The Fifteen Minute Rule

What is the The Fifteen Minute Rule? It's a rule I learned while working at Sony Pictures Animation, on Open Season. It's a simple rule, and way of keeping production moving ahead.

The rule is this: if you get stuck on a problem, spend 15 minutes trying to figure out the solution. Google it, Read The Manual, check out online forums - whatever works.

But, if you still can't figure it out after 15 minutes, ask for help. Someone next to you might be able to solve the problem quickly and simply, so you don't want to spend a lot of time trying to fix a problem that has already been solved.

Richard Williams at BFI on 25th November 2018

A Moment in Time

Richard Williams' unfinished masterpiece The Thief and the Cobbler - A Moment in Time - is to be screened at the BFI on Sunday 25th November, with a Q&A afterwards.

To buy tickets to see this rarely-screened film, follow the link to the BFI website here.

What Kind of Laptop Should I buy?

"What kind of laptop should I buy?" is a question that gets asked whenever we start a new class at Animation Apprentice.

It's a tricky question to answer, because computer specifications change all the time and - of course - it all depends on exactly what you want to use the laptop for.

But, let's say you want to buy a decent laptop capable of running Maya well, for doing computer animation and rendering out your shots.

What sort of laptop should you buy, and how much do you need to spend? Animator Amedeo Beretta offers some advice to new students.

Demo Reel Advice at Skwigly

Last week I did an interview at Skwigly, the online animation magazine, with my top 12 tips on how to make a great animation Demo Reel.

"What should go in my demo reel?" is one of the most common questions asked by students.

BAFTA Guru Live Starts 15th September

BAFTA Guru Live, two days of masterclasses, is taking place this weekend on Saturday 15th &16th September in central London.

We strongly encourage our students to apply - tickets are very inexpensive (just £6 for each masterclass) and are aimed at students and rising industry talent.

Bring Your Own Animation on Monday 17th Sept

Calling all London-based animators - "Bring Your Own Animation" is taking place on Monday 17th September.

BYOA is an animation event that takes place every month at a pub in London, generally on a Monday night. This month the event is taking place at a new location - the Smugglers Tavern in London's Fitzrovia.

If you are a student who is working on a shot or an updated reel, bring your work on a USB or hard drive and get feedback from professional animators. You'll also hear the local gossip and find out the word on the street; there is often useful intel like - who is hiring?

Animation Masterclass at VIEW 24 October

This year I'm returning to the VIEW conference in Italy to run an animation masterclass.

VIEW is the 20th International VFX & Computer Graphics Conference that takes place every year in the beautiful Italian town of Torino (Turin).

Free Rigging Tutorial by Michael Davies

We don't teach rigging as such at Animation Apprentice, the reason being that rigging is a deep rabbit hole, and there just isn't the time to explore it fully. However, one of my colleagues at Escape Studios, rigging expert Michael Davies, has recorded this free tutorial; an introduction to rigging human and humanoid characters.  Mike's impressive film credits include The Hobbit, where he rigged Smaug, and also Despicable Me, where he rigged The Minions.  Mike gets great reviews from students for his well-paced methodical style of delivery, breaking down complex processes into simple parts in a clear and transparent way.  This video is a great introduction to the art and craft of rigging - perfect for complete beginners.

Character Walks by Alexander Savchenko

Walks and loops from Alexander_Savchenko on Vimeo.

Above is a great video on character walks by animator Alexander Savchenko. It's a great example of the amount of character and personality you can get into a character walk, and also shows how much fun you can have with simple character rigs. Student animators often think that a walk cycle shouldn't go on your demo reel - but it can, and should. Multiple different walks, runs and other gaits help to show a diversity of skill and showcase the animator's flexibility.

Get Ready For Our September 3rd Class!

Kayla by Josh Sobel, animated by Joris Van Laar

It felt chilly in London this morning for the first time this summer; a reminder that Autumn is coming and school will be starting soon.

Our September classroom starts in ten days on Monday 3rd September.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do to start a conversation is head over to our main site and fill in a form.

Producing Animation Webinar on 23 August

Learn from the producer of Ultramarines

Veteran animation Producer Bob Thompson is hosting a webinar on Producing Animation on Wednesday 23 August.

The webinar, which is completely free, is titled "An Artist's guide to Animation Producers".  

Bob Thompson is an industry veteran with a long and successful track record of producing animated feature films, commercials and VFX projects, including Ultramarines and the Bionicle series.

