By Pat Lopes Harris, Media Relations Director

When Applied Materials set out to create a holiday e-card featuring products reflecting its core business, the Silicon Valley giant turned to San Jose State’s Animation/Illustration Shrunkenheadman Club.

“A team of young, impressive, and highly creative students … did an outstanding job of creating a family (literally) of semiconductor and LCD enabling products and made them come to life in a fun and whimsical way! Check it out!” Applied Materials wrote in a Facebook post.

“The students worked closely with Applied Materials’ corporate public relations staff from late-October thru the first week of December, doing so under very tight deadlines in addition to the rigorous demands of class assignments and other film projects,” Professor Courtney Granner said.

“Some of the composited frames took approximately 20 minutes to render, and at 59 seconds running time it means the piece contains over 1, 300 frames. The SJSU A/I Program continues to make inroads with film, gaming, and television studios while also working with local hi-tech firms represented around the globe.”

This award-winning program prepares students for intellectually and aesthetically challenging careers in print, feature and television animation, FX animation, layout, and multi-media. Recent grads work at DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation and PIXAR. Founded in 1995, the Shrunkenheadman Club was named after a member’s sketch of a man with a comically small head.

“This name proved to be very appropriate in terms of describing the nature of its members. While extremely talented and competitive, the Shrunkenheadmen always remain humble … never displaying big egos, or ‘swelled heads,’” says the club’s website.