Dohrenwend_FinalMag_2025

Fall 2024

LOCAL BUSINESSES

Child’s Play Toys

A toy store that helps parents decide what their kids need.

ANIMATION & PRESENTATIONS

A Day with Judd Albrect

Judd Albrecht talks about his experience at PresenterMedia.

Table of Contents 4 Editor’s Letter

6 A Day with Judd Albrect Judd Albrecht talks about his experience at PresenterMedia.

12 Product Spread Play Toys 14 Child’s A toy store that helps parents decide what their kids need.

2 Table of Contents

REVEAL your HERO!

A Note from the

I

A UtHoR

n today’s world, many companies are trying way too hard to jump on the bandwagon of whatever current trend is going on in the world over trying to stand out.

The way I see it, if you want to grab the attention of your target audience, you need to be creative and put passion into what you’re doing to have a presence and stand out among the competition.

You have to see what the competition is doing in order to come up with something different, not identical. Not to mention, doing something you enjoy will work out a lot better in the long run.

NEW comic book every Wednesday!

Stop in to our store and pick up some great comics, trading cards, board games & gifts. If your kids need reading minutes or something engaging to entertain them besides their iPad, TV or iPhone we would be glad to help and make some recommendations for your situation.

Be sure to ask about our subscription system which guarantees you the comics you want to read.

Come on in & check us out!

3310 S Minnesota Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57105 (605) 338-9519 rainbowcomicsandcards.com rainbowcardsandcomics@gmail.com

The articles in this magazine cover two interviews I did with two different people in different bussinesses to get their point of view of what it is like in their respective industries.

They talk about why they joined or created ther respective businesses as well as how they got themselves there. I’ve learned a lot of things from them since they have a lot of experience in the field.

This magazine was also made to expand my skills in designing to expand on what I can do for my community and for my future. I talk from experience when I say that it’s not easy, but life never was, and I had fun in what I’ve already accomplished.

Remember to follow what you love to do if you want to have a presence on others.

-Skyler Dohrenwend, Author

SCIENCE FICTION ICONS The Evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Dr. Eggman) & his flying Eggmobile swinging its wrecking ball from Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Bought from Walmart

A couple of sonic screwdrivers from Doctor Who 1963-1989, 1993, 1996, 2005-Present) Bought from Amazon

A Brain won as a prize at Siouxpercon

4 Product Spread

The Constitution-Class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969) Bought from Walmart

A Slug from Flushed Away Made from clay at home

The Daleks in their Mark III Travel Machines from Doctor Who(1963-1989, 1993, 1996, 2005-Present), left to right: Flamethrower drone, drone leader, standard drone Bought from Amazon

5 Product Spread

6 A Day with Judd Albrect

A Day with Judd Albrect

I

SKYLER DOHRENWEND

went to a small local business in the southwest side of Sioux Falls called PresenterMedia. This is a business that focuses on making great presentations that shine and stand out in their words: A world of boring presentations.

One of the things they do that I find the most engaging is that they also do animations for their presentations which of course would make the presentations even more interesting.

7 A Day with Judd Albrect

About the Author Skyler Dohrenwend is a student at Southeast Technical College for both an Associate’s Media Design Degree and an Associate’s Digital Media Production Technology Degree.

He has 2.5 years of experience in both programs for making good publications and both 2D & 3D animations. Skyler enjoys animation because he grew up with a lot of animated movies and shows. He also enjoys drawing and painting as a hobby since he really love art, because he dreams of being both a story teller and an animator one day.

P

resenterMedia was within town, so I was able to go to Mr Albrect’s office to interview with one of the employees who work there to get some questions about his job, experience, and what he enjoys to do when he’s working on his projects.

I chose PresenterMedia for my Media Writting assignment because I have some experience and a passion for animation, so I couldn’t just let the opportunity slip.

I interviewed a man who worked there that went by the name of Judd Albrect, an animator at PresenterMedia. Mr. Albrect was in the business for 12 years, and has plenty of experience in the presentation and animation fields of the industry.

He provided me with a lot of great answers which in turn, tells me a lot about who he is, the industry he works for, who can work for said industry like a earning a specific degree to get the job, and the process of how he does his work.

This article contains questions and answers of the interview that I wrote down during my time with Mr. Albrect. What we duscussed inspired me to keep going with my passion of becoming an

animator myself one day for my career.

I describe Judd Albrect as an employee of any industry that we should all try to be like in order for our own future carrers to be both successfull and enjoyable.

