Careers

OSU Animation Highly Ranked in Ohio and Among Public Institutions in the US

| Diana

Exciting news! Ohio State University is ranked #1 in animation in Ohio, and ranked #3 among Public Animation Schools in the US in 2023.

Animation at The Ohio State University has been consistently ranked highly by the Animation Career Review, an online resource for people aspiring for careers in animation, game design, graphic design, digital art, and related fields.  In 2022, OSU was ranked 4th on the list of top public animation schools nationally, and 1st in the state of Ohio.  

The Department of Art offers introductory animation and moving image courses, within the Art and Technology area, that explore animation as an art form.  Many students gain an introduction to animation through these courses.  Additional courses in the Department of Art provide students with other fundamental skills that benefit an animation portfolio, such as life drawing and sculpture, and color theory. 

Students can also take animations courses through the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD).  ACCAD is a pioneering institute of collaborative interdisciplinary research in time-based digital media production, including animation and interactive media through integration of emerging arts technologies.  While ACCAD does not offer a degree program, courses that ACCAD offers provide a broad range of animation techniques and practices, ranging from fundamental principles to advanced explorations of the latest technologies including interactive animation, virtual reality and motion capture. 

Additionally, The Department of Theater, Film, and Media Arts features a Moving Image Production Major providing a pathway for students interested expanding their knowledge of filmmaking.

See animation works from the Art and Tech area of the Department of Art on our Vimeo page.

Abby Koskinas, Animated GIF, 2020

Art, Technology, Race and Culture faculty position open

| Amy Youngs

The Department of Art within the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University seeks an artist for the position of Assistant Professor. This position is in the Department’s rapidly expanding Art and Technology area, which represents a significant proportion of undergraduate art enrollments. We invite applicants whose work engages with technology and its intersections in class, race, and social justice. We welcome practices across a wide range of technological inquiry, including but not limited to moving image, robotics, animation, immersive environments, extended reality (VR/AR), gaming, artificial intelligence, and interactive media.

We seek a colleague who has the potential to: Develop and contribute to interdisciplinary connections with other departments and centers such as Computer Science, School of Architecture, the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD), Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI), the Sustainability Institute, Comparative Studies’ Science and Technology Studies; offer innovative graduate and undergraduate courses; and mentor students interested in art practices. We especially welcome applications from artists from underrepresented groups in the arts.

Qualifications:

This appointment will begin August 15, 2023, and the successful applicant must have MFA or PhD in hand in Art or a related field by appointment date. ABDs welcome to apply. The Department values diversity, equity and inclusion, is committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and strongly encourages applications from women and underrepresented minorities. Appointment is contingent on the university’s verification of credentials and other information required by law and/or university policies, including but not limited to a criminal background check.

About Columbus:

The Ohio State University campus is located in Columbus, the capital city of Ohio. Columbus is the Midwest’s fastest-growing city and the nation’s 14th largest city. Columbus offers a diverse array of welcoming neighborhoods and a vibrant arts and culture scene. Additional information about all that the Columbus area has to offer is available at https://visit.osu.edu/experience.

Application Instructions:

Apply to Academic Jobs Online at: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/23074. A complete application consists of a cover letter; CV; a diversity statement which should articulate your demonstrated commitments in contribution to diversity, equity, and inclusion through research, teaching, mentoring, and/or outreach and engagement; statement of teaching philosophy; names and contact information of three individuals that can provide recommendations. Letters of recommendation are not requested at this time; Portfolio of works: 8-15 projects (PDF documentation of projects and/or embedded links to video documentation) Review of applications will begin on November 4, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled. Inquiries may be directed to Carmen Winant (winant.1@osu.edu).

The Ohio State University is committed to enhancing academic excellence. Recruiting, supporting, and retaining faculty of the highest caliber is a core component of this commitment. In support of this, The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) has created the Office of Dual Careers and Faculty Relocation (DCFR) to focus on supporting new and prospective faculty. This support includes dual careers services, consultation and resources related to relocation, as well as identifying opportunities to engage on campus and the surrounding community. While employment opportunities are not guaranteed, resources and consultation are available to support the partners of new and prospective faculty as they are considering The Ohio State University and throughout their transition.

