11 Second Club May Unreal Challenge

Next month we're recommending that all our student animators enter the monthly 11 Second Club Competition. 

In May 2021 Epic Games, creators of the Unreal Engine real-time renderer, are launching a special prize challenge with The 11Second Club, in association with Dell Computers.  First prize is a Dell Workstation.

11 Second Club

Chicken or egg?

It's August! You could be heading for the beach to relax or, like many of our dedicated animators here at Animation Apprentice, you could be polishing your animation skills by entering The 11 Second Club, the monthly character competition in which aspiring animators compete to win prizes and get their work noticed.

Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, which is provided on the first day of every month by the club. This month our students will tackle a question of philosophy: which came first, chicken or egg?

Eleven Rig - How to Use It

One of the most popular rigs used by our students, often for entry into the monthly Eleven Second Club Competition is the Eleven Rig, available for free download at the Resources page of the club.

"Eleven" is a great, well-tested rig and perfect for getting a really nice character performances. It's good for lipsync, body poses, and facial expressions. It's also relatively easy to learn and reasonably logical in its setup.

Eleven does, however, have a few quirks. So, what are they and how can we solve them?

April Eleven Second Club - Psych!

Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter The 11 Second Club, the monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed.

Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, which is provided on the first day of every month by the club.

This month the line of dialogue is taken from the TV Series Psych.

March 2016 Eleven Second Club!

Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter The 11 Second Club, the monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed.

Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, which is provided on the first day of every month by the club.

This month the line of dialogue is taken from the 2004 smash hit comedy Mean Girls. The lines are spoken by the characters Mrs George, played by Amy Poehler, and Cady, who was played by Lindsay Lohan.

February Eleven Second Club!

Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter The 11 Second Club, the monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed.

Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking (or sometimes singing) a line of dialogue, which is provided every month by the club.  This month's line of dialogue is all about....vegetarianism!

January Eleven Second Club!

Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter the monthly Eleven Second Club, a character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and learn the craft of character performance. Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, which is provided every month by the club. Best of all, entry is free! So what are you waiting for?  Let's start animating!

December 11 Second Club Competition Now Live!

Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter The 11 Second Club, the monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed.  Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking (or sometimes singing) a line of dialogue, which is provided every month by the club.  This month's theme is a musical number from the hit film "Les Miserables".

Time to Enter the November 11 Second Club Competition!

Yoda speaks. Copyright Disney

What are you doing this November to polish your animation skills? Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our students to enter The 11 Second Club, a monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed.

Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue. Entry is free, and this month's competition continues with the recent Star Wars theme.

So what are you waiting for?  Let's get started!

The October 11 Second Club Competition is - Star Wars!

May The Force Be With You

What are you doing this October to polish your animation skills? Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter The 11 Second Club, a monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed.

Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, or, sometimes, a sound effect - this month is a chance to animated a jedi light sabre battle!  Best of all, entry is free! So what are you waiting for?  Let's get started!

Why Not Enter the August Eleven Second Club Competition?

What are you doing to polish your animation skills over the summer? Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter The 11 Second Club, a monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed. Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, which is provided every month by the club.

Why Not Enter the March 11 Second Club Competition?

Here at Animation Apprentice we encourage all our student animators to enter The 11 Second Club, a monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills and get their work noticed. Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, which is provided every month by the club.

Throughout the competition, participants can share their progress with one another and critique each other's work - just like in a real animation studio. At the end of the month, all the participants vote for the submission that they consider the best for that month - so it's a very democratic process. The idea of the 11 Second Club is "to give animators a chance to practice their skills in a fun, challenging environment".

Animation Apprentice Student Enters 11 Second Club - Two Days Left to Vote!

Henry Fenwick, one of our talented students here at Animation Apprentice, has just entered the online animation competition The Eleven Second Club (see his animation clip above), and he's looking for your support! You can still vote for Henry's excellent submission by going to the official site here, but hurry! There isn't much time left!

Where is the Best Place to Find Free Animation Rigs?

There are many free rigs available to Maya animators hoping to practice and learn their craft. Norman, Max, Morpheus - all excellent rigs available at no charge and easy to download, all free for non-commercial use. But beware - all rigs are different and each one has its own quirks. All take time to get used to, and each one will drive you crazy at first. Fortunately for us, The Eleven Second Club Resources Page has helpfully provided a page pulling together many of the best free rigs most commonly used for learning character animation.