Discover the story of Gerard Sternik and Vince Peets, the founders of Animation Portfolio Workshop (APW), and learn how their 45+ year partnership transformed animation education.
The Directors Cut Signature Series Program
Who Are the Founders and Directors of APW?
APW Founders and Directors Gerard Sternik and Vince Peets go back a long way.
Having met in their high school history class in 1976, they struck up a friendship that was deepened through their shared passion for music. They performed together in rock bands throughout their high school years, Vince playing guitar and Gerard sitting in on the drum kit. Little did they know that their early friendship would blossom into an active working relationship in the fields of music, visual art, animation and education that would span more than 45 years.
After high school, Vince pursued a course of study in 2-D animation in the Sheridan College Classical Animation Program, and Gerard went on to study at the University of Toronto and then to obtain his Associateship with the Ontario College of Art in 1988.
In the early 90’s, Vince spent time developing his drawing and artistic anatomy skills alongside Gerard at the University of Toronto’s Department of Gross Anatomy. The two were then hired by the Classical Animation program at Sheridan College to teach first year 2-D animation students classes in life drawing and physical anatomy (Gerard) as well as in character design, storyboarding, film structure and visual language (Vince).
Having worked through the nineties in the Sheridan Animation Program, the two decided to strike out on their own, and created the Animation Portfolio Workshop (APW) in 1999. APW is in its 27th year of operation as of the time of this writing.
What is APW and how did it get started?
Gerard and Vince found a common theme expressed by many of their first year Sheridan animation students. Students voiced frustration at having spent an inordinate amount of time just trying to get into the program, some even having spent more time trying to land a seat in the program than the total number of years that it took to complete the program itself.
Gerard and Vince realized that there was nowhere near enough dependable information or adequate training available for prospective applicants trying to submit application ready portfolios that would get them into Sheridan animation. It was primarily this realization that prompted the two Sheridan instructors to develop the Animation Portfolio Workshop curriculum, and then eventually leave Sheridan Animation altogether to devote themselves entirely to the development and implementation of the APW program.
Gerard Sternik and Vince Peets founded the Animation Portfolio Workshop (APW) in 1999 after teaching animation and visual arts at Sheridan College.
The founders noticed a lack of dependable training and guidance for students applying to animation programs, which led them to develop APW.
Gerard and Vince have collaborated in visual arts, music, and animation education for over 45 years.
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