The Ohio State University is committed to establishing a culturally and intellectually diverse environment, encouraging all members of our learning community to reach their full potential. Over the next few years, The Ohio State University is committed to welcoming 350 new faculty hires, many of which will contribute to growing our role as a premier research university equipped to answer and interrogate the critical domestic and global societal challenges that deter equality and inclusion. We are responsive to dual-career families and strongly promote work-life balance to support our community members through a suite of institutionalized policies.

The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.

Application Materials Required:

Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:

  • Cover letter
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Teaching statement
  • Diversity Statement
  • Portfolio of Works (8-15 projects)

Further Info:

art.osu.edu
Carmen Winant <winant.1@osu.edu>
128 N Oval Mall
258 Hopkins Hall
Columbus, OH 43210

Artist Talk with Animator Matt Derksen

| Diana

Matt Derksen

Tuesday, September 27 at 4pm
358 Hopkins Hall

Join us for an Art & Tech alumni career talk with Matt Derksen!

Matthew Derksen is an Academy Award winning animation artist who works as Head of Rigging at Industrial Light and Magic, on feature film and television projects. He previously worked at Rhythm & Hues as the rigging supervisor on films such as Life of Pi, The Hunger Games, and Hellboy and he has also worked as a visual effects artist for many other popular films. He is an alumnus of the Ohio State University’s Art & Technology area in the Department of Art (1997, BFA and 2004, MFA).
Learn about Derksen’s career working in the animation/film industry. He will also answer questions you might have about getting started in this field. All are welcome!

Poster:

Alumni Snapshot – Sarah Hockman

| Amy Youngs

Sarah Hockman, (BFA 2016) visited the Studio Practice course this semester to share her career path with us. After graduating, she researched jobs online while traveling to California in her van. Her first job was at Unity Labs in San Francisco, as a Virtual Reality Lab Assistant. Her creativity and working knowledge of emerging technologies were very helpful skills for this position.

Eventually, she sought new challenges. She had quite a bit of experience working in animation and video as an Art & Technology major, and she knew she really enjoyed it. She aimed her job search at smaller companies, which would allow her to have more creative control of projects and she found a great match as a Motion Graphics Designer at Avalanch Media in Salt Lake City, Utah. After a few years of working there, she decided to leave so she could go on a long bike trek in Spain.


With her work portfolio and a solid network, she is able to find clients as a freelancer now. Check out her website here.

 

Some of her advice to students included:

  • reinvent your brand regularly
  • maintain an up-to-date website
  • don’t get too fancy with your resume
  • make time for your own creative projects
  • make sure to enjoy your life, too!

Alumni Snapshot – Charles Hairston

| Amy Youngs

Charles Hairston graduated in 2013 with a BFA in Art, focused in Art & Technology. He is a Producer and Motion Graphics Designer at the Ohio Channel, a service of Ohio’s public broadcasting stations. He is also the Creative Director and Founder of Faesis.

Charles recently presented his work and his career path at “Art & Tech Career Talk” for the undergraduate students in Studio Practice, taught by Amy Youngs. He discussed the work he does at his day job, how he landed that job, which began as a paid internship, and how he slowly, but surely, built his own creative content agency in Columbus, Ohio. He started before he even graduated from Ohio State University and, though he recently changed its name from Nuge to Faesis, the focus is still on producing visual storytelling content in the form of videos, motion graphics, branding, and illustration.

Charles Hairston shared his journey with the students, his philosophy of networking, and the importance of valuing – and getting paid for – the creative work one does.

An example of a video story he has made for the musician Andy Milne. His company’s list of clients includes The Columbus Foundation, Making Midwest Fest, Medical Mutual, Artfluential, and The Ohio State University.

 

Art & Tech student club hosts Multivarius Games event

| Amy Youngs

Join the Art & Tech Student Club on Tuesday, Feb 25th at 7pm in Hopkins Hall room 250 to learn about Multivarius Games, a game creation company here in Columbus, Ohio. With Katie Hamill, BFA alumna of Art & Tech!

poster for multivarius games event

All are welcome and encouraged to join the Art & Tech student club. Come to the meetings each Thursday this semester at 7pm in Hopkins 180a, or contact Megan Wright wright.1945@buckeyemail.osu.edu.

