This year’s Student Commercial Workshop brought the HEAT. With Duracell and Tabasco as the brand pitch, students came together across disciplines, schools, and time zones to make two incredible commercials that we’re so proud of.

At MAKE, we care deeply about creating the kind of opportunities we wish we had when we were starting out. This workshop isn’t just a resume builder or a one-off class project—it’s a space for real growth, for students to experience what commercial production actually looks like and walk away with skills they’ll carry for years to come.

From day one, the goal was clear: give students something real. Not just another class assignment, but a full, fast-paced, collaborative project that mirrors how things work in the industry. A lot of students don’t realize commercial animation is even a career path—that there’s this whole world where creativity meets storytelling under real-world constraints. And this workshop is our way of opening that door.

As Jerilyn Tennison, 3D Artist on the Duracell Team, put it:
"This project had a lot of exciting information on how the pipeline is managed in the industry. From more cultural things like clients having notes until the last day or moving deadlines, to more technical things like which render layer to put a character's shadow on or how much grain to introduce back into a comp."

This was about learning by doing. Teams pitched ideas, got approvals, directed voice talent, handled post-production—all the way through to final delivery. As Strategy Director, Iana Prakheeva says:
"From handling the brief to final delivery export settings, the teams act just like our studio does. We even hired professional voice-over actors to feature in these commercials and tasked students with directing them!"

We know firsthand that most students imagine working at Pixar or animating for film or TV. But the reality is, commercial work is often where many animators get their start—and where some of the most exciting creative work happens. It’s fast, collaborative, and constantly shifting.

2D Artist Erica Chernne from the Tabasco Team shared:
"I would definitely recommend this to students! It's like diving headfirst into a commercial animation production at MAKE. Plus, the workload's manageable alongside classes, and you get to meet cool folks from all over the place!"

And that collaborative part? That’s what makes this workshop so special. Most student projects are solo, but here, they had to create within strict timelines, meet client goals, and work as a real creative team. Liliana Cantillo, also from the Tabasco Team, summed it up:
"Most of my school projects have been self-directed, so this taught me a lot about handling specific project constraints, like ensuring the ad is cohesive and understandable within as short a time span as 15 seconds, or meeting the client's style preferences."

From the mentorship, to the challenges, to the pride in seeing a final product come together—this workshop was full of moments that stuck with all of us. Creative Director Danny Robashkin shared:
"Running the commercial workshop was truly a highlight for me this year. I love working with students, and seeing them grow as artists and teammates, and this year was the best so far!!"

And the magic of that moment—seeing the work come to life—hit hard. Fabian Sanchez, 3D Artist on the Duracell Team, said:
"The moment I first saw a lit and composited render of one of our shots, I was in awe and filled with excitement, and knew we were making something special."

If there’s one thing we hope students take away from this—it’s to stay open. Animation careers aren’t linear. They’re built one project, one lesson, one surprise opportunity at a time. So try it all. Test it out. Add another piece to that reel.

And stay tuned—applications for our 2024 Student Commercial Workshop open soon. 🙂

This year’s teams blew us away—not just with the work, but with the passion, the growth, and the energy they brought to every step of the process. We’re proud of all of you. Cheers, Team Tabasco and Team Duracell. You crushed it.