"A Christmas Carol" by Richard Williams

If you've got a few minutes this Christmas Eve, why not watch Richard Williams' 1972 Oscar-winning version of The Christmas Carol.  It has all the atmosphere of 19th Century London and none of the sentimentality.  It's just twenty minutes long, and was completed at Williams' London studio at 13 Soho Square - a Grade II* listed building which still stands today (it's even painted the same colour).

Introduction to Character Design

 

In this short video I talk briefly about the basics of character design, how to start with simple basic shapes and work out from there, developing your characters personalities from very simple beginnings.  Character design is very much about contrasts - making characters feel different, and look different - with contrasting personalities. 

How to Clean Up Scanned Images in Photoshop

This short video shows how to take a scanned image and tidy it up in Photoshop. The image I am using is an ink cartoon drawing, but this method works equally well for pencil drawings, and also works for images that have been photographed with a smartphone camera.  Why should you clean up your scans? The purpose of the cleanup is to make your scanned images look prettier, to make them ready to send to a client, or to look nice for a presentation. Raw scans look ugly and unprofessional - watch the video above to see how to tidy them up.

How to Use The Shelf Editor in Maya

This short introductory tutorial shows how to use the Shelf Editor in Autodesk Maya. The Shelf Editor allows animators to create buttons on a shelf, permitting the user to select frequently-used control curves such as hands, feet, body and head quickly and efficiently. For most animators working on production, the Shelf Editor is one of the first tools they will use when setting up their character workflow, to ensure they can animate fast and efficiently. 

Animating With Maya's Motion Trail Tool

This short video (just three minutes long) shows how to use Maya's Motion Trail Tool. The Motion Trail Tool is very useful for smoothing out the kinks and bumps in your animation, to ensure that your arcs and paths of animation are as smooth and flowing as possible. Bumpy animation curves will create pops and bumps in your animation. The Motion Trail Tool is one way of overcoming these problems and giving your animation an extra polish. 

Animate a Feminine Walk with "Monty"

Exaggerated Feminine Walk with "Monty"

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk.  In this basic tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the marvellous "Monty" rig (free for download from highend3d.com) and make Monty walk in a feminine way, like a model on a catwalk.   

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

How to Fix Knee Pops in a Walk Cycle

In the video above, we show how to fix knee pops in a walk cycle. IK chains can "pop" if the leg on a character gets over extended, so the trick is not to completely extend the leg. Straighten the leg on the contact position, then slightly dial it back and relax it. To find out more, watch the short video above.

Using AI to Colour 2D Animation with Cadmium App

Cadmium App

Artificial intelligence continues to offer new ways to speed up the animation pipeline and turboboost the productivity of animators. 

One new breakthrough comes from the Cadmium App, a new tool which automates the process of colouring 2D animation.

Cadmium is a creative tool for hand drawn animation. Using machine intelligence, animators can now colour their entire animation sequence from just a few keyframes.

History of Who Framed Roger Rabbit

We're enjoying this "Deep Dive Documentary" into the History of the 1988 animated film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".  The documentary is based on a range of source material, including Ross Anderson's well-researched book Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat.   It's a thorough documentary that shows just how many twists and turns Who Framed Roger Rabbit took before finally making it (and even then only just) to the big screen. 

How to Pitch a Cartoon Strip - Queen's Counsel

This is a short video on the subject of pitching ideas - in this case the "Queen's Counsel" cartoon strip that I pitched to The Times back in 1993.  The pitch was successful; the cartoon strip started in The Times in 1993 as Queen's Counsel - it became King's Counsel in 2022.  It's still being published every week 30 years later. 

Free Tutorial: Copying & Pasting Curves in Maya

 

In this brief tutorial we show how to copy and paste curves in Autodesk Maya. This short video tutorial is part of our series of beginners' tutorials, and shows how to copy and paste curves in Autodesk Maya. Maya is not especially good at copying and pasting curves; it's a fiddly process and takes a while - but it can be done.

