How to Animate a Skip - with Michael Schlingmann

Skip Animation Tutorial from Felix Sputnik on Vimeo.

How to Animate a skip - with Michael Schlingmann. Above is an excellent, clear tutorial on how to animate a skip, recorded by veteran animator Michael Schlingmann, who I worked alongside many years ago on the animated epic The Thief and The Cobbler.  A skip is a hard thing to animate; it is an eccentric gait and doesn't conform easily to the formula of a walk or a run.  To learn how to animate a skip, watch Michael's video above.

How to Animate Lipsync - with No Lips

"Monty" dialogue by Rich Jeffrey

The first dialogue exercise tackled by students at Animation Apprentice is how to animate a character speaking a line of dialogue - with no mouth.  Students almost always look skeptical at this idea - how can you animate Lipsync with no lips? 

The answer, of course, is that it's all in the acting and the performance.  If the body language is working, then the audience will believe that the character is speaking - even if the character itself has no mouth.

What Kind of Laptop To Buy in 2022

What kind of laptop should I buy?" is a question that we are often asked at Animation Apprentice. 

Computer specifications change regularly and much depends on exactly what you want to use your laptop for.  But let's say you want to buy a laptop capable of running Autodesk Maya, for computer animation and to render out your shots.

What sort of laptop should you buy, and how much do you need to spend? Animation Apprentice graduate and animation teacher Amedeo Beretta offers some advice to our students.

Why Animators Need Handles

Adobe Premiere

What are "handles", and why do animators need them? "Handles" are a technical term used in video editing to describe the process of adding a few frames to the start and end of every shot. This means that each shot in the film is slightly longer than it needs to be, allowing the editor to adjust the cut by a few frames in either direction to make the edit smoother.

An editor working with, say "four frame handles", has an extra four frames at the start and end of every shot. Working with handles means that animators have to do a little extra work, but it gives the editor flexibility with the final edit. 

Jim Van Der Keyl Live Action Reference

Above is a lovely piece of live action reference by animator Jim Van Der Keyl who I worked with many years ago on Brad Bird's classic animated film "The Iron Giant". Jim, like many animators, used live action reference to help create the best animation possible with the most believable acting choices. In this case, he ended up being nominated for an Annie Award for his hard work. 

Journey of Life Wins Best Director

Journey of Life wins Best Director (Short Film) at FOFA

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman whose short film "Journey of Life" has won award for Best Director (Super Short Film) at the Future of Film Awards.

"Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation with our academic partner Buckinghamshire New University.  The film has won many festival awards.