Always Test Your Rig in Close-Up

Low poly spider "Raa" animated by Alex Southcombe

There are many many free rigs and sets now available to students on an educational or freeware license for use in short films, creating a wide variety of creative choices for student film-makers.  

But not all rigs are created equal, and many problems only become evident when the film calls for a close-up, such as this image of the spider "Raa" shown on the left. 

Nik Couzens Junior Animator at BBC Studios

Many congratulations to Nik Couzens, who has recently started work as a Junior Animator at BBC Studios. Nik took our 30 week course at Animation Apprentice, working hard to develop his demo reel and apply for work in the expanding UK animation industry. 

BBC Studios is "home to the very best of British creativity". It is UK’s "most-awarded production company" and also a "world-class distributor" of original creative content.

We are delighted that Nik has landed his first job in the animation business.

Kristis Bandzevicius Animator at Quadmark

Kristis Bandzevicius

Animation Apprentice congratulates our student Kristis Bandzevicius on his new job as a Motion Designer at Quadmark. Kristis took our MA in 3D Animation, delivered through our academic partner Buckinghamshire New University. 

Quadmark is a creative training and enablement agency that builds learning experiences for companies.

"Motion Designer" is really another way of saying "animator", and we're delighted that Kristis is using the skills learned at Animation Apprentice and BNU to forge a career in the creative industries.

Charlie & Yip Best Trailer at STTP Film Festival

My short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award - Best Trailer at the "Short & To The Point" Film Festival.

 

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

Summer Class Starts Monday 6 July

The book we recommend for studying animation

What kind of preparation should students do before starting with us in our summer classroom, starting on Monday 6 July? 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 just two key books that we recommend for all our students.

How to Animate a UFO with Blend Shapes

 

We've uploaded a new four-part tutorial to our expanding list of free tutorials at our YouTube Channel.  This latest tutorial demonstrates how to animate Blend Shapes (also known as Morph Targets) in Maya.  The idea is to take a simple object (a cube) and turn it into a shape-shifting UFO - as in the example above.  Blend Shapes, which are used extensively in facial rigging, are a simple animation technique that can yield impressive results. 

Henry Fenwick Animator at Freefolk

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Henry Fenwick, who is currently working as an Animator at Freefolk. 

Freefolk is a London-based animation studio founded in 2003, initially known as Finish, and re-branded as Freefolk in 2016. Freefolk works with clients in the advertising, film, TV and music industries, providing "a full service post production and VFX offering including high-end colour grading, 2D & 3D visual effects, shoot supervision, animation, design, direction and concept."

Charlie & Yip "Best Trailer" at BAIFF

My short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award - Best Trailer at the Buenos Aires International Film Festival (BAIFF).

 

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

Royalty Free Music at Bensound

One question that animators often ask when making a short film, or compiling their demo reel, is where to get Royalty Free Music either for free or at low prices.

One useful resource that we recommend is Bensound. At Bensound.com you can download royalty free stock music for animation, YouTube and multimedia projects.

What is Imposter Syndrome?

 

What is Imposter Syndrome? According to Wikipedia, Imposter Syndrome is "a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".  Everyone starting out, learning a new skill, experiences a level of uncertainty and insecurity about their skills.

Charlie & Yip Hon Mention at Screen Power

My short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award - Honourable Mention in the category of "Best Animation" at the Screen Power Film Festival.

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

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.

Cartoon Springboard 2021

Save the date! Submissions will open soon for Cartoon Springboard, the annual pitching event that takes place from October 27-29 in Valencia, Spain. 

Successful projects will pitch to industry delegates, including producers, broadcasters and sales agents, as our students seek ways to capitalise on the festival success of their films. 

Charlie and Yip Wins Best Trailer at Onyko

I'm pleased to announce that my short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award - Best Trailer at the Onyko Film Festival.

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

The short is really a teaser/trailer for my indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development. 

Summer Class Starts on Monday 4th May 2021

Our Summer classroom starts on Monday 4th May 2021.  You don't need to know Maya beforehand (we teach everything from scratch), but it's always a good idea to do a little preparation.

Below is a brief list of stuff to get you under way. No need 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.

Speed Lipsync - How to Animate Dialogue Fast

In this short video (less than five minutes long) I set out the basic principles for animating dialogue and lipsync swiftly and cleanly. The trick is to avoid over-complicating the process.  Start by animating the jaw open and closed - open on the vowels, closed on the consonants (make sure you close the mouth for at least two frames on Ms Bs and Ps, or they won't "read"). Then, layer in the wide and narrow mouth shapes (narrow for "oo" and "w" shapes, wide for "a" and "ee" shapes). Tidy it all up, and you're done.  

Why Animators Should Apply for Jobs Twice

In the short video below, I explain why student animators should apply for animation jobs more than once. 

Rejection is normal; not getting a job is always frustrating, but you should never be downhearted.  Instead, wait a while, update your demo reel, and then re-apply.  

Back in the '90s at Disney Animation it was said that no-one got into Disney the first time around - you had to apply two or three times for the company to believe that you really, really wanted the job. Being rejected is never a reason to give up; keep applying until you land that crucial first job in the industry. 

Priya Chitnis 3D Layout Artist at ILM

Priya Chitnis

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice Graduate Priyanka Chitnis, who has a secured a new position as a Layout Artist at Industrial Lights & Magic (ILM) in Sydney, Australia.

Priya took our online MA in 3D Animation, delivered in partnership with Buckinghamshire New University, and this is her first role in the animation and VFX industry.

ILM is a global powerhouse in animation and vfx, the pioneering studio that created the animated dinosaurs for Jurassic Park and has since gone on to create the Star Wars franchise of films. 

Save The Date! Cartoon Forum 2021

Save the Date! Cartoon Forum is back - Europe's biggest TV pitch-fest for animation takes place in Toulouse, France, from 20 – 20 September 2021.

For all our students and graduates with an idea for an animated TV or web series, Cartoon Forum is the place to pitch it.

The deadline to submit your series project this year is in May. So, there is plenty of time to sharpen your pencils, fill out some forms - and make your pitch perfect.

Dog Walk Cycle Reference

Above is a handy video showing different gaits when animating dogs in motion; walks, trots and runs. Being able to master the three basic animal gaits is an important part of studying at Animation Apprentice. Especially in the world of VFX animation, studios will expect animators to be able to handle quadruped locomotion, and also create an imaginative a believable performance. 

Blue Zoo To Keep Remote Working Post-Covid

Tom Box (right) with animation students

In a recent interview at Cartoon Brew, Blue Zoo co-founder Tom Box explains why remote working is here to stay.  Since Covid-19 broke, around 700,000 people have left London, and this change is reflected at Blue Zoo animation, where many of their team have left the capital for good.  

According to Tom: "Blue Zoo is no longer really a London based company, even though we have (empty) offices there. Now, just 30% of our team live in London. Over last 10 months lots of staff relocated across the UK for a better work/life balance.  London has changed forever".