When I talked to Mr. Albrect, I asked him fourteen questions for him to answer. These all relate to his position and career in the field that he works in. This was to get a better insight about the things he does and what I can learn from him when I start my career in the media field.

The interview was only for an hour or two, we even chatted about common interest and other things. I recorded our conversation as well for me to write it down later. I payed very close attention to what he had to say, since it was important to know these kind of things from a professional in the industry.

I overall had a great time talking to him, and I hope I could get the chance to talk to him again. It was also great to learn about not just what it takes to be an experienced animator, but to be a part of any industry in general.

“...it was important to know these kind of things from a professional in the industry.”

-Skyler Dohrenwend

8 A Day with Judd Albrect

Interview Questions with Judd Albrect: Question: How long have you been in the animation industry for?

Answer from Judd Albrect: I’ve been in this for about 12 years at PresenterMedia, as well as 1 year beforehand during my time at a previous location at Florida.

Q: What are some techniques do you suggest that people should use whenever they are making their animations?

A: Suppose it depends on the style of animation you want to create. If you’re doing 2D animation, Adobe Photoshop is an essential tool to get your images ready for After Effects, and After Effects itself has pretty good tools, and Adobe Animate has some good stuff in it. If you want to do 3D animation, I would suggest Maya, Lightwave 3D, and Blender 3D, the last one which is a free option for everybody to use.

Q: What level of education do you need for a position like yours?

A: I have an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science, and then I specialize in 3D animation.

But you can go to school and get a graphics design degree, or multimedia degree, it depends on what you want to do: Either a Bachelor’s degree or an Associate’s degree will work.

Q: What is your experience with creating special effects?

A: I haven’t done a whole lot of special effects, but I have worked in Adobe After Effects when I’m making some animated commercials for some clients if they request it.

Q: What is your favorite responsibility to do as an animator?

A: It’s fun to make things move where they come to life, kind of like when you’re breathing life into a wooden puppet with strings on a stage to perform an act.

Q: What other skills, besides those in animation, help you during your shifts?

A: I have to do a little bit of customer service, so having good communications skills is really essential. Problem-solving is a also huge one.

Communication skills, Problem-solving skills, and self-motivation are all key skills that you would need during your shift.

Q: What is your favorite movie and how would you improve its animation if you could do it?

A: My favorite movie that got me into animation is Jurassic Park. I’m not sure what bits of animation I would improve on it since it is already perfect in every way.

Q: Please walk me through the process of how to create a storyboard for things like commercials, TV shows, & movies.

A: Find key poses inside the animation to build motion like a run cycle. Put said poses on a sheet in order to keep track of what order the scenes in the animation are suppose to go.

Q: How do you keep up with some of the latest popular trends in the industry?

A: I’ve gone to some PowerPoint conferences to discuss them with other people in my group to get some better insight into what’s currently trending in the world.

Q: What are your favorite software programs to use when making some animations?

A: Some software programs including stuff like Lightwave3D, Blender, Maya, and Adobe software like After Effects are all good options to choose from. Lightwave3D and After Effects would be the two main ones.

Q: Tell me about a project that you are most proud of making.

A: There was a video I did where a character

9 A Day with Judd Albrect

walked in, examined a heavy object on the ground, and struggled to lift it at first, but he then pulled out a can of power juice which powers him to lift the heavy object.

Q: What are some of your favorite animation methods that you implement into all of your animated projects?

A: I try to hit on every animation principle so that it looks natural so that it doesn’t look either robotic or forced.

A brief pause to talk about The 12 Principles of Animation: 1. Squash & Stretch - This adds some flexibility and personality by exaggerating the shape of the moving subject to show character.

2. Follow Through & Overlapping Action Some action that happens during and follows the main action, like hair flowing on a moving horse.

3. Secondary Action - Action that happens after the main action like a coat flowing after a person stops moving.

4. Exaggeration - Makes things like more weird or taller or crazier than what they really are.

5. Arcs - Everything that swings moves in an arc like a pendulum, not in a straight path.

6. Straight Ahead & Pose-to-Pose - Animate frame by frame or stat wit the first middle & final poses, and work your way in between.

7. Solid Drawing - Makes two-dimensional imagery work in three-dimensional spaces.

8. Anticipation - This prepares the audience for an upcoming action like an animal that’s about to pounce by crouching and being sneaky.

