Kevin Richards' "Vital Tip" For Animation Grads

Kevin Richards teaching an animation class

Kevin Richards recently worked as Lead Animator at Love Love Films on the Aardman Animation TV show "Pop Paper City" - and was part of the hiring process for recruiting talent onto the project. 

In this guest blog post, Kevin offers our animation graduates his "vital tip" for landing that crucial first job in animation. 

So what is the single most important thing our graduates can do to get hired? Below is the one crucial thing you can do, to place yourself ahead of most of the other applicants for the job. 

How To Do Screen Credits Right

Screen Credits are important to get right. Leave people out, spell their names wrong - there are all kinds of ways to annoy your fellow film-makers. 

Most important of all - be sure to credit for all the key roles on your film.  In general, credit for the key heads of department will go to one person only.  For short films, there should be only be one producer and one director. Usually (but not always) one writer. 

If you need to credit someone else, give them a title such Associate Producer or Assistant Director. Extra writers can be credited under "Additional Story".

Make sure you credit (at least) the following roles; Director, Producer, Writer, Editor, Art Director, VFX Supervisor, Animation Director (or Head of Animation), CG Supervisor.  

Animating Birds

Above is a selection of the best animation of birds in motion completed by students at Animation Apprentice. As well as character animation, our students learn the art and craft of animal and creature locomotion, including how to animate quadrupeds, as well as a number of other creatures - including birds.  Being able to master the art of a variety of animals and creatures in motion is an important part of the animator's tool kit.  "Song: Southbound". Music by: CreatorMix.com. Edit by Miguel Teixeira.

Developing "The Zoo" for Warner Bros in the 1990s

Development drawings for "The Zoo"

Back in the late 1990s I had the privilege of doing some early development work for a Warner Bros Feature Animation feature film provisionally titled "The Zoo".  

The Zoo never made it to production, but the experience was a fascinating dive into the creative process of a major studio - and also
a lesson in the unpredictable nature of the industry.

"Power Up" Science Museum History of Video Games

The Science Museum's "Power Up" exhibition currently on display in South Kensington is a must-visit for anyone interested in the evolution of video games. 

 It's a great chance to see where the games industry has come from - and where it is going. This matters for animators - because many of our graduates go on to work in the games industry. 

Spring Class Starts on 3 March 2025

Spidey animation by Anand Sembhi

Our Spring Animation Class begins on Monday 3rd March 2025.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do is visit the main Animation Apprentice site and go through a few simple steps.

If you want to learn 3D animation to a professional level, and start your new career as an animator - your journey starts here.

Animation Apprentice Demo Reel 2025

Above is our 2025 student demo reel, a selection of the best work done at Animation Apprentice over the last year - many congratulations to all of our students on their excellent work.  Students whose animation is featured include Anand Sembhi, Francis Lowe, Mark Lawson-Hall, Jack Ruedisueli and Mike Acosta. 

Happy New Year 2025

Happy 2025

Animation Apprentice wishes a very Happy New Year to all our students, staff and graduates.  2025 will bring new challenges and also new opportunities - the animation and VFX industries continues to thrive, with the UK Government backing the industry with extensive tax credits. 

This year, at the top of our list of New Year's Resolutions, is to experiment with Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as  OpenAI and MidJourney.  AI is changing the face of the animation industry in a way that challenges everything we do, but also offering new opportunities for those who embrace change. 

New Year Class Starts on 7 January 2025

Our New Year Animation Class begins on Monday 7th January 2025.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do is visit the main Animation Apprentice site and go through a few simple steps.

If you want to learn 3D animation to a professional level, and start your new career as an animator - your journey starts here.

Merry Christmas from Animation Apprentice

"God Bless Us Every One"

A Very Merry Christmas from all of us at Animation Apprentice - and God Bless Us Every One.  Many years ago, aged four,  I was the voice of Tiny Tim in my Dad's1972 animated version of A Christmas Carol, a TV Special produced by animation legend Chuck Jones. 

A Christmas Carol is just twenty minutes long - you can watch it in HD below.  The film was completed at Dad's London studio at 13 Soho Square - a Grade II* listed building which still stands today.  It's even painted the same dark green colour, and looks just the same as it always did - minus the letters "Richard Williams Animation" above the door.