How to Use The Layer Editor in Maya

How to use the Layer Editor in Maya. This short video tutorial is part of our series of beginners' tutorials on how to use Autodesk Maya, and how to develop a fast, efficient workflow. The Layer Editor works much like layers in Photoshop - it allows you to put different elements of the shot on different layers, so you can work faster and more efficiently.

Steve Woodhouse - Founder of Skyline Visuals

Skyline Visuals - founded by Steve Woodhouse

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Steve Woodhouse who has founded his own successful architectural visualisation company - Skyline Visuals. 

Skyline Visuals creates  3D visuals & photomontage for the architecture & landscape industry.  Skyline Visuals "provides effective solutions to assist with planning pipeline and visual marketing".  

Oliver Canovas 3D Artist at KAN Engineering

Many congratulations to Animation ApprenticeOliver Canovas who is working as Digital Modelling Engineer at KAN Engineering. 

Oliver Canovas took our Online MA in Computer Animation (the first of its kind) with our Higher Education partner Buckinghamshire New University, graduating with honours.

Young Cartoonist of The Year Awards 2023

The Young Cartoonists of the Year Awards are back.  This year the deadline for submissions is 14 January 2024.

Hosted by the Cartoon Museum in London, the annual Young Cartoonists of the Year competition seeks to reward rising cartoon talent. 

Judges include Martin Rowson (The Guardian), Christian Adams (Evening Standard), Banx (FT), Peter Brookes (The Times), Nick Newman (Private Eye), and Matt Pritchard from the Daily Telegraph.  Entry is free. 

Entries can be mailed in (via old school Royal Mail) to the Cartoon Museum,  at 63 Wells St, London W1T 3PT, or emailed to hello@cartoonmuseum.org.  As always, we encourage all our students to enter competitions such as this one. 

ILM Offers Industry Advice to Animation Graduates

ILM Education Series 2.0

VFX powerhouse Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) is offering a series of free industry panels offering advice for recent graduates looking to break into the animation and visual effects industry.

Known as the ILM Education Series 2.0, ILM is offering two dates, Thursday 9 November at 5pm, and Wednesday 29 November at 5pm. The events are free.

Animate a Neon Sign in Maya - Free Tutorial

In this free tutorial we show how to animate a flickering neon sign in Maya. The idea is to create a personal logo for your demo reel, something that has more style and invention than a simple title card. 

Start by creating a logo for your animation reel, then import the logo into Maya, and use the technique described above to turn your logo into neon letters. Next animate the letters, render it, and create a movie file for your demo reel. 

Animate a Lamp Hopping With Pixo Jr.

In this tutorial we show how to animate a lamp hopping. It's an introduction to character animation, and also a nod to one of Pixar's first animated shorts - Luxo Junior. 

The rig we recommend for this exercise is the Pixo Jr rig - an excellent rig, free for student download at highend3d.com, and the perfect starting point to learn locomotion & mechanics.

Create a Starry Sky with the Arnold Skydome

In this short video tutorial (just five minutes long) we explain how to create a starry sky in Maya with just a few clicks, using the Arnold Skydome. Using an HDRI night sky texture map (Google one to get started), we can create a night sky effect with little or no effort, using the Arnold Renderer.  To see the step by step plan, follow the outline below. You can find the tutorial video at YouTube here.

Using AI to Make Better Animation

In the short video above we offer some suggestions on how to use AI to make better animation.  AI is a powerful tool for the creation of stories and ideas.  Watch the video above to see how to use Chat GPT to generate ideas to make our animation more interesting and inventive. AI represents the biggest technical advance in the animation & VFX industry since 3D animation began to replace traditional hand-animated feature films in the early 2000s. Artificial Intelligence is here to stay - so let's make the best possible use of it.

Export a Render Sequence in Arnold

In this super simple tutorial we show how to export a Render Sequence in Arnold, in Autodesk Maya. First watch the tutorials on basic lighting setups, such as Lighting in Arnold with Physical Sky, or Lighting in Arnold with Sky Shader, and then watch this video to see how to render out a series of images that can be imported into Adobe Premiere or Blender - or any editing software - ready to export as a movie file.

