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 Work
of Pennsylvania College of Art & Design Grad on Television By: Contributing Writer, Denise Bell Pieces of gum jump up to whiten the teeth of a young woman in a photo frame. You know the commercial. It's clever. It's fun. And, it was animated by a Pennsylvania College of Art & Design graduate. Maurice Caicedo, who graduated from the college's illustration program in 1998, has certainly made the most of his education. He has been able to utilize the skills he honed at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design to work for some of the country's largest companies, such as Trident, Band Aids, Neutrogena, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nascar, Rolaids, Alcon, The Disney Channel, Home Depot, Champion Mortgage, Lysol and others.  Caicedo,
who spent his early years in Columbia, South America and Houston, Texas,
before relocating to Chatham, New Jersey, was exposed to art at a young
age. He reports that his father, who is currently an Art Director for Ogilvy
and Mather Advertising, is "an amazing traditional artist" and always encouraged
him to utilize his natural artistic talents. This encouragement led to Maurice's
decision that he too wanted a career in the arts. After seeing the movie
Jurassic Park, Caicedo realized the focus of his career would be three-dimensional
work.  As
Caicedo began to research and gather opinions from his father's colleagues
on the education needed for such a career, he found that fine art skills
are essential for an illustrator. This led him to Pennsylvania College of
Art & Design. Ultimately, Caicedo felt that the college was the best choice
for him because it offers more one-on-one attention than larger art colleges
and provides a great curriculum, centered around traditional art, without
a huge price-tag. He says about his experience at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design: "I had some really good times, not only drawing and creating but also with some really great people that I met. It was nice to be able to sit in a classroom with friends and critique one another's work." Caicedo stated that his education at the college allowed him to "become accustomed to deadlines and schedules." The "real world projects" and the thesis project within the illustration curriculum were the most beneficial experiences for him. He also found that the advice given to him at the beginning of his college search rang true -- figure drawing classes were a definite asset. Caicedo feels that the use of technical tools can be taught relatively easily but creativity demands more of a person. He says "Most of the best animation houses recruit traditional artists and animators and teach them how to use the software". Caicedo made quite an impression on his instructors at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. Robert Hochgertel, Chair of the Communication Arts Department and Creative Director of the former Kingfish Studios, remembers him as a student who excelled in animation and didn't choose the easy route with assignments. According to Hochgertel, the illustration curriculum does not require an internship, but Maurice chose to find one. Caicedo was a class leader whom everyone liked. "He was never afraid of taking direction or asking for help" says Hochgertel. His ability to effectively communicate through illustration and knack for coming up with cutting edge ideas are what led to Caicedo placing in nearly every contest he entered his work in. Hochgertel stated, "I've been teaching for nearly fourteen years and he is a student who has stood out to me because he offers more than talent; he has the personality to succeed." Caicedo credits hard work and internships for his success now. After graduation he returned to New Jersey. His career began with an internship with Blue Sky Studios (producers of the feature film Ice Age) where he was able to work on commercials being produced at the time. This led to another internship with a company called Splash, located in Manhattan, where he continued to impress people with his training. After working for SynaPix for two years, Caicedo now sustains himself strictly on freelance work. He has accumulated a number of clients from his connections from internships and other networking avenues. The work he does is exciting and Caicedo says that freelancing has enabled him to branch out with his artistic abilities. "If I was working for a company I would be doing very specific things...working freelance has allowed me to do everything from drawing to modeling to animating to lighting and even compositing the final images." One of his most recent projects is the Backstreet Boys' video "Show Me The Meaning," in which his assignment was to construct a photo-real desert in 3-D. He continues to work on the Trident commercials which have given him the opportunity to be heavily involved in production as well as cinematic and creative aspects of the process. Caicedo just completed another Trident commercial with two other artists. In this spot the audience will see the pieces of gum performing what Caicedo calls "an Indiana Jones type action sequence." Caicedo's task for the spot was to make the gum come to life. He is now working with J. Walter Thompson, designing characters as well as modeling and animating them. He says "This is exciting because usually the agency comes to me with the storyboards and character designs and my task is to bring it to life, but here I'm actually involved in the creative process which is a rarity in my industry." Maurice Caicedo is a wonderful example of what hard work and a Pennsylvania College of Art & Design education can provide. He says that he is constantly trying to expand his artistic abilities but would not have been able to accomplish what he has without his experience at the college. Back to top |
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