Five Cañada Grads Start Design Group

Five Cañada College Multimedia Art & Technology graduates have started a new design group called The Think Tanks and hope to improve their portfolios while helping to meet the artistic needs of the Peninsula and South Bay community.

“We all missed working on projects together after we left Cañada,” said Amanda Newlove. “It’s rough finding jobs in this economy so we decided to make our own work. The goal is to get some real world experience while improving our portfolios and resumes with some up-to-date projects.”

The creative talents behind the project include:

Alan Wong – Wong has a degree in fine art from Academy of Art College and specializes in many aspects of fine art but is most passionate about character animation. His ultimate career goal is to work for an animation studio or gaming company.

Amanda Newlove – Newlove earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from UC Davis and returned to school to earn a degree in 3D Animation and Video Game Art at Cañada. She is interested in project management for creative teams.

Mike Smith – An Eagle Scout from Belmont, and graduate from UC Davis with a BA in Rhetoric and Communication and a minor in Dramatic and Fine Arts. He has been a Realtor for the past 11 years and is currently taking multimedia courses at Cañada to earn a degree in 3D Animation and Video Game Art. His career goal is to make movies, TV shows, video games, or digital graphic novels.

Spencer Hollingsworth – Hollingsworth has three art degrees from Cañada: Studio, General, and Multimedia. He has always enjoyed drawing, especially comics, and has a great sense of graphic design and visual storytelling.

Steven Johnson – Johnson has an extensive background in the video game industry. He is currently creating the artwork and animation for an independent mobile game to be released later this year.

Paul Naas, the Multimedia Program Director at Cañada College, said the students have a good opportunity to succeed in their new venture. “They are all extremely talented and driven,” he said. “I have no doubt they’ll produce great work for clients.”

Newlove said The Think Tanks is not a full-time job for any of the team members at this point. “We all have crazy, busy lives but we are making time to work on some awesome projects.”

She said the team’s strengths include illustration and animation and that will be the initial focus for the new group. “Our clients can expect great customer service and professional results,” she said. “We’ve just started the group but we already have a website and we are currently working on the artwork for a zombie-themed board game. It’s very exciting.”

Anybody interested in contacting The Think Tanks can reach them through their website at thinktanksart.com or contact Project Manager Amanda Newlove at amandanewlove@gmail.com.