Basic Lighting in Arnold with Sky Shader

In this simple lighting tutorial, aimed at Autodesk Maya beginners, we explain how to achieve a basic lighting setup in Arnold using the Arnold Sky Shader. This is a simple lighting setup, only slightly more sophisticated than the Arnold Physical Sky tutorial - which is as simple as it is possible to achieve in Arnold, and gives good results for an outdoor scene with just a few clicks. 

Winter Animation Class Starts 6 Nov 2023

Animation by Robin Herrmann

Our Winter Animation Class begins on Monday 6th November 2023.

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.

Animate a Yellow Beetle In Motion

In this animation beginners' tutorial we show how to animate a yellow Beetle in Motion, using the free "Swappable Car Rig with Ubershockies - The AnyCar 3.1.4 for Maya", downloadable here from Creative Crash.  

This is a fun, easy to replicate tutorial that is aimed at beginners in Autodesk Maya. 

Maya Basics - Model & Texture a Cereal Box

In this super basic tutorial we show how to do very basic modelling and texturing in Autodesk Maya and Photoshop to create a Cereal Box. This tutorial is divided into two parts - the Maya part, where we create the box and UV it (above), and the Photoshop part (below), where we do the texturing. 

Basic Lighting in Arnold - Physical Sky

In this simple tutorial, for Autodesk Maya beginners, we explain how to achieve a super basic lighting setup in Arnold using the settings in Physical Sky. This is as simple a setup as it is possible to achieve in Arnold, and gives good results for an outdoor scene with just a few clicks.

How to Create a Shot Camera in Maya

In this introductory tutorial for beginners in Autodesk Maya we demonstrate how to create a shot camera.  If you were on a live action set, one of the first things you would do is set up your camera and decide what the shot was going to look like.  But in Maya, because we get a Perspective View for free, animators often forget to create a shot camera.  This is a mistake - we want to make an early decision on what the audience is going to see.  Watch this beginner's video tutorial above to find out how to create a camera in Maya and lock it off. 

How to Texture Dice in Autodesk Maya

 

In the free video tutorial above we tackle a super simple modelling and texturing exercise - how to create a die (single of dice), bevel it, and texture it, downloading a texture map from the web. The tutorial is aimed at complete beginners who have never used Autodesk Maya before. In addition, you can follow the steps outlined below, including - for extra sophistication - how to add a bump map (not covered in the video above).

Aardman Workshop at Cartoon Museum 26 Oct

Aardman animation are coming to London's Cartoon Museum, bringing a model making workshop on Thursday 26th October 2023.

The Cartoon Museum is welcoming Aardman Animation to celebrate the Thirtieth Anniversary of Wallace & Gromit, The Wrong Trousers.

You can make your own Wallace & Gromit characters to take home with you, assisted by Jim Parkyn - one of Aardman Animation's own modelmakers. 

Animation Trainee Finder Now Open at Screen Skills

Apply at Screen Skills' official site

Screen Skills has launched a new paid placement scheme for graduates, the "Animation Trainee Finder". Applications for the scheme opened on August 28 and close on Monday 25th September.

"Animation Trainee Finder" places trainees on animation productions and aims to ensure a steady supply of talent for the UK animation industry.

Fall Animation Class Starts Sept 2023

Our Fall Animation Class begins in September 2023.

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.

Wallace & Gromit at London's Cartoon Museum

"Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers Turns 30"

Opening on the 12th of September, "Wallace &Gromit: The Wrong Trousers Turns 30" will arrive at London's Cartoon Museum just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of Aardman Animation's classic animated film. 

How to Animate a Bouncing Ball

In the tutorial below we show how to tackle the entry-level "Bouncing Ball" exercise. Below is a collection of some of the best "Bouncing Ball" exercises completed by Animation Apprentices over the years. 

At Animation Apprentice we start with the bouncing ball, as students learn to apply the principles of timing, spacing, paths of action and weight - four of the Twelve Principles of Animation.  Even a simple exercise can be entertaining to watch.

150 Animation Exercises to Boost Your Skill

150 Exercises to boost your skills

We're liking this list of 150 animation exercises created by independent animation artist David Mattock at his website Animator Artist Life. 

