Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Bridgerton all have one thing in common: an extraordinary spirit.
The North Hollywood-based nonprofit training academy works to introduce young people on the autism spectrum to digital art.
When it was founded more than 15 years ago, its core mission was to create an avenue for young people from all walks of life to explore the creative arts. Since then, the organization has worked harder than ever to achieve this, with many graduates finding competitive jobs in their fields of interest after graduation.
In recent years, Exceptional Minds students and alumni have joined Disney TV Animation, CBS Sports, Mattel, DreamWorks Animation, and NBC Universal. Other graduates have gone on to full-time jobs at Marvel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon studios.
But Hollywood has changed, and so have exceptional minds.
“We all know what’s going on in the entertainment industry and we need to pivot, right?” said Laurent de Villiers, the organization’s CEO who joined last July.
This pivot means expanding into other areas beyond visual effects and animation. Later this year, Exceptional Minds will offer a gaming arts program. The game’s enhancements align with what the organization teaches in animation, story development, art style, audio, and motion design. As part of the program, students develop an understanding of game creation and work across multiple formats including 2D illustration, pixel art, vector art, and 3D. This curriculum also introduces core game and narrative design concepts, along with hands-on experience in game prototyping. “Game Arts was a very natural fit. It’s not just artists who are already doing Game Arts at the Academy, this generation is big gamers,” says De Villiers.
Aside from the fact that the students are gamers and love the field, De Villiers sees an even bigger opportunity. “We have major studios in the L.A. area, major studios in Canada and around the world. We thought it was a great opportunity to be part of a multi-billion dollar industry.”
De Villiers is excited about the possibilities. “Their job opportunities have expanded as well. It’s been very difficult for animators and VFX artists to find jobs. A lot of them are being taken out of state.” “The core of our mission is to be physically present and bring artists and graduates into the workforce. We’re really looking for adjacent markets for them to come in and practice their art and become artists.”
Elsewhere, we have internship programs focused on marketing in the medical field. “We are actively trying to expand into areas other than entertainment,” says De Villiers.
Netflix’s “Bridgerton” is one of the recent projects that Exceptional Minds students have worked on.
Participant Lily Ureskas, who spends much of her time selling art, was asked to work on a Netflix series. “It’s great to have my work featured on a show that is so well known, liked and discussed. I also watch ‘Bridgerton,'” Illescas added, “It gives me a whole new platform to show my art.”
Illescas said, “I’m part of a popular show with beautiful visuals, and it was my first project to be released. I’m also very proud to be contributing to Shonda Rhimes’ show. Her show stands for inclusivity, and ‘Bridgerton’ includes people with disabilities, which I really value.”
Exceptional Minds student Lily Yllescas’ work was featured in “Bridgerton.”
david powers
