Kazuyoshi Takeuchi and The Art of Character Design

Kazuyoshi Takeuchi

Yesterday in Tokyo Japanese animator and character designer Kazuyoshi Takeuchi introduced students to the art of Japanese character design, exploring manga, anime and Japanese design techniques. 

Kazuyoshi Takeuchi has over 75 animation credits to his name, including the legendary "Akira", which was the foundational moment of his career.  He described it as "a great honour" to work with Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo. 

Hikaru Yajima and The Art of Manga

Manga artist Hikaru Yajima and Baton no Hoshi

Today in Tokyo manga artist  Hikaru Yajima introduced the art of manga, an art form she adopted after leaving her corporate career. 

Manga forms much of the source material for Japanese anime, part of what gives Japanese animation its unique character and flavour.  

In today's workshop students had the opportunity to draw their own manga panels, with a theme set by Hikaru Yajima. 

Shirotomo Aizawa: Japanese Art, History & Culture

Shirotomo Aizawa on Japanese Art

Today in Tokyo the composer and multimedia creator Shirotomo Aizawa introduced his audience of animators to Japanese history, art and culture.  

Shirotomo Aizawa explained that Japanese culture was historically influenced by China, but grew and developed to have its own unique cultural identity. 

The origins of manga and anime can be found in Japan's unique cultural history and identity. 

Keisuke Mori and The Art of Voice Over for Anime

Japanese anime voice actor Keisuke Mori

Japanese anime voice actor Keisuke Mori gave a talk  in Tokyo this morning about his career performing voice overs for Japanese anime.  His credits include the 2018 film Mirai.

Voice actors have to have to be able to perform a wide range of voices in order to do multiple characters. Vocal range is the key, the ability to perform in multiple different voices and styles.

Keisuke Mori explained that his voice is an instrument, one that he has learned to play over many years of practice working in anime. 

Mitsunori Murata, "Akira" and Japanese Animation

Mitsunori Murata 

Today in Tokyo we learned from master animator Mitsunori Murata about the process of making animated films in Japan. 

Mitsunori Murata has worked over 50 Japanese animation films including the legendary "Akira", released in 1988, and Ghost in The Shell. 

How are animated films made in Japan? The answer is that the process is fundamentally very similar to how things are done in the west, but with some unique Japanese features. 

Animation Apprentice Goes to Japan

Digital Hollywood University

This September Animation Apprentice is heading to Tokyo, to take a close look at the current state of Japanese animation. 

We'll be attending animation lessons in Manga and Anime at Digital Hollywood University in central Tokyo. We'll also be visiting The Answer Studio (formerly Walt Disney Animation Japan) in Ogikubo.

Eric Goldberg Created "Disney Legend"

Animation legend Eric Goldberg has been officially created a "Disney Legend" by the Walt Disney Company.

Becoming a Disney Legend means receiving the highest honor that The Walt Disney Company can give to an individual.

The award started in 1987. It celebrates people who have made a significant and lasting impact on the history and legacy of Disney animation. 

I worked under Eric's direction both on the feature film Pocahontas and later on the cartoony "Looney Tunes - Back in Action", animated in the snappy Warner Bros style.  

Why Your Short Film Needs a Title

Put your title at the front of your film

Here at Animation Apprentice our students make a lot of short films, many of which go on to win festival awards.  Yet one simple element is surprisingly often missing: an opening title.  

While some experimental pieces intentionally dive straight into the action, most short films benefit from displaying their title right at the beginning.  Here’s why your title should be at the start of your film. 

Animation Featured: Deadline 16 August 2026

Manchester Animation Festival (MAF), the UK’s largest and only Academy Award® and BAFTA‑qualifying animation festival, has just launched "Animation Featured". 

Animation Featured is a "high‑impact development accelerator designed to strengthen the UK’s feature animation pipeline and support the next generation of independent filmmakers and studios".  The deadline to apply is Sunday 16 August 2026. 

Fall Animation Class Starts 7th September 2026

Our Fall Animation Class begins on Monday 7th September 2026.

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 Visits King Bee Animation

King Bee Animation and Martyn Niman

Animation Apprentice visited King Bee Animation last week, for a one day animation workshop introducing students to the art and craft of animation.

King Bee is located in the historic Elstree Studios in North London, notable for being the location of the original 1977 Star Wars movie.   

Alison Brown Young Comics Maestro Award 2026

Alison Brown Young Comics Maestro Award 2026 Competition

The Alison Brown Young Comics Maestro Award 2026 Competition is now open - London's Cartoon Museum is looking for the next big comic artist.  

If you're under 18, send in your very best comic strip (three pages max) to enter the competition and get your work in front of judges from The Beano, The Phoenix, and (of course) The Cartoon Museum.  

How Much Do Animators Get Paid?

How much do animators earn? This 2025 salary guide from the Animation & VFX Union BECTU gives a good picture of the current market rates in the UK.