David Mattock has created a wide variety of exercises for any animator to tackle, from simple tasks like animating a vibrating telephone or a falling leaf, to complex character animation.  It's a great list, super useful for any animator who might need a little practice or inspiration for what to animate next. 

Animate a Run Cycle With "Heavy"

Human run by Edward Muybridge

In this tutorial we show how to animate a simple, basic run cycle.  

The tutorial uses the "Heavy" Rig which you can download for free at HighEnd3D.com. 

Animators should be able to master the art and craft of basic locomotion, including walks, runs and jumps.  These are the "scales" of animation, and should be on every animator's demo reel, demonstrating that the student has mastered these basic steps.

Animate a Flour Sack Leap With Weight

Flour Sack Suicide

In this animation tutorial we show how to animate a Flour Sack hurling itself from a great height.  

The purpose of the tutorial is to create the illusion of weight and balance, by animating the flour sack landing, bouncing, and settling on the ground. 

The tutorial uses the Rockin' Rooster Flour Sack rig, downloadable from high end3d.com. 

Animate a Jump with "Monty"

In this simple Locomotion and Mechanics Tutorial we show how to animate a jump with a simple character, using the "Monty" rig, free for download at HighEnd3D.com.  

The idea is to get a basic jump working, that feels fluid and believable, with weight and balance. You can read more about the Monty rig and how to use it here. The tutorial is aimed at animation beginners in Autodesk Maya. 

Scorpion Animation Tutorial

In this Scorpion Animation Tutorial we demonstrate how to animate a scorpion in motion.  Scorpions are fun to animate, and there is a good free rig available online by Kiel Figgins, which can be found here at his official website. 

Watch the video below for a general introduction to the rig, how to find it, and how the rig works. The scorpion tutorial is similar to the spider tutorial, but a little more complex, as we have to deal with eight legs, two big pincers and also a tail.

Animate a Jelly in Motion

Jelly rig swim cycle with caustics

In this beginners' animation tutorial, part of our series on animal and creature animation, we show how to animate a cute "jelly" in motion. The tutorial uses the free "Jelly" rig which you can find here at Animation Buffet - a great source of free rigs for character and creature animation.  

Jelly is a very simple rig - but gives a good range of movement and also facial expressions. 

Animate a Foxy Tail in Motion

In this "Foxy Tail" animation exercise, students learn how to animate a simple ball with a tail, a cute cartoony fox creature that can be used to create some fun cartoony animation, as in the example on the left by Joris Van Laar. 

The exercise uses the free Ultimate Tail Rig, available for download from highend3D.com.

How to Make a Playblast In Autodesk Maya

In the beginner's tutorial video above we show how to make a Playblast in Maya. What is a Playblast? A Playblast is a desktop render, and a way to test your animation to make sure that playback is in the real time, so you can test out the timing and spacing accurately.  Every animator needs to know how to make a Playblast; watch the video above to see how to get the settings right. 

Introduction to The Autodesk Maya Interface

The video above is an Introduction to The Autodesk Maya Interface. This video is aimed at complete beginners, taking their first steps to use Autodesk Maya - still the leading software for 3D animation.  To see more videos on the use of Maya for Animators, follow the links below.

How To Import Live Action Reference Into Maya

The video above explains how to import live action reference into Maya.  There are two basic methods; importing a series of individual frames, and importing a movie file. Both can be fiddly - watch the video to see how it is done.  To see more detail on  how to use live action reference to create animation in Maya, read this blog post. 

Quadruped Run Tutorial

Horse gallop by Mark Lawson-Hall

In this animation tutorial we show how to animate a quadruped running - in this case a horse.  Every animator needs to understand how to animate quadrupeds in motion; these are the basic "scales" of animal and creature animation.  

The basic gait for all quadrupeds is more or less the same, allowing for anatomy (herbivores generally have less flexible spines than carnivores), so this tutorial can be applied to any four-legged creature, but the easiest way to follow the tutorial is to use the free horse rig - available for download from the Mothman TD website. 

