has something extraordinary to offer. Together, they’re hoping to create something truly special with an exciting independent project that’s in the works. In the meantime, grab some granola and your backpack to learn more about each intern’s path to FableVision, and how adventure fuels their creativity!
Curious about interning with FableVision? Art/animation and marketing positions are available during summer, spring, and fall! Check out the internships page for details.
Name: Ellie Liota
Hometown: New York, NY
School: Lesley University
Area of Study: Animation
Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up at FableVision.
After spending four years in college “finding myself” and two more years after graduation “finding myself” some more, I was living in Portland, ME as a dishwasher at a bakery. My friend was leaving for her Masters in Art Therapy at Lesley University in Boston, and asked me if I wanted to tag along. I had wanted to try my hand at animation, so this was my chance at trying something new! I found an apartment, applied to Lesley, and found myself in Boston a few months later as a fresh new student (but actually old and not very fresh).
After my first two semesters as a part time student, I really wanted to get some real hands-on experience. My teacher told me about FableVision and as soon as I saw the work that came out of the studio I knew I wanted to get in on the action!
What do you hope to gain from working with FableVision?
I’m excited to experience what it’s like to work on a team—until now I’ve only worked on projects independently, and haven’t worked in a professional studio environment. There’s so much I don’t know, and I’m looking forward to learning everything that I can at FableVision.
What do you do during your free time? Any interesting hobbies?
A few months ago, I purchased a mini skeleton at CVS and my favorite thing to do is hide it somewhere in the house for my roommate to discover. It has become somewhat of an art. I also like trying to sew stuffed creatures (I say try because they often end in disaster), and I’m currently working on an octopus pillow!
What’s something that you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of?
Last semester I created my own animated short! It’s completely ridiculous. It was pretty cool to be able to produce something that is completely my own. It was also an incredible learning experience and it definitely gave me a newfound respect for animators.
What’s your favorite childhood memory of outdoor adventures?
I don’t know if I have one favorite memory but I did spend my weekends in upstate New York where I loved catching frogs, turtles, and turning over rocks to find bugs. I also started something I called “The Deer Club” (I was the first and only member). I would go around eating different plants I found. Unfortunately the club was disbanded shortly after it was created when my mother found me feasting like a little gremlin on the flowers in her garden and promptly put an end to it. I also spent a decent amount of time behind my swing tending to my bug cemetery.
How do you think your love of adventure translates to your creative work?
Adventure is probably the most important part of my creative work. A huge part of being an artist is the emphasis on practice—keeping a sketchbook at your side at all times, drawing constantly, and challenging yourself to make new things. But it’s just as important to put everything down and explore—whether that’s experiencing another culture in a different country, going for a hike in the woods, or walking to your neighborhood farmer’s market and petting every dog you can find (I highly suggest the latter). I think the greatest ideas and inspiration for creative work come from experiencing the people and world around us, and you never know what you’re going to learn when you start an adventure, no matter how big or small.
Favorite Animal: Pitbull (Mr. Worldwide)
Favorite Biome: Temperate Deciduous Forest
Fun Fact: My front right tooth is fake because when I was younger I was pretending to be a whale and I dove into my bathtub, but bathtubs are not very deep.
Name: Devon George
Hometown: Nashua, NH
School: Montserrat College of Art
Area of Study: Illustration and Creative Writing
Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up at FableVision.
I’m currently a senior at Montserrat College of Art this coming fall and I’m an illustration concentration who loves depicting nature, fantasy, science fiction, birds, bugs, etc. I learned about FableVision when a professor at my school mentioned their program to me. FableVision combined my interest in animation, animation preproduction, and visual development so I took a chance, applied, and was accepted!
What do you hope to gain from working with FableVision?
I wanted to learn more about animation, the process behind it, and how a studio functions. Now, with our intern project clarified, I’m adding game design and the integration of animation into the games themselves to my list. I’ve already begun to learn so much and I look forward to what the rest of this summer brings!
What do you do during your free time? Any interesting hobbies?
Apart from my art, I also play tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons. I’m currently running a D&D game that started back in 2014. It’s a great test of my abilities as a storyteller and world builder. I’ve also created a few micro systems of my own and plan on creating one based around the construction of an observatory for my senior show.
What’s something that you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of?