Salary transparency is something our industry doesn't always do well, so rates cards like this are very useful, especially for junior artists negotiating a salary for a new role, trying to get a realistic idea of what they can expect to earn. 

Note that much depends where you live in the UK. The difference in the cost of living between London/the South East and the rest of the UK is significant.  If you're further away from London, your expenses are usually lower, but salaries also tend to be lower. 

So whether these are good rates really depends a lot on your location.  In addition rates are, of course, lower for junior roles, for folks looking to break into the industry for the first time. 

Roger Allers Legacy Scholarship: Deadline 4 July

The Roger Allers Legacy Scholarship Award 

The Roger Allers Legacy Scholarship Award is now open.  Applications for upcoming Directors, Story Artists and Librettists can be made here at the official CTN site. The deadline to apply is 4 July 2026. 

The Roger Allers Legacy Scholarship Award honours the legacy of Roger Allers, "an acclaimed filmmaker whose work has shaped generations through the power of stage, screen, and storytelling". 

Roger is best known for directing the global blockbuster film The Lion King (1994) and earning a Tony Award nomination for adapting it into the highest grossing Broadway musical of all time. 

Character Poses by William Thomas

Above is a nice example of character poses by Animation Apprentice student William Thomas. The poses are done on Stepped Curves (see more about those here) and the purpose of the exercise is to create a series of poses with the character (in this case, Mr Buttons) that show character and emotion; each pose is held for approximately one second. This exercise is a warmup for the "Phone Booth" exercise in which students tell the story of a telephone conversation using only a series of character poses - no dialogue or audio allowed. 

Does My head Look Big in This? @ Cartoon Museum

Does My head Look Big in This? - The Art of Caricature is on at the Cartoon Museum in London's Fitzrovia.  Come along and enjoy an exhibition of the best caricatures going back over three centuries. 

The Cartoon Museum can be found at 63 Wells St in Fitzrovia, and is dedicated to the history of British cartooning.  The permanent exhibition was curated by The Guardian's Steve Bell.

Political Cartooning is arguably the only art form invented in Britain; The UK was the first country to end censorship in the 18th Century, giving rise to political satire and a free press.

The Cartoon Museum celebrates cartoons, comics and caricatures, and is the only museum of its kind in the UK.

Emily Shilling at Electric Theatre Collective

Emily Shilling

At the recent University of Hertfordshire annual Expo, UH graduate Emily Shilling gave a talk about her work as a concept artist at the Electric Theatre Collective (ETC), with some helpful advice for students on how to break into the industry - at a time of rapid technological change.

Emily Shilling studied 3D animation at UH but focused on concept art.  Emily managed to find work at ETC when she heard that ETC were looking for a technical artist, doing fur and muscle systems. "I love doing that kind of work", said Emily - even though "this was a total lie".  Once in the door at ETC, Emily was able to transition to doing concept art - her real passion. 

Bring Your Own Animation 16 June

BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation) is back on Tues 16 June

Calling all London-based Animation Apprentice students and graduates -  BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation) is back on Tuesday 16 June. 

Organised by the London chapter of SIGGRAPH,  the next BYOA takes place on Tuesday 16 June 2026 upstairs at the Nell of Old Drury 29 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5JS from 7pm. 

"OpenToonz" - Free Software for 2D Animation

OpenToonz Software

2D animation can be done in a variety of different software packages.  One interesting option is the "OpenToonz" Software, free software for the production of 2D animation.

Based on the software "Toonz", developed by Digital Video S.p.A. in Italy,  OpenToonz has been customized by Studio Ghibli, and used for the creation of its films for many years.  Dwango has launched the OpenToonz project in cooperation with Digital Video and Studio Ghibli. 

Void Interactive and "Ready or Not"

Mark Ranson and Joel Gray from Void Interactive

At the Hertfordshire University annual Expo on Thursday 21st May, game designers Mark Ranson and Joel Gray from Void Interactive talked about their careers at the video games company, producing games such as the First Person Shooter "Ready or Not".  

One of the key messages of Mark and Joel's talk was the importance of optimising game assets for real-life game play, ensuring that the user experience is successful even on sub-optimal platforms. 

Blue Zoo Summer Internships Now Open

Blue Zoo's 2026 summer internships are now open

Calling all Animation Apprentice graduates - Applications for Blue Zoo's 2026 summer internships are now open, and close on Friday 29th May at midnight.  

As always, we encourage our students to apply for internships like this one.  Even if you don't succeed, you will learn valuable skills along the way. 

The internship roles available this year at Blue Zoo are: 3D Animator, Social Media Intern and Production Assistant Intern.

All information needed to apply is at Blue Zoo's careers website along with the application pages.  Applications for Blue Zoo's 2026 summer internships can be made here at the official Blue Zoo site.