Spider Animation Tutorial

Spider Animation by Mark Lawson-Hall

In this new animation tutorial we show how to create a locomotion cycle with a spider, demonstrating how to take an apparently complex action and, by breaking it down into simple components, we can make the animation much easier.

A spider's walk looks complex, but is in fact very easy to animate, by following this simple tutorial.

Crow in Flight Tutorial

Animate a crow in flight

Our latest animation tutorial shows how to animate a bird in flight - specifically a crow. The tutorial covers how to animate a flap cycle, add refinements, add the animation to a motion path, import a set, and then create an interesting and inventive scene. 

Birds are one of the many kinds of creatures that animators will be expected to know how to animate; this tutorial demonstrates a simplified approach that gets a strong result in a short amount of time. 

Animate Dialogue with "Monty" - "Smokin!"

Monty: "Smokin!"

In the simple animation tutorial below we show how to animate a character with no mouth ("Monty") speaking a line of dialogue.  

But how can you animate dialogue and lipsync - with no lips?  The answer is - 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. 

Animate a Military Walk With "Monty"

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk.  In this latest tutorial, we show how to take a basic walk cycle using the "Monty" rig (free for download from highend3d.com) and make Monty march like a goose-stepping soldier on a parade ground.  

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

No Audio in Maya Playblast?

Autodesk Maya Playplast Options - select QT

What should you do if you are getting no audio in your Autodesk Maya Playblast? 

If you make a Playblast in Maya and there is no audio, try opening up the Playlist settings and tinkering with the output. 

By default, Maya tends to choose a .avi file, but if you go under Format and change the output to QT instead of AVI, you will often be able to get audio playback.

Animate "Monty" Singing "Oh Yeah"

"Monty" sings "Ohhh Yeahhh". 

In the simple animation tutorial we show how to animate a character with no mouth ("Monty") singing a line of dialogue.  

But how can you animate dialogue and lipsync - with no lips?  The answer is - it's all in 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.  

In this tutorial we animate "Monty" saying (well, singing) a line of dialogue - "Ohhh Yeahhh". 

Animate a Run Cycle with "Monty"

"Monty" runs for the bus

In this beginner's tutorial we show how to animate a simple, basic run cycle with "Monty". 

The tutorial uses the excellent "Monty" rig (which you can read about here), and which you can download for free from highend3d.com.

Every animator should know how to animate a basic walk and a run cycle - these are the "scales" of the animator's skillset.  

Animate a Cartoony "Take" with "Mr Buttons"

Reaction shots are the bread-and-butter of junior animators.  On a feature film, once an animator has graduated from walk cycles and crowd shots, they get given reaction shots.

In this series of video tutorials, we show how to go about blocking out an animated scene, in this case a reaction shot, or "take", with the cartoony cat rig "Mr Buttons" by Keith Osborn.

Animate a "Manly Walk" with "Monty"

Cowboy walk with Monty

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our latest tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and make Monty walk in a masculine way - with just a few clicks.

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate an "Angry Walk" With "Monty"

Angry Walk with the "Monty" rig

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our latest tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the marvellous "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and make Monty angry and grumpy - with just a few clicks.

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate a Slow, Sad Walk with "Monty"

Animate a sad walk with "Monty"

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our newest tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the marvellous "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and make Monty sad and depressed - with just a few clicks.  

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate a Basic Walk with "Heavy"

Animate a Basic Walk with the "Heavy" Rig

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our newest tutorial, we show how to animate a simple walk cycle using the "Heavy" rig. (free for download at Creative Crash). The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

The tutorial is designed to be easy to follow, and to use simple thumbnails that show all the main poses in the walk, and can be easily broken down and interpolated. 

"Double Bounce Walk" With "Monty"

Monty Double Bounce Walk

Every animator needs to learn how to animate a character walk.  In this simple tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the marvellous "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and give it a sunny, upbeat personality with just a few clicks.  

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

How to Animate a Basic Walk with "Monty"

Animate a walk cycle with "Monty"

We've uploaded a new series of video tutorials on how to animate a walk, using the marvellous "Monty" rig, free for download from Creative Crash.

