Is it Good? Animation by Lee Caller

"Is it good?" from Lee Caller on Vimeo.

Above is a fine acting shot animated by Animation Apprentice graduate Lee Caller, one of a number of pieces of animation that Lee has started lately, but - as he puts it - "rarely gets to finish".  In this case, the purpose of the demo was to show that great animation it not always all about over-the-top super-exaggeration, but more about subtle facial expressions and believable acting choices. The acting reference was taken from the TV series Killing Eve - you can see the original shot here: youtu.be/HDdhotN0Dnw?t=223

Demo Reel 2012-2021 "Best Of"

Our latest demo reel is an edit of some of the best shots done by students at Animation Apprentice over the last decade. These shots have all been selected because they show considerable skill in character and creature animation, as well as imagination and a flair for entertainment.  Thanks to Marc Godfrey, Joris Van Laar, Lee Caller, Giuseppe Candido and Victoria Bailey. The background track is "Wait for me" by Moby.

Lee Caller "Special Mention" Award at ANSFF

"Jelly Cars": Special Mention at ANSFF

Animation Apprentice is proud to congratulate Lee Caller whose short film Jelly Cars has won a "Special Mention" Award at the Arte Non Stop Film Festival in Argentina. 

This is the second award for Jelly Cars; earlier this year the short won a "Five Stars" Award at the British International Amateur Film Festival.  Lee graduated from Animation Apprentice several years ago and now teaches animation at Escape Studios in London. 

"Jelly Cars" Wins Award at the BAIFF

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Lee Caller, whose short film "Jelly Cars" has won an award at the British Amateur International Film Festival.

Lee Caller, created the short film while studying at Animation Apprentice; based on one of the weekly animation exercises completed all our students.

"Jelly Cars" has been selected for a number of animation festivals, but this is its first award.

Today, Lee teaches animation classes at Escape Studios in London, and is also studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Buckinghamshire New University.

You can see more of Lee's work at his website here.

Lee Caller Teaching Animation at Escape

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Lee Caller, who recently started a new job teaching animation at Escape Studios.

Lee is an excellent animator and also an excellent teacher, able to pace the class effectively and make sure that everyone gets to a professional level of skill.

Tokyo Rex by Lee Caller

Check out this excellent dinosaur animation by Animation Apprentice student Lee Caller.  You can also view his other videos at website here - all of Lee's work has a strong storytelling element as well as great technical qualities - the perfect ingredients for a great animation performance.  Lee has been teaching classes at Escape Studios lately, introducing animation students to the art and craft of character animation. So, not just a great animator - but a great teacher too.

Morpheus Bros by Lee Caller

Above is some excellent pantomime animation by Animation Apprentice student Lee Caller. You can check out his other videos at website here - almost all of his work has a strong storytelling element as well as great technical qualities - the perfect ingredients for a great animation performance. Lee has been teaching classes at Escape Studios lately, introducing animation students to the art and craft of character animation.

"Jelly Cars" by Lee Caller

From time to time we like to showcase some of the best work done by our students here at Animation Apprentice. "Jelly Cars" a very inventive piece of film-making by Lee Caller, who has animated a short film as one of his weekly animation submissions. It's a great piece of storytelling, entertaining and fun - and beautifully animated.  It's just the kind of work we like to see our students do - taking a simple exercise (in this case, animating a cartoon car, using the yellow Beetle rig by Aaron Parker), and bringing it to life, going far beyond the initial brief to create some really fun animation.

Tank -v- Scorpions! By Lee Caller

Above is some excellent creature animation by Lee Caller, one of our students at Animation Apprentice. Lee has mastered not just the art of creature locomotion but also managed to give a convincing and believable performance. The set design and sound design are excellent, and the shot leaves the viewer wanting more. The robot scorpion rig is by the very talented Kiel Figgins, and can be found here.

Recommended Rigs - Raa the Spider!

One of the rigs that we recommend for student use in the early stages of learning creature animation is the Raa Spider Rig.  Raa is free, and can be downloaded at CreativeCrash.com.  He is an eight-legged arachnid, perfect for learning creature locomotion.

Like most rigs, Raa has his quirks and foibles. So how can our students get the very best out of Raa?

Spiders! by Lee Caller

Here is a great piece of animation by one of our students, Lee Caller.  Lee did an excellent job of creating a looping spider walk cycle, and then added a performance to make it fun and interesting to watch. He has added some nice textures and lighting, and a sound track to make it spooky. Best of all, the shot tells a story, showing that Lee can make his work visually interesting, that he is not just a technician. This is just the kind of work we like to see on our students' demo reels - the kind of work which will help them find work in the fast-growing animation and visual effects industry.