9. Timing - Puts speed & rhythm into some action in a scene.

10. Staging - This presents the idea or character in understandable ways.

11. Ease-In & Ease-Out - Makes beginning and ending frames end more smoothly so they don’t look so abrupt.

12. Appeal - Gives it a unique spin to make the animation distinct from other animations.

Q: What do you believe is the most important step in creating efficient storyboards?

A: Have a good sense of timing of when certain

10 A Day with Judd Albrect

poses will happen in the timeline so that you can remember to know where the frames are in a timeline.

Q: What do you believe is the singular most important tool in making an animation?

A: When it comes to making animations, no matter what tool or rules you apply: YOU are the key tool in making animations.

“YOU are the key tool in making animations.”

-Judd Albrect

This interview was a great experience for me in both my education and my future career. I got to learn about different kinds of 3D software besides Maya as well as his achievements and history.

I implemented what I learned from him into both my animation and design projects so I can improve myself overtime so I can get better. I now also have a contact at PresenterMedia if I wanted to have a job there.

This shows how anyone can benefit from talking to others with experience so they know what they need to have when applying for a job, what to do to improve their work, or even expand if the whole animation stuff is just a hobby. I know it helped me with some of the things I needed to work on.

What Mr. Albrect means when he says: “YOU are the key tool for making animations”, he means that it’s always up to you whenever it comes down to things like designing characters so you can decide whether they should be cartoony & stylized or as realistic as possible, making concept art and storyboards, and even making sure that each of the movements in the animations you make work with the style you chose and making sure it flows naturally with each key-frame.

This can also be applied to any job, you are the key to making sure that your work is done right whether it’s something as simple as cleaning floors and dishes to something as complex as building the newest space rocket or coming up with new medications for medical treatments.

That’s why when we do our jobs, we can and should use our own skills to progress ourselves in our careers and lives. We should also go with what we are passionate about in order for us to surpass in our skills to do what we love to do.

It was really nice to be able to talk with someone who knows a lot about what to expect when you want to become a part of the animation industry, especially when the place you want to work at is close to where you live. This experience can go a long way to help you out in the future when you become a part of any industry.

This for me was also a great experience of being social when meeting people for the first time. It allowed me to be more social and see more that I didn’t know about in the city I live at. I hope to do some more social things like clubs and events or even other trips to get to know other businesses that might have openings with my interests.

This can allow for anyone to earn not just new friends, but also investors, contacts, partnerships, and references that can benefit everyone involved.

This can also open your worldview and build your confidence to get involved more often with things you want to partake in.

I want to do more of these career and social improving chances like this interview in the future to help me earn more experience when I start my career and see events I want to partake in. I also hope others will learn from this as well when they’re planning on doing the same thing when they get the chance to do it too, since we can all learn something from this: We ourselves are our own responsibility to use our own skills in order to succeed in our careers and education. We can make fantastic art when we put in all of our effort into it, like many people before us. We can even inspire the next generation to do the same, maybe even more. So we must make sure we let these chances count.

Judd Albrect’s Office at PresenterMedia

PresenterMedia building in Sioux Falls 11 A Day with Judd Albrect

Child’s Play Toys

Interview Questions with Mrs. Savage

T

his article is about an interview I did for Mrs. Savage, the manager and founder of Child’s Play Toys, a small local toy business.

I asked her some questions about a few topics related to her job and career like how she was motivated to make her company in the first place, what does she do for her business that benefits everyone, and even things like how her daily work life goes on a regular basis.

This was mainly to get some insight into how small local businesses work and what they would do for someone who would want to be in a small business. I reason why I chose Child’s Play Toys to have this interview was because of my very own interest in both children toys, as well as my own child-like imagination. After all, just because we will all become adults someday, doesn’t really mean that we should no longer like some of our favorite childhood possessions and interests.

Unlike big industries like Walmart, Walt Disney or McDonald’s, small businesses like Child’s Play Toys are usually only one to three small shops within their local towns and cities that are started by a family and would most likely remain small so they keep their main goal and focus on track.

So whenever you walk in the store, you would more often than not normally always see the same friendly faces whenever you would shop there.

Child’s Play Toys has been open for quite a few years now, and is still going strong. They have quite the great selection of thing to offer for your kids like stuffed animals, learning sets, and even sweet candy, especially around the holidays like Easter and Christmas time. I myself saw a couple of things that I like while I was there, including their collection of Lego sets.

Since I was talking to the founder of this toy store herself, this resulted in some the answers that she provided for me to be a little bit more personal to her than what you usually hear from a

12 Child’s Play Toys

current supervisor of a single store of a company that has been around for so long, like a very big supermarket company, so her responses that she gives talk about why she chose to open a toy store and what gave her the idea to do so.