There are four video tutorials of just under ten minutes, showing step by step how to animate a walk cycle. 

The videos are recorded in Autodesk Maya, and are aimed at animation beginners. 

Quadruped Trot Tutorial

Students at Animation Apprentice master the art of quadruped locomotion, including how to animate a trot. 

A trot is an intermediate gait between a walk and a run, an efficient fast motion that permits speed without using excessive energy. 

Below are three tutorial videos showing how to animate a horse trotting. The password is the same as for all our video tutorials.

Animal Anatomy for Animators

Above is a short video on animal anatomy, a general introduction to how animals are put together, and how and why anatomy matters for animators.  Animal and creature animation can be technically demanding; the use of live action reference is very important as a starting point for how to bring animals and creatures to life.

Summer Class Starts 3 July 2023

Artwork by Animation Apprentice Graduate Joe Gamble

Our Summer Animation Class begins on Monday 3rd July 2023.

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.

Bio Motion Lab Walker and Animating Walks

Bio Motion Walker

All student animators must learn how to animate a walk cycle, creating a successful biped walk and then giving it character and personality.

One very useful resource is the Bio Motion Walker from the Bio Motion Lab, located at York University in Toronto, Ontario.

The Bio Motion Walker allows animators to move a range of sliders showing how to make a walk cycle feel masculine or feminine, heavy or light, anxious or calm, happy or sad.  

Animators study live action, and then incorporate - and exaggerate - real life in their work . The Bio Motion Walker is a useful tool for analysing how people walk and move in different ways.  

You can find the Bio Motion Walker here.

Animation Apprentice Visits Westminster Kingsway

Westminster Kingsway College 

Last week Animation Apprentice visited Westminster Kingsway College to talk to with students and young professionals about careers in animation. 

The event was hosted by Film London to provide aspiring artists with guidance on how to break into the creative industries  and, specifically, into the animation industry.  

Today the animation industry continues to grow, despite Covid and Brexit, boosted recently by expansion of the UK Govt Tax Credit. 

  

Mark Masters Ranks No3 in 11 Second Club

 

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Mark Masters on his successful entry into the March 11 Second Club - you can watch his animation "Visitor in Nature" above.  Mark's entry was ranked no 3 in this month's 11 Second Club (out of 126 entries) - a very impressive result.  "The 11 Second Club" competition is a monthly contest in which animators compete to animate the most inventive and entertaining take on a piece of dialogue. Mark Masters is currently taking our Masters' Degree in Animation, delivered with our university partner Buckinghamshire New University.

Marc Stevenson Ranks No 4 in 11 Second Club

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Marc Stevenson on his successful entry into the March 11 Second Club - you can watch his animation "Horsin' Around" above.  Marc's entry was ranked no 4 in this month's 11 Second Club (out of 126 entries) - a very impressive result.  "The 11 Second Club" competition is a monthly contest in which animators compete to animate the most inventive and entertaining take on a piece of dialogue.

UK Animation Returns to Cartoon Forum

Cartoon Forum - Toulouse 18-21 September 2023

The European film agency "Cartoon", organisers of "Cartoon Forum" and "Cartoon Movie", has announced that UK animation will return to Cartoon Forum this year in a special initiative titled "Animated UK Meets Europe", led by Animation UK, and supported by the BBC, Disney, and other major UK Partners. 

UK Animation Tax Relief Increased to 39%

One less-reported aspect of the Chancellor's Spring budget here in the UK was an increase in the tax relief granted by HMRC for UK animation to a generous 39%. 

This appears to be in response to lobbying by the UK creative industries, who have long argued that the tax credit encourages UK animation production, and nurtures domestic talent and creativity.

Here at Animation Apprentice we are delighted that the Government is supporting the UK animation industry, and we welcome the news, which will surely boost UK animation production, and create a jobs pipeline for animation graduates in the UK. 

