With just over seven weeks before the Houdini Apprentice Challenge 2003 winds up at SIGGRAPH in San Diego on July 27th, Side Effects Software has announced a judges panel that includes some of the top CGI practitioners in the business. Among others on the panel: David Allen, Senior Effects Developer/Lead Animator, PDI/Dreamworks, Sean Lewkiw, Senior Technical Director, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Kevin Mack, Visual Effects Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks, John Mariella, co-founder & VP, C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures and our own Rita Street, publisher/editorial director of Animation Magazine.
The Houdini Apprentice Challenge is an art and animation contest based around Side Effect’s Houdini Apprentice Edition. Co-sponsored by Hewlett Packard and ATI Technologies, the contest aims to uncover new animation talent for leading studios that use Houdini solutions in their visual f/x pipelines. Through June 16, 2003, 3D artists worldwide are invited to create work in any of three categories: Models, Character Animation and Effects.
Prizes including an HP XW4000 workstation, ATI Fire GL X1 cards and Houdini commercial licenses. Top entries will also be promoted throughout the industry and shared with top f/x industry employers. The awards will be announced at the Houdini Annual Meeting during SIGGRAPH on July 27th, 2003, in San Diego, CA. (For more info or to register visit www.sidefx.com.
Win a Funko X Lilo & Stitch Prize Pack! 