I participated in the 2017 Global Game Jam, creating the art for a game called Escape the Tide Pool. I’m very happy with the art I created during the three days that I had to produce it.
What’s your favorite childhood memory of outdoor adventures?
I lived in a rural neighborhood in NH when I was around six or seven. We had two acres of forest to explore and I remember tromping up the little stream near the back of my house. I had leaky water boots that slipped on the red roots on the sides of the creek. It was so magical and I secretly believed that fairies lived beside that stream.
How do you think your love of adventure translates to your creative work?
I like to try new things, whether that be a new medium, game, style of working, or creative project. Because of this, I have a broad range of things that I draw, write, create, and do. I want to go where no one has gone before!
Favorite Animal: Dragons
Favorite Biome: Taiga
Fun Fact: I had five wisdom teeth!
Name: Dan Schumacher
Hometown: Normal, IL
School: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Area of Study: Sport and Recreation Management
Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up at FableVision.
Up until a few weeks ago I had lived in Central Illinois my entire life. I really loved it there and I think it was the perfect place for me growing up but I knew that I wanted to explore a different part of the country after college. About a year ago as I was considering my career options I made two pretty substantial decisions. First, I decided I wanted to eventually become a game developer and in order to accomplish that as soon as possible I decided to graduate a year early. So to cap off my degree I began searching for internships all over the country at park districts, sports teams, and game developers.
Thanks to Google, I came across FableVision’s internship program and immediately saw that this was a great opportunity to learn about all aspects of the studio development process as well as how to effectively market digital media. 1,000 miles, 17 hours, and 4 tanks of gas later, here I am at FableVision!
What do you hope to gain from working with FableVision?
First and foremost I want to learn how to effectively market digital media and online services. Throughout my research into independent game development one of the most consistent pieces of advice I’ve seen is that marketing is just as important as actually making the game. With FableVision, I hope to learn their process behind informing the public, engaging with them, and directing them towards specific projects .
The other piece that I really hope to gain from working with FableVision is a better understanding of how designers, developers, artists, producers, marketers, and executives all come together to create something cohesive that resonates with clients and consumers. So far in my brief time making games I’ve only worked independently so I’m loving the opportunity to see how work flows amongst each department and how everyone contributes in their own way to the end product.
What do you do during your free time? Any interesting hobbies?
I’m very competitive by nature so I love doing anything that lets me flex that muscle, so to speak. I absolutely love watching and playing sports of pretty much any kind, but soccer and basketball are my favorites. I’m a pretty avid gamer and when I can get some friends together, board games are another great avenue for competition. When I’m not in a competitive mood I love sitting down and developing my own games and prototypes.
What’s something that you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of?
Although it isn’t anywhere remotely close to being finished I think I’m most proud of the game I’m making right now. All of my previous projects have been built strictly for my own educational purposes but now that I have a basic understanding of how to approach game development I’m thrilled to be working on the first game I actually plan on releasing. So far I’m really excited about how quickly I’ve made progress spending just a couple of hours each day on it. I definitely feel that my progress is a reflection of everything that I’ve learned from all of my previous projects and that’s why I’m so proud of this one.
What’s your favorite childhood memory of outdoor adventures?
One of my favorite activities as a kid was getting together with my friends and camping out in the woods of Central Illinois. Most of where we grew up really is just corn and soybean fields so camping in the woods always felt like a real adventure. From whipping up s’mores, hiking, kayaking, swimming, telling stories, playing games we made up, and visiting Starved Rock there are just too many great memories to single out a favorite one.
How do you think your love of adventure translates to your creative work?
Part of adventuring is that you have an idea of what you want to accomplish but you never know the path you’ll take. I like to apply that thought to my creative process by having a goal in mind but making up the details as I go. I also think it’s important to understand that every adventure isn’t always going to end in success. I would love it if everything I created was “successful” but I know that it takes hard work (and some luck) to reach that point. I look at each failure as an opportunity for me to learn from my mistakes and understand how to approach my next challenge differently to ensure that I continue improving and learning.
Favorite Animal: American Bison AKA our National Mammal (thanks Obama!)
Favorite Biome: Temperate Forest
Fun Fact: I’m a 3-time (defending) University of Illinois Intramural Dodgeball Champion