Alumni Snapshot – Gene Felice

| Amy Youngs

Gene-Felice_300

Gene A. Felice II graduated in 2002 with a BFA in Art, focused in Art & Technology. In 2014 he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Digital Arts & New Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

genefelice
Gene Felice presenting his artwork at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA

He is a new faculty member within Intermedia & New Media at the University of Maine where he is also developing his Coaction Lab for interdisciplinary collaboration with an ecologically minded approach. He bridges his research and practice across:  Art, Science, Design & Education, developing a network of creativity, living systems, and emerging technologies. He has a hybrid practice at the intersection of nature and technology, developing symbiotically creative systems as arts / science research.

Visit Gene’s website here.

 

Alumni Snapshot – Seung Yoon

| Amy Youngs

Seung Yoon at work

Seung Yoon graduated with a BFA from the Ohio State University’s Art and Technology area in 2010. He earned a graduate degree at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2013.

He is currently working in Los Angeles, CA at Gorilla Pictures as a 3D generalist – 3d modeling, rigging and animating. The studio is creating an animated children’s feature, scheduled to come out next halloween.

Hiring full-time faculty

| Amy Youngs
Department of Art / Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) 

Assistant Professor (tenure-track) Digital New Media

We seek an artist who is creatively and critically engaged in the practices and discourses of New Media art. We are especially interested in a candidate whose practice engages emerging technologies and finds relationships and expressive modes of production across multiple disciplines, such as traditional and non traditional art practices, the humanities, the sciences and engineering.

As part of the College of Arts & Sciences, the Department of Art at The Ohio State University is broad-based, both discipline intensive and boundary pushing, a modern laboratory in which to create and explore art and ideas. Through the production, examination, and evaluation of the arts, the Department of Art serves as a place where students and faculty can experiment with material and content, and where a diverse audience can take part in our exhibitions, public lectures, and educational programming.

Qualifications:

Significant art and technology-based background with commitment to conceptual inquiry. An active professional creative practice, including a record of exhibitions / presentations / projects beyond the local, regional level. Successful candidates will have a M.F.A. degree prior to August 2016.

Accomplishments in one or more of the following art practices: 3D animation, computational/interactive media, games art, new media/performance installation, tactical media, emerging and/or hybrid forms. Fluency in the conceptual and historical frameworks of contemporary new media art is important. Successful candidates will be able to integrate their digital art practice with other fine art and/or academic disciplines in a manner relevant to broader culture. University-level teaching experience beyond the terminal degree preferred.

Special consideration may be given to applicants who are open to collaborative or interdisciplinary projects. This position will require a commitment to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses and creating a critical and experimental teaching environment. Previous experience in curricular development, mentoring students, and service on graduate committees is a plus.

As part of this joint position, this faculty member will contribute to the community of faculty and students pursuing creative research at the world-renown Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (see accad.osu.edu for more information). This collaborative space hosts experimental and collaborative projects as well as technology-related courses, both of which will be a part of this position. To meet this expectation, the successful applicant should excel at participating as a productive member of collaborative cross-disciplinary teams.

Appointment is contingent on the university’s verification of credentials and other information required by law and/or university policies, including but not limited to a criminal background check.

About Columbus:

The Ohio State University campus is located in Columbus, the capital city of Ohio. Columbus is the center of a rapidly growing and diverse metropolitan area with a population of over 1.5 million. The area offers a wide range of affordable housing, many cultural and recreational opportunities, excellent schools, and a strong economy based on government as well as service, transportation and technology industries (see http://liveworkplaycolumbus.com/). Columbus has consistently been rated as one of the Top U.S. cities for quality of life, and was selected as one of the Top 10 cities for African Americans to live, work, and play by Black Enterprise magazine. Additional information about the Columbus area is available at http://www.columbus.org.

Application Instructions:

Apply to: https://osuart.slideroom.com/ A complete application includes a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a statement of research and teaching interests, a digital portfolio of creative works, research projects, student learning outcomes and examples of course syllabi. Please also submit the names and complete contact information for three referees. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. However, those received by November 30, 2015, will receive priority consideration. Inquiries may be directed to Kara Campbell (campbell.1644@osu.edu).

The Ohio State University is committed to establishing a culturally and intellectually diverse environment, encouraging all members of our learning community to reach their full potential. We are responsive to dual-career families and strongly promote work-life balance to support our community members through a suite of institutionalized policies. We are an NSF Advance Institution and a member of the Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC).

The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.