The purpose of the webinar is to introduce artists to the business side of animation, which artists often don't understand, or tend to ignore.

But a good artist needs to get the business side of animation. After all, producers need artists who can be relied upon to deliver quality work, on time and on budget.
 

Free Webinar in Motion Graphics Tonight

Thiago Maia - head of Motion Graphics

Motion Graphics guru Thiago Maia,  founder of Cookie Studios the hosting a free webinar in Motion Graphics tonight.

Motion Graphics isn't something we teach at Animation Apprentice, but some knowledge of After Effects never did any of us any harm.

The webinar is all about applying the 12 Principles of Animation to motion graphics work, to get more fluid and believable motion graphics.

The webinar takes place at 6pm, and is free. To sign up, follow this link.

Find a Job in Animation at Creativeheads.net

One website we're liking a lot for finding work in the creative industries - and animation in particular - is Creativeheads.net. It's a comprehensive site, well organised and easy to search.

You can sign up for their weekly jobs newsletter, and use the keyword "animation" to search for new job listings all around the world.

Anyone looking for work in our industry should be checking this website regularly - ideally every day, along with (of course) the jobs list at animationjobs.com.

BlueGFX Expo 21 Nov 2018

Registration will open soon for the Blue GFX Expo, taking place in London on Thursday 21st November 2018. 

We encourage all our students in the UK attend this excellent (and free) annual event.

Pixar Animation Workflow

Incredibles 2

Pixar animator Royce Wesley was in London recently, talking about his experience working on Incredibles 2, and also explaining his own personal animation workflow.

Royce is an experienced character animator whose credits include Brave, Coco, Robots and Inside Out.

Understanding how to plan your work is one of the key parts of the animator's skill set. Every animator has their own unique approach, and it's important to develop a workflow that you can rely on to get your shots approved without too much stress.

Free Webinar July 24

Sea Serpent - Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I'll be doing a webinar on how to animate non-human characters on Tuesday July 24th.

The webinar is hosted by Escape Studios in London and is completely free, and there will be plenty of time to take questions during the talk.

How does an animator approach the challenge of animating non-human characters? After all, you probably can't film yourself acting out the scene, so you will need to find other solutions.

Sarah Perry "Acting for Animators" Starts 24 Sept

At Animation Apprentice we teach acting as part of the animator's toolkit. One thing we can't do, however, is teach an old-school live acting class, the kind of thing you might get as a classically trained stage actor.

Sarah Perry is an actor who specialises in teaching acting for animators. Her school Shapes in Motion is teaching an 8 week evening class in London, titled "Acting for Animators", starting on Monday 24th September.

Bonnie 2 Released for $15

Bonnie 2 Rig Walkthrough from Josh Sobel on Vimeo.

Bonnie 2 has just been released by Josh Sobel, creator of many production-quality rigs that are priced affordably for students. Bonnie 2 is a "from-the-ground-up rebuild of Bonnie", Josh Sobel's first rig, which he describes as "easily the most advanced rig" he has made. Bonnie 2 isn't free, but at $15 for a solo license, she is competitively priced for a wide audience. Josh Sobel's rigs are dependable and reliable, and we recommend them highly. And, you can still download Bonnie 1.0 for free.

Download Reference Footage at GetVideo.at

GetVideo.at 

Keepvid.com, the website that used to be very useful for downloading video from YouTube, doesn't work anymore, most likely due to copyright problems.

Animators download reference footage from YouTube all the time, not for the purposes of copyright violation, but so that we can step through the video, frame by frame, and study the mechanics precisely.

Now that Keepvid isn't working, there are a number of other sites that work well, including GetVideo.at - a very useful website for downloading video.

Why Animators Need Their Own Blog or Website

Animators should have their own website, or blog, and it should have your own name in the url, to make you easy to find.

The reason is simple - when recruiters are looking to hire you for a job, they will Google you, by entering your name plus the key word "animation" or "animator" in the search engine.

Hopefully, your bog, website and demo reel will pop up on page 1. If it doesn't, recruiters may well move on the next candidate. The trick with getting hired is to have a great demo reel which is easy to find.

Jason Thompson Animator at Cloth Cat

Jason Thompson

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice Graduate Jason Thompson for starting a new position as 3D Character Animator at Cloth Cat Animation. 

Cloth Cat is an animation company based in Cardiff, and produces a number of TV series including Shane the Chef. 

You can see Jason's work, as well as his demo reel, at his official website here.