Being "Goofy" at Walt Disney World in 1989

In the summer of 1989 I was working at the Walt Disney Studio in Orlando, Florida on the animated short RollerCoaster Rabbit, directed by Rob Minkoff.  

It was a dream summer job (I was a student at University in the UK at the time), working at the Orlando animation studio - which was then part of the Disney World Park, and an attraction in itself.  Visitors would stroll through the "animation ride" and gaze through the glass walls, watching the animators busily at work. 

On my last day at the Studio, when I was due to head back home, studio head Max Howard offered me the chance to play Goofy - to be one of the Disney characters in the park itself.   

And so, in the sweltering summer of 1989, I had the surreal pleasure of stepping into the oversized shoes of Goofy at Walt Disney World.

Online MA in Animation with BNU Starts Sept 2025

Animation by BNU graduate Neil Whitman

Our MA in 3D Animation for Professionals is now taking applications.

The online MA in animation at Buckinghamshire New University was launched in 2015 and was the very first of its kind - the first online MA in animation which could be undertaken by students anywhere in the world.  

We continue to partner with BNU to deliver the Online MA 3D Animation for Professionals, ensuring that all our MA Students graduate with industry-level skills.  Teaching starts in September 2025.

Fall Class Starts on Monday 1 Sept 2025

Our Fall Animation Class begins on Monday 1st September 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.

Why Animators Need Their Own Projects

Learning the art and craft of animation is a time-consuming business, one which requires commitment and discipline. At the end of it all lies (hopefully) a job in the industry, ideally at a good studio doing great work on worthwhile projects.

But even success can bring problems - late nights, too many weekends, stress and burnout. How does an animator thrive in the industry over the long haul. The answer is to nurture your own projects and ideas, make sure your own creative flame is burning.

Why Movie Posters Need Taglines

Short films need posters (also known as "One Sheets"), and posters need taglines. A great tagline encapsulates what the film is about, and makes the viewer want to see more.  

A great tag line (like the one on the left) is witty, short, and punchy, and makes the audience feel a sense of anticipation about the film.  

Stuck for a great tagline for your movie poster? Ask ChatGPT. Type in what your story is about, ask for ten taglines; then pick the one you like most. You don't need tell anyone you did (and I promise I won't tell either). 

Something is (Almost Always) Better Than Nothing

Perfection may not be attainable

From time to time animation students studying on our MA in Animation, delivered in partnership with Buckinghamshire New University, will get stuck on a project, and will request extra time, or hand their work in late - and then apply for Mitigating Circumstances.

Sometimes this flows from perfectionism, performance anxiety, or even a sense of imposter syndrome. But it's always better to hand in something than nothing; an imperfect submission is almost always better than no submission at all.

Summer Class Starts on 7 July 2025

Animation by Lee Caller

Our Spring/Summer Animation Class begins on Monday 7 July 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 Lessons From "The Road To El Dorado"

The Road To El Dorado was a Dreamworks picture that I worked on back in the late 1990s. I was assigned to animate Tulio, one of the two lead characters, supervised by lead animator James Baxter who I had worked with a decade earlier on Who Framed Roger Rabbit in London.  It was a great experience, and I learned a lot, especially about the use of live action reference to create believable animation. 

Finding Work in an Animation Downturn

It is no secret that the animation and visual effects industry is in a downturn.  After many years of boom, business has recently turned to bust. 

What has caused this? The reasons are many - over expansion during the streaming boom years, the fallout from Covid, the rise of AI, strikes by writers and actors, and the steady decline of the theatrical movie business. 

So, how do recent graduates find work in an industry which isn't expanding, or might even be shrinking? The answer is have a great demo reel - and apply widely. 

Acting Advice from Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers

While doing some research recently on a project I stumbled across a quote from the late great Peter Sellers, on how he approached creating a character. 

Sellers said "I start with the voice. I find out how the character sounds...after the voice comes the looks of the man...after that I discover how the character walks...and then something strange happens...the man you play begins to exist."

It's the same with animation. 

Yibi Hu Explains Why Animators Need to Pitch

Yibi Hu, founder of Future Power Station

At yesterday's University of Hertfordshire annual student show, animator Yibi Hu, founder of the animation studio Future Power Station, explained the importance of crafting a great pitch. 

As Yibi Hu put it succinctly: "Pitch is a Bitch" - in essence a great deal of unpaid work for a potential client who might - or might not - like your creation. 

