Blue Zoo at SIGGRAPH tomorrow in London!

Blue Zoo, one of the UK's most innovative indie animation studios, is the star of the next SIGGRAPH event, on Wednesday May 25 at MPC in London's Soho, at 7pm.

The founders of BlueZoo will be talking about how they nurtured their fledgling company from an idea into a multi-million pound animation powerhouse.  Best of all, the event is completely free!

Animation Demo Reel Clinic at Escape Studios on Wednesday 25 May at 5pm

I'll be doing a webinar at Escape Studios on wednesday - all about animation demo reels; how to make them, how to perfect them, and how to use them to land your first job in the industry.

If you're working on you animation demo reel (aren't we all?) and you'd like to make your reel the best it possibly can be - sign up now for the webinar.  Best of all - it's completely free!

ChargeSync - Our Latest Nano Film!

Our students at Animation Apprentice have just completed their latest freelance commercial project: Chargesync.  Chargesync is a tech company that makes electricity storage devices that people can put in their homes, saving money on their electricity bills and helping to reduce their carbon footprint as well. The purpose of the film is to help electricity consumers understand exactly what it is that Chargesync do. Animation is a wonderful tool for taking complex ideas and getting them across in a simple, clear way. And this film was a great way for our students to get paid experience of working on a live freelance job - for a great company with a great message.

How To Load 3DS Max Files Into Maya

Visit a website like Turbosquid and you will find plenty of cool stuff, much of it free, to help you with your animation. You might want to download a set, or a prop, something to make your shot come alive, and quickly - you don't want to waste precious animation time modelling complex props and sets.

But what if the only available file type for download is a 3DS Max file? Max is a popular platform for learning animation and, while is it much less widely used in industry than Maya, there is lots of great free content out there in the 3DS Max format. So, what we need is a way to import 3DS Max files into Maya.  Fortunately, it's pretty easy when you know how.

Studio Library - Tool To Manage Poses in Maya

Autodesk Maya has its weaknesses, and one of these is the difficulty of copying and pasting your animation from one character rig to another.

Maya also lacks a user friendly interface for saving out and re-using your character poses.

Fortunately, the free Studio Library tool now offers Maya animators a Python script for managing poses and transferring animation in Maya.

Pete Nicholson - Animator at King Bee Animation

We're delighted to congratulate Animation Apprentice student Pete Nicholson who has just landed a job with King Bee animation, based at the historic Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, just outside of London.

Pete got the job after doing an internship at King Bee; a tried and tested route into the industry. Internships are often - in effect - a kind of prolonged interview process. Which, in this case, had a happy ending.

Pitch Your Idea for a TV Series at Cartoon Forum!

What is Cartoon Forum? And why should animators know about it? Well, Cartoon Forum is Europe's biggest TV pitch-fest for animation, so if you have an idea for a TV series in your head, Cartoon Forum is the place to pitch it.

The deadline to submit your TV project is 11 May. So, you have just one week to sharpen your pencils, fill out some forms - and make your pitch perfect.

What Is "Safe Title" And "Safe Action"?

Red is unsafe. Safe action is in yellow. Safe title is in green.

What Are Safe Title and Safe Action?  And why do animators need to know? The answer is that an understanding of the language of cinematography and film is part of what our students learn on their professional journey.

After all, animators are film-makers, and we need to be familiar with industry standard terms. We need to know not just about animation but also about cameras; how to use them and what to do with them.

So, what exactly, do the words "safe action" and "safe title" mean?

Get Ready For Our May 9th Class!

What kind of preparation should students do before starting with us  at Animation Apprentice on May 9th?  It's always good to do a little preparation and get a bit of a head start.

Below is a brief list of stuff to get you under way. You don't have to do all of it, but tick off a few of the things on this list and you will be a making a great start on your animation career.

First, here is a short reading list to get you started. We've narrowed it down to two books that we recommend for all our students.

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?

Still Time To Sign Up For Our May 9 Summer Class!

There is still time to sign up for our new class beginning next week on Monday 9 May 2015.  We believe that we provide the very best animation training in the world, for the lowest possible price.

Our students at Animation Apprentice are finding jobs with leading studios like Blue Zoo and Jellyfish Pictures, proving that our teaching methods work.  So what's stopping you? Sign up now and kick-start your animation career!

Careers Spotlight - Animation Apprentice Goes to Annecy!