Her responses also has passion and genuine love and care for what she does for her job which shows that she really enjoys what she has done for so many years up to this point, and likewise what she will continue to do for many years to come, which is what I say is lacking in a bunch of big companies we see today.

I can describe Mrs. Savage as someone who takes something she has seen from her time as a mother and puts a lot of love and effort for her business, and enjoys her time doing what she loves to do at her job. She makes sure her working environment is fun for everyone to enjoy when the com to her store, even her employees.

These are the questions that I asked her when I went to meet her at her store on Phillips Ave.: Question from me: Tell me about a typical day at work. How does it start?

Answer from Mrs. Savage: So normally my day starts when I walk in the door and look around the store, I would normally take a walk around the store and see what the whole place looks like at the moment before we open up shop.

Q; Where did this all start?

A: I started the store 14 years ago and I have been working in corporate retail for many many years before working for lots of other different companies doing lots of big things for these big companies, then I had my daughter and stayed home for work for a few years, and would travel to some of these toy stores, and I just decided to move back to Sioux Falls and start the toy store.

Q:What do you expect from this job as a toy store salesperson?

A: I want my stores to be a place where people can come and enjoy and spend time together as loving families and play with fun things and when they need something they really like, I hope they decide to buy it from me.

Q: What do you like to do in your working time at your store? Discuss what your some of your passions are as a Toy Salesperson.

A: My passions that I have are running the toy store, and I probably work too much because I really enjoy doing my work so much.

Q: Tell me little bit about yourself. What level of education do you have?

A: So I grew up in Sioux Falls, I graduated from Lincoln High School, and I went to the University of Sioux Falls, which is where I met my husband.

We moved all around the country and have lived in all sorts of different places.

Q: What do you consider to be your best achievement so far & why?

A: I would say bringing the Toy Store to Sioux Falls because of how it improved my family’s life and how much I enjoy running it.

Q: If you ever felt like you were hitting the proverbial “wall” & getting burned out, what would you do to re-energize yourself?

A: Vacations & time-offs are important, so we reduce our working days to 4 days a week in the summer to keep our energy.

Q: Do you consider yourself a team player when you work with others?

A: Oh, I absolutely do. I always have been a team player for a very long time.

Q: Tell me about a time at one point when you had successfully handled a situation.

A: During Covid, we have pivoted, so we closed for 6 weeks & we had to use the website but it wasn’t current, so we made our new gift Easter baskets for children in neighborhoods.

Q: How well do you multi-task?

A: I do a pretty good job at multi-tasking things whenever we are getting constant phone calls at the register all day.

Q: What are some qualities that you believe are essential to have as a manager?

A: The biggest quality as a manager is to listen to others to know them better, and to make sure that you can multi-task so you wouldn’t have to worry about burning yourself out.

This was a great experience for me to see how much loving care and true passion given in even a small business can go a long way to make a very successful company both immediately and even in the long run. I enjoyed my time interviewing and talking to Mrs. Savage and getting to know her better, considering that I like to meet new people.

I also really liked the store with how it has so much fun stuff to offer in a small building, which even has a downstairs library full of fun books for kids to read and learn with their families. I hope that I can someday take my own kids to this store to have a great time as a family and make many new memories with them.

Birthday Baskets!

It’s like a gift registry. Have your child “shop” and fill the basket. We’ll keep it on our birthday shelf.

Family and friends can shop from basket. We’ll also do Baby Shower Baskets!

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S Louise Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57107 www.cherryberryyogurtbar.com (605) 274-6226

REVEAL your HERO!

NEW comic book every Wednesday!

Stop in to our store and pick up some great comics, trading cards, board games & gifts. If your kids need reading minutes or something engaging to entertain them besides their iPad, TV or iPhone we would be glad to help and make some recommendations for your situation. Be sure to ask about our subscription system which guarantees you the comics you want to read.

Come on in & check us out!

3310 S Minnesota Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57105 (605) 338-9519 rainbowcomicsandcards.com rainbowcardsandcomics@gmail.com

99¢ for Coffee, Frazel, & any Fountain Drink with any purchase, as well as many other weekly deals! Stop on by at the Hub!

2000 N Career Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57107 (605) 367-4899

2 LARGE PIZZAS FOR ONLY $25!

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2717 W 41st. St. Sioux Falls, SD 57105 (605) 271-8646 pizzaranch.com