How to Solve Technical Problems

Why doesn't it work? Technical problems are the bane of the animator's life - but inevitable whenever you are working with tech tools. In the video above I explain the best approach to solving technical problems; the secret is to get help, but make sure you ask the right questions, and provide the maximum amount of information so that others can help you. Below is a list of solutions to some frequently-encountered technical difficulties.  Remember that every technical problem, no matter how infuriating, has a solution. You are not the first person to face the problem - there is an answer out there somewhere. 

How Feedback Works at Animation Apprentice

 

How do students get feedback at Animation Apprentice? I personally tutor all my students, who receive a weekly bespoke feedback tutorial on their work, showing how to fix mistakes and how to make it better.  In addition, we have a Facebook classroom where students post their work, receive positive feedback, and give creative criticism to others.  Being able to take criticism ("notes" in the industry) is part of the process of creating great animation. When you first show your work to a client, they will have comments, and they won't always love your first efforts. Whether you're working at a studio, or doing private client work, or just working on your own personal work, animators need to learn to incorporate criticism in order to make your work the best it can be.

Why Animators Need to Post at Facebook

Why do animators need Facebook? Because as a student animator, you need to be able and willing to show your work, and you need to learn not to mind about taking criticism.  We all tend to be shy about our work, especially when we are learning something new, and, when our work is criticised, that criticism can feel very personal. Learning to take criticism is one of the most important skills a student animator can learn.

Why Animators Need Early Feedback

Our online Classroom is hosted at Facebook

One of the hardest skills for animation students to learn is how give and receive criticism.  We all tend to be shy about our work (especially when we are learning something new) and, when our work is criticised, that criticism can feel very personal.

But being able to take criticism ("notes" in the industry) is part of the process of creating great animation. When you first show your work to a client, they will have comments, and they won't always love your first efforts. Whether you're working at a studio, or doing private client work, or just working on your own personal work, animators need to learn to incorporate criticism in order to make your work the best it can be.

Getting Feedback at Animation Apprentice

One of the hardest skills for animation students to learn is how give and receive criticism.  We all tend to be shy about our work (especially when we are learning something new) and, when our work is criticised, that criticism can feel very personal.

There are a number of ways in which students at Animation Apprentice can get feedback and critique. First and most obvious is directly from me - I personally tutor all the students at Animation Apprentice.  But we also have a dedicated Facebook Classroom, where students post their work to get feedback.

Why Animators Need to Show Their Work

One of the hardest skills for animation students to learn is how give and receive criticism.  We all tend to be shy about our work (especially when we are learning something new) and, when our work is criticised, that criticism can feel very personal.

Marc Godfrey Joins Animation Apprentice!

Marc Godfrey

Marc Godfrey is a very talented animator who was one of the first students to sign up for our course at Animation Apprentice back in 2012.

Marc is currently an animator at Blue Zoo Animation, one of the UK's leading animation studios, having worked on a number of their projects including some of their excellent short films, made in-house as part of their creative development.

VFX Jobs at Facebook

VFX Jobs at Facebook

Finding that crucial first job can be one of the toughest parts of a career in animation. To get there, you need to keep an eye on various company websites, sign up for their Twitter feed (Aardman for example seems to recruit largely through Twitter these days), and keep you ear to the ground. One useful group is the VFX jobs Group at Facebook, a community of VFX artists to post jobs, information, and generally help one another out.

Should Animators Critique One Another's Work?

One of the hardest skills for animation students to learn is how give and receive criticism. The craft of animation requires not just technical skill but also the ability to give a performance. Animators are actors, with a pencil or a mouse, and - just like actors - they must learn to take direction. Being able to take notes, and also give notes, is part of the process. Working on production involves not just pleasing a director but also pleasing your professional colleagues. After all, if the other animators on a film like your work, the chances are good that the director will too.

A Facebook Group worth joining - VFX Jobs

How do you find work in the Animation and Visual Effects industry? Networking, scanning the jobs pages of websites like awn.com; there are many ways to keep your ear to the ground. The best method of all is to build up a network of like-minded individuals, friends and colleagues who can keep you posted on the latest news - and even get you hired when the time is right.

Traditionally, in London, jobs would get "announced" in the pub over a pint on a friday night, the news would spread up and down Wardour Street, and hires would be made on Monday morning. Now, with great Facebook pages like VFX jobs (see above), you can keep up with the endlessly changing ebb and flow of VFX vacancies.

How Animation Apprentice Works

Salman Khan - founder of the Khan Academy. Photo: Wikipedia

Here at Animation Apprentice we believe in the power of online training - and in the idea of "flipping the classroom", a philosophy of teaching pioneered by Sal Khan's Khan Academy. Khan's big idea is that physical classrooms are obsolete. Why take notes on a lecture during class and then do the homework later, when you watch the lectures in advance, online, and then use precious classroom time for workshops and feedback? Best of all, each student gets to learn at their own pace, so no-one gets bored or, worse, falls behind and can't keep up.