Why Animators Need to Apply Widely

Landing that first job in the animation industry isn't easy.  But what many graduates forget is just how many opportunities are out there. 

Alongside the world-beating UK animation companies like Aardman Animation, Blue Zoo, Framestore and DNEG are hundreds of small companies that are much less well known. 

There are almost 500 animation companies in the UK with at least one employee (ie not just a one-man-band) and this creates a huge opportunity for an animator with the patience to look beyond the famous names.

Why Animators Should Keep a Sketchbook

Alex Williams sketchbook 1989

Here at Animation Apprentice we recommend that all our students keep a sketchbook.  

For animators, keeping a sketchbook is more than just a pastime—it’s an important tool for growth and creativity. 

Here's why every animator should make drawing and scribbling in a sketchbook part of their daily practice:

Why Animators Choose Quality Over Quantity

Quality over Quantity

One common mistake made by student animators is to take on too much, to try to complete too much animation in too little time.  The golden rule is to choose quality over quantity.  Short films should be short, because long films take too long to execute, and the quality inevitably suffers. 

The same goes for animation: better to focus on a relatively short shot that delivers a great result, than be too ambitious and have to drop the quality.  The 11 Second Cub competition has a maximum of 11 seconds for this reason.  For the same reason, demo reels should be short. A student demo reel should generally be no more than a minute long.

How to Find The UK's Animation Studios

Animation UK's Studio Directory

There are around 2,500 animation studios in the UK, of which a little under 500 have employees - making them worth targeting for an entry-level job.  But how to find them?  

One great resource is Animation UK's Studios Directory, which you can find here.  Click on the link and you can start making lists of UK Animation Studios - and then start applying. 

Why Animators Should Cut on Movement

One of the key principles of cinematography is to cut on movement. What does that mean? It means that if you start an action in one shot, carry it over into the second.  

Let's say you are cutting from a wide shot to a close up, you start the motion in the wide shot, then carry it over to the next shot. This makes the cut feel less abrupt.

Why Animators Need Walks on a Demo Reel

"Monty" Character Walks by Neil Whitman

One common mistake junior animators make when cutting a demo reel is to leave off basic exercises like walks, character walks and runs. 

But walks and runs can and should be on an animation demo reel - not for very long - but for just long enough to show that these are firmly inside the animator's skill set. 

Jinng Hwee Tan Animator at Framestore

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Jinng Hwee Tan who has joined Framestore as an animator. 

Jinng Hwee Tan studied animation with us, taking our Online MA in 3D Animation, being awarded a Master's Degree from Buckinghamshire New University. 

Framestore is a leading global animation and VFX house, responsible for multiple hit movies and series.

You can see Jinng Hwee Tan's demo reel here.

Why Animators Need a Great Acting Shot

Acting shot by Mark Masters

Why do animators need a great acting shot on their demo reel?  Because nothing showcases an animator’s talent quite like a strong acting shot.  

A well-executed acting scene shows that an animator can give a performance, and approach a shot like an actor might approach a scene in a movie or a play. 

Acting shots reveal whether an animator can go beyond basic mechanics and deliver an entertaining performance.

Attaches in Maya - The "Cheat Method"

In this short video above we demonstrate how to do Attaches and Parenting in Maya, using "The Cheat Method". It's a very simple approach which involves parenting an object to another - in this case, Monty's hat, using the simple Shift Select P method. Then, rather than un-attach the hat, we simply replace the hat with a new identical hat, which looks exactly the same.  This way, we don't have the bother of un-attaching the original hat - we can just remove it from the scene and replace it with a new one. 

Cartoony Mad Scramble Run and Exit with Monty

Cartoony run and smear frame exit with Monty

In this new animation tutorial we show how to animate a cartoony run and smear frame exit with Monty, the green pea.  

It's a simple tutorial aimed at animation beginners, and covers runs, jumps and smear frames.  We'll also need to do some attaches and parenting (for Monty's hat) basic lighting in Arnold and learn how to add motion blur to the final render.

Render Motion Blur in Maya and Arnold

How to Render Motion Blur in Maya and Arnold:  This very simple and very short tutorial shows how to turn on Motion Blur in the Arnold Renderer in Maya. Why would you want to turn on motion blur? Because when you have very fast action, you almost always want motion blur; this simulates how our eyes actually see things in real life.