The conundrum is that you have to pitch to get the job, but all the work might be in vain. Pitching is free work, but you have to do it anyway.

Why Animators Should Be Problem Solvers

Eyeline problem from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

Studios love animators who are also problem solvers. An animator who helps to solve problems (and, hopefully, doesn't create them) is a golden asset to any organisation.

On the left is an example of problem-solving by animator Simon Wells, on the 1988 feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  

Back in 1987 I was Simon's In-betweener (a job that involved smoothing out the animation flow), and I was always impressed by Simon's ability to solve visual problems, such as the one on the left.

Letter to The Daily Telegraph: "Save Alex!"

Fans of the "Alex" Cartoon in the Daily Telegraph will be disappointed to learn that the long-running daily strip has today been axed by the newspaper's owners.  In today's Daily Telegraph, Alex disappears into the Matrix, never to return - unless of course the owners of newspaper see sense and bring back one of Britain's best and most popular daily cartoon strips. 

How I Got My First Job in 3D Animation

My first job in 3D animation was with Blue Sky Studios in New York. I was working in Los Angeles on "Looney Tunes - Back in Action" at the time, a great film, with the animation directed by the incredibly talented Eric Goldberg.  It was 2002, and I was learning a huge amount from Eric about snappy timing in animation, smear frames, and how to pull out in-betweens to achieve a "Warner Bros" look to the character animation.  But I was keenly aware that 2D animation was in decline, and that 3D was then the future.  I saw on the web that Blue Sky Studios was hiring, so I sent in my reel.

Animation Students - Get Your Free Maya License

For newcomers to the animation industry, and especially for our students starting with us in our next scheduled class, it's important to remember that Autodesk, who make the software Maya, offer an education copy of Maya for free, which can be downloaded from the official Autodesk site.

Autodesk Maya has been the dominant software package in 3D animation for over 20 years. I first used Maya 1.0 on "The Iron Giant", back in 1998.  And today it remains the most powerful package for the creation of 3D animation, still by far the most widely used in industry. 

Seven Things I Learned From My Father

Seven Things I Learned From My Father. This is a recording of a slideshow I did for the animators at DNEG Redefine in Hyderabad last week on Dad's birthday - he was born on 19 March 1933. I was trying to think of a way to celebrate his birthday in a way that might be useful to the animation team. His book, the Animator's Survival Kit, is big in India - all the animators seemed to have a copy.  I came up with a list of seven lessons I learned from Dad in the course of becoming an animator.  Of course, I learned more than seven things from him - but these are the seven lessons that seemed important, and also a good number for a short talk.  Enjoy. 

The Making of "Marmaduke"

Lately I've been working on a new animated feature film, and going over some material from past movies to refresh my memory of the animation pipeline.  In the short video above (12 minutes long) I describe my experience working on the Fox Studios' live action feature film "Marmaduke", animated at Cinesite in London back in 2009.  As part of the development process I did a large number of expression sheets, a few of which I have uploaded below.  

Bouncing Ball Tutorial - With Captions

Here at Animation Apprentice we were recently asked by a student overseas (we're based in the UK) if we can offer tutorials with captions, for students whose first language isn't English. 

The answer is - of course! We will always respond positively to a student enquiry - especially if it makes our tutorials easier to understand, for a global audience. To see the caption-enable videos, scroll down. 

Teamwork Panel at EscapeVerse Live

 

For anyone who missed the EscapeVerse Live Festival at the end of February, Escape Studios has now uploaded the full schedule of talks, panels and webinars to our YouTube channel.  Above is the Teamwork Panel I hosted on 25 February, with Escapees Adam Dewhirst, Ricardo Ferreira, Stefano Ferron and Harry Symonds.  They were all great guests and had many entertaining insights into the importance of good teamwork - as well as some horror stories about teamwork gone wrong (such as Adam's fishy tale at 31:31).  You can find the full EscapeVerse 2025 playlist here. 

The Making of "Beverly Hills Chihuahua"

In the short video above (just 5 minutes long) I describe my experience working on the Disney live action feature film "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", animated at Cinesite in London back in 2007 and early 2008.  As part of the development process I did a large number of expression sheets, a few of which I have uploaded below.  

How Long Does It Take To Learn Maya?

Many of our students at Animation Apprentice will never have opened Maya before.  Or, at least, they won't be very familiar with it.  Maya is a big, complex piece of software - the interface can look daunting at first.  But don't be discouraged, with time and practice - you will get there in the end.