fORMER sTUDENT
HALL OF FAME
While examining you culture for willing victims, we have come across a number of specimens that displayed signs of susceptibility to our indoctrination. Your culture rewarded them with financial compensations and positions of stature and promotions. We consider this effective in meeting our goals. Examine this page at your own risk
Tymon Pitts
First up is one of my favorite students (I have a whole bunch of favorites BTW), Tymon.
He started out with me and later went on to study Computer Animation at Full Sail University. After graduation he landed an unpaid internship at ReelFX In Dallas and got to work on a number of really neat projects. He worked on three animated short films of Wylie Coyote and the Road Runner that played before the movies, Legends of the Guardians the owls of Gahoole, Cats and Dogs 2, and Yogi Bear. While working on these, as a modeler, he caught some of the studio execs eyes with his programming abilities, and got a full time job as a TD (Technical Director).
He then got to work on a couple of other projects including the film FreeBirds. He and the team that he was a part of wrote the code/system that made the feathers that all of the birds in the film were populated with. While finishing up that project he got an interview with Weta digital and eventually received a job offer there.
Weta digital then flew Tymon and his wife out to New Zealand to work full time on some serious major league films like Dawn of the planet of the Apes, The next Hobbit film, and the last Fast and the Furious film. He is a Awesome guy and a great friend.
He has a precious wife (that likes me now) and a really neat rambunctious kitty. (He looks really good in the photo as well)
mikey
This list would be seriously terrible if I didn't mention another one of my favorite students, Michael.
After leaving my class this guy did not even go to college for more training, He went straight for the industry.
Spending many hours in his room producing a demo reel,
He later used a couple of contacts that he had and got a job working for 1080 Studios. At 1080 he got the opportunity to work on a number of TV shows that were later on the History channel. He worked on Life after people season one and two, and Jurassic Fight Club. He later found out that his VFX work on Jurassic Fight Club earned an Emmy Award nomination.
Way to go Mikey!!!
He eventually left 1080 due to a number of issues and decided to go back to college and study Aerospace Engineering, and hopes to get involved eventually in Space exploration!!!
He is an amazing Bass guitar play in his band Stelae, and can be found playing at some event center around the Dallas area burning up the stage with some sweet fat bass lines.
Tymon Pitts
Josh is an Amazing guy that just loves life.
He got the opportunity while still in my class to intern at Gearbox Software, the video game company. He ran their focus testing as well as working on asset control. He received the honor of having his name in the ending credits of Borderlands One for his contributions as an intern. First video game ending credit mention before he even graduated from high school....
I am jealous!!!!
After graduation from high school he went on to major in Video Game design at Richland college and quickly transferred to the University of Texas Dallas. While there he spent his collegiate career studying level design and exited upon graduation to get the opportunity to become a college professor at Richland college teaching Video Game Design. He takes great pride in his class and helping to build the next generation of Video game developers.
He is the first of my former students ever to become a college professor in what he learned with me. He is very devout in his faith and I take personal pride in the fact that he has accomplished my dream of teaching in college so much quicker than I have. Btw he would kill me if I didn't put in here another picture of him, but the one above is SOOOO like him!!!!!
So here is another shot
Tymon Pitts
This is one of the most seriously talented students that I have ever gotten to work with.
He could do anything; 2d animation, 3d animation, Model, Texture, draw, you name it....
I used to tell him all of the time that he was going to be my first student that would make it into Pixar. (definitely a dream of mine to have one of my former students work there....studio tour???) He was accepted into Ringling School of Art and Design (which is an amazing feat within itself) in Florida.
He eventually landed in The Art institute at Chicago and pursued his first love which was illustration. He then became an illustrator at MeeGenius and the Art Director at You TELL me Stories.
He has moved to California and is working for Nickelodeon. He worked as the Lead Story board artist for the cartoon show Middle Most Post and is now working on the The Patrick Star Show.
No doubt in my mind still he is as brilliantly talented as always and blowing away everyone that he works with.
Matt
This guy was absolutely passionate about Video game design while he was in my room. He initially went off to student at Richland College, graduating from UT Dallas and eventually found himself being the guy that ran the lab at Richland College.
He continued to train and study and being in the right place at the right time, found himself on the floor of many projects around the campus.
He is now working with Josh, Anwar, and a couple of other guys in their own Video Game start up company building a game called Solar Purge.
Anwar
This guy is absolutely always good for a laugh!!!
He left my class in pursuit of a video game career heading over to Richland College as many of my former students have a fell into place with Josh, Matt and a couple of guys working on the Game Solar purge.
They recently went to a game convention and won Indie Company of the year award there. An absolute huge accomplishment for such a short turn around. Well done guys!!!
Emily
This young lady is one of the kindest and sweetest students that i have ever had the opportunity of working with!!!
We both knew almost immediately that this was going to be fun. Never did I realize that she was going to be such a star in my classroom. The picture you see below is the night that we were both in Austin TX for the UIL Young Film Makers State Competition.
That night she won 3rd place in the entire state and was the only person to win an award with a solo effort. All of the other people that were in attendance that night worked in big groups.
She is now getting into college to become a nurse. As she applies herself to that training I have no doubt that she will be as amazing as she was in my room!!
Huy
This guy is just amazing!!!! He was the student in class that everybody wanted to work with. When he first started with me he almost single-handedly carried his team to the finish line of completion of their film.
While in my room, as a Senior, he and Karley finished a film that we submitted to the International Film Festival in Athens Greece and they qualified and made it in.
Sadly we did not get the opportunity to go and watch their play there (cheap school district...)
Nevertheless their film was accepted and played for an international audience.
He is now attending School in Texas becoming a Video Game designer.
Karley
This young lady was the absolute perfect balance to Huy.
She is level headed, and confident in exactly who she is. She has to be confident in who she is as she is the little sister to two older brothers who are both very head strong and independent and used to pick on her constantly... Not ever to overlooked herself,
She was the leading force in their film accomplishing all of the Animating. My wife absolutely adores her and misses her immeasurable help every time we would go shopping for underprivileged kids for Christmas.
After finishing her film and having it accepted into the Athens International Film Festival she graduated and became my first ever student to get accepted and attend Vancouver Film School.