Beautiful Annecy

Animation Apprentice will be at Annecy animation festival this summer, attending the world's biggest animation festival to take a look at the current state of the animation industry, spot the latest trends and - most important of all - figure out what skills our students need in today's market, and who is hiring.

I'll be one of the speakers at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) panel at Annecy, sharing the stage with Pixar and Nickelodeon, and talking about the current state of the industry and how we can help our students to find jobs and kick-start their careers in the global animation industry.
 

Jason Thompson Breaks Into The Games Industry with Man O' War: Corsair

Man O' War: Corsair.

Jason Thompson is a graduate of Animation Apprentice who has recently broken into the games industry, working on the newly released game Man O' War: Corsair. 

We asked Jason to talk about his experience, and what advice he might give to other students hoping to break into this fast-growing but highly competitive industry.

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.

Some Notes on Dissertations

Dissertation

One of the most important pieces of work that our online MA students have to grapple with on our pioneering MA in 3D animation (the first of its kind) is a dissertation.

The dissertation is the academic part of the Master's degree and, while it's not always the favourite part for most digital artists, it's something we have to get to grips with in order to be awarded a degree.

Below are some of the common errors made in the course of dissertation writing, and some tips on how to fix them. The list was compiled by Dr Fil Ieropolus, who is in charge of the academic writing at Bucks New University. It's a great starting point for anyone taking our course who is a bit rusty with their written work.

Why Animators Should Go To FMX

FMX is coming! Germany's annual FMX festival is the place to be if you want to break into the visual effects industry.

It takes place in Stuttgart every year - this year from April 26 to 29. It's a big, bustling, crowded congress of students and professionals who work - or want to work - in the global visual effects industry, getting together for their annual festival. Everyone shows up - and there are lectures, screenings and panel talks on every imaginable aspect of the visual effects process.

For students, it costs €150 to get in to the whole event (€75 for the day), plus you will have travel and accommodation to deal with. But as a window into the VFX world - there is nothing like it. It is the biggest event in the Europe. Below is a teaser to get you into the mood.

Apply Now For Our Online MA in 3D Animation - Starting in September!

The world's first online MA in animation

It's not too late! There is still time to apply for our online MA in animation - our second graduate cohort starts in September 2016.

This is a unique degree which can be undertaken by students anywhere in the world, leading to a formal qualification in the field.

You will not only learn how to animate, but you will engage at Masters' level with the underpinning theory and structure behind the art form.

So, if you want to learn how to animate to a professional level, and also get a proper qualification in the field - this course is for you.

Free Redboard Tutorial!

Redboard is a great new piece of animation software, designed to help close the gap between 3D layout and storyboards, and generally to make storyboard artists' lives easier. Instead of starting with a blank piece of paper, or a blank screen, the story artist starts with a 3D layout, and you then draw over the top with a pen. So, it's just like traditional storyboards - but a lot of the 3D camera work and set layout is done for you. This short video demonstrates how Redboard works.

How To Make a Playblast in Maya

Autodesk Maya

Sooner or later every student of animation needs to know how to use the playblast tool in Maya. A playblast is a way of playing back your animation so you can see it play back in real-time. 

But why not just press play in the timeline? Doesn't that do the same thing? Unfortunately, we rarely get real-time playback of our animation in the Maya timeline, especially when we are using complex production rigs. So, to see how our animation is working (or not) we really need to know how to use the Playblast tool.

Here is how it works.

An Introduction to The Art of Storyboards

Storyboarding is a vital part of the animation process, and in the old 2D days of traditional animation, many animators did both. Nowadays, with drawing skills less necessary for 3D animation, storyboarding has tended to separate out into a different discipline. But even animators who don't like to draw should understand a bit about how the storyboard process works. This short ten minute video explores what storyboards are all about - and what the different kinds of storyboards are.

Steve Begg at Escape Studios Tonight On Spectre

Escape Studios in London's Shepherd's Bush is hosting a special VFX event tonight with Steve Begg.  Steve will discuss the visual effects work done on on Spectre, his fourth James Bond film and his third as VFX Supervisor.

With over 27 years' experience in the industry Steve Begg has taken the role of VFX Supervisor on titles such as Skyfall, Batman Begins, Casino Royale, The Golden Compass, Red Dwarf, and Aliens.

Events like this offer a rare chance to meet some of the leading figures in the London VFX industry, find out what skills are in demand, ask questions, and find out who might be hiring. Best of all, the event is completely free!