Andrew Schlussel Talks AI and Animation

In the Ted Talk above, DNEG Animation's Andrew Schlussel explains why, even though AI can now automate many jobs - such as concept art - we should not fear it.  Andrew explains how changes in animation and vfx technology over the years have increased the size of the industry - not shrunk it.  He suggests that AI will be no different, and that the "net sum" of jobs in the Creative Industries will continue to increase, even though certain processes can be done by machine learning.  What should we do with AI instead? - embrace it, and use it. 

Animation Grad 2.0 by Aaron McGriff

We're liking this article at Linkedin by Pixar animator Aaron McGriff, who talks about what it takes to get hired as an animator straight out of school.

Aaron's top tips are to "start with your demo" reel, and make sure you specialise in the kind of animation you want to do most. Your demo reel for Pixar will not be the same as your reel for ILM.

Aaron's article is thoughtful and full of great advice, and we highly recommend it. You can find the full article here. 

2023 Rookies Now Open

All of our graduating students at Animation Apprentice are encouraged to enter The Rookie Awards, the international competition for young creatives. The competition opens today, Tuesday March 7th 2023 - and the final deadline is 1st June.

The Rookies was founded in 2009 to "showcase the most talented student designers, illustrators, film makers, animators, developers, digital artists, and launch them into the career of their dreams." All our graduating students should enter.

"Early Bird" Best Animation for Kids at AniMate

Early Bird wins "Best Animation for Kids" at AniMate Fest

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Dan Fitzgerald who has won another festival award for his short film "Early Bird".  

Early Bird won "Best Animation for Kids" at the Australian "AniMate" Animation Film festival.

Early Bird is about a bird who catches the early worm - or tries to.   Dan's short film has won many festival awards.

"Johnny Spittoon" Best Animation in Covent Garden

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Neil Whitman whose short animated film "Jonny Spittoon" has won the Best Animation Award at the Covent Garden Film Festival. 

Neil Whitman took our 30 week course in 3D animation, learning the art and craft of character and creature animation, building on the skills he had learned as a motion graphics artist at the BBC.

We are delighted that Neil's new short animated film has achieved festival success - this is the latest of a number of festival awards. 

Using Open AI to Create Story Ideas

AI is a powerful tool for the creation of stories and ideas.  Watch the video above to see how to use the Playground at Open AI to generate ideas for stories and short films.  AI represents the biggest technical advance in the animation & VFX industry since 3D animation began to replace traditional hand-animated feature films in the early 2000s.  Artificial Intelligence is here to stay - so let's make the best use of it we can.

Spring Class Starts on 6th March 2023

Our Spring Animation Class begins on Monday 6th March 2023.

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.

2023 Animation Demo Reel

Above is our 2023 student demo reel, a selection of the best work done at Animation Apprentice over the last year. The reel includes work by Joshua Reynolds, Robin Herrmann, Lee Caller, Lisa Springett, Francis Lowe, Dan Fitzgerald, Alex Southcombe, Brandon Barwise, Hamill Buyco, Joris Van Laar,  Chantelle Fairburn, Mark Masters and Muhammad Al-Dasoqi.  Congratulations to all of them on their excellent work.

Bouncing Ball by Lisa Springett

 

Above is an excellent example of the "Bouncing Ball" exercise by Animation Apprentice student Lisa Springett.  Our course at Animation Apprentice, like almost every course in animation, starts with the bouncing ball, as students learn to apply the principles of timing, spacing, paths of action and weight - four of the Twelve Principles of Animation.  Lisa's skilled work shows that even a simple exercise can be entertaining and interesting, and can be completed to a demo-reel level of skill.

 

How "APEL" Works

APEL: route to post-graduate study

What is the APEL process, and why does it matter? APEL stands for "Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning", and is the formal recognition of prior learning by UK universities.

Why is it important? APEL is the means by which students who do not have an undergraduate degree can gain entry onto a masters' level course, such as our master's programme in 3D animation.

For example, an animator with ten years' experience in the industry might not realise they can apply for our MA course in animation, because they need a BA first.  In fact, this would not necessarily be true.

We can consider a student's body of work, and their professional career, as a route into post-graduate study, permitting them to meet the necessary qualifications for entry onto a masters' programme.