How To Create Thumbnails for Animation

 

How do you create thumbnail sketches for character animation? Learning how to create thumbnail sketches is a very important skill, even for animators who don't draw well, because thumbnail sketches are an important tool for planning animation.  Even 3D animators who aren't that comfortable with drawing are encouraged to have a go at the thumbnailing process, because it is so valuable for planning character animation.  Watch the video above to see how to create simple but expressive thumbnail sketches for this month's "11 Second Club". 

"Journey of Life" Hon Mention at DSFF

"Journey of Life" wins Hon Mention at DSFF

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman whose short film "Journey of Life" has won an Honourable Mention for Best No Budget Film at the Dreamer's Short Film Festival (DSFF).

"Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation with our degree-awarding partner Buckinghamshire New University.  

Summer Class Starts 2nd May 2022

The book all animators need

Our next class at Animation Apprentice starts on Monday 2nd May 2022. We're excited to welcome new students on their animation journey; junior animators are still very much in demand, especially in our home town of London, and my inbox is full of requests from studios for fresh talent.

So, how to get ready for the start of class? It's always good to do a little preparation.

Hold Ms Bs and Ps for Two Frames

Hold Ms Bs and Ps for 2 frames minimum

One of the rules of animating lipsync is that you should always hold Ms Bs and Ps for at least two frames if you want them to "read" clearly.

The reason for this is that we need to compress our lips together to make these shapes, after which there is a little expulsion of air. 

For Ms Bs and Ps to read clearly, they need to be making the shape on the screen for at least two frames, even if the dialogue is rapid.

Why Live Action Reference Needs Exaggeration

Edward Muybridge

Using live action reference to create great animation is one of the key techniques we teach at Animation Apprentice. However, as a technique, it has its risks, the main risk being that the animator follows the live action too closely, and the final performance ends up being floaty, weightless and "spliney".

Animators should always remember that our job is to give a performance. This means using live action to create realistic, believable animation, but then going further, pushing it, and exaggerating the results. Good animation is a caricature of life, not a copy of it.

Live action reference is a very powerful tool, one which I have myself relied upon countless times on many feature films to get my shot completed on time. It is a technique used by animators all over the world.

Journey of Life "Hon Mention" in Florence Fest

Journey of Life Hon Mention at Florence Film Awards

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman whose short film "Journey of Life" has won an Honourable Mention in the category of Animation at the Florence Film Awards.

"Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation with our degree-awarding partner Buckinghamshire New University.  This is the film's third festival award. 

How Much Animation Do Studios Expect?

How many seconds?

How much animation does a studio expect an animator to deliver each week? The answer depends on the studio, and what kind of work is being expected. On a high-end feature film such as the kind made by Disney and Pixar, an animator might be expected to complete around five seconds of animation each week - and sometimes even less.

On a TV series where budgets are tight and deadlines loom, an animator might be expected to complete as much as 30 seconds of completed animation each week.

Robin Herrmann Wins March 11 Second Club

Robin Herrmann wins 11 Second Club

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrmann who has won the monthly 11 Second Club for March 2022. 

Robin Herrmann's superb animation was created as part of Module DA702 - the character animation module taught as part of the MA in 3D Animation, delivered in partnership with our degree-awarding partner - Buckinghamshire New University. 

This is the latest success for Robin whose short film "Journey of Life" has been winning festival awards. 

Journey of Life" recently won an award for "Best First Time Director" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.

Journey of Life Best 1st Director Halicarnassus

Journey of Life Best 1st-Time Director at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman whose short film "Journey of Life" has won an award for "Best First Time Director" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.  

"Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation with our degree-awarding partner Buckinghamshire New University.

This is the film's second festival award. 

"Early Bird" Best Animation at IndieFilmopolis

Dan Fitzgerald Wins Best Animation 

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Dan Fitzgerald who has won another festival award for his short film "Early Bird".  

Early Bird won "Best Animation" at the IndieFilmopolis Film festival.

Early Bird is about a bird who catches the early worm - or tries to.   Dan's short film has won many festival awards.

Dan Fitzgerald took our 26 week course at Animation Apprentice, learning 3D Animation skills to a professional level of quality. 

Dan recently won the BAA Ident Challenge for his awesome BAA Ident Animation.

Why Lipsync Should Be "Two Frames Ahead"

Cliff Nordberg

Why should your lipsync always be at least two frames ahead of the audio? Because there is a very slight time delay between our mouths making a shape, and the sound being expelled from our lips.

For your audience to be able to read the lip sync clearly you'll want to offset the jaw opening at least two frames before the audio is actually heard. 

If you have the jaw opening and closing exactly on the frame that the audio is heard, your lip sync will feel slightly "off sync", ie a little late. 

"Journey of Life" Wins Best 1st Time Director

Journey of Life Wins Best 1st Time Director at Vesuvius

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman whose short film "Journey of Life" has won an award for "Best First Time Director" at the Vesuvius Film Festival.  

"Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation.

 "Journey of Life"  was completed during the course of Robin's animation studies; this is its first festival award.

Artifact Wins Best No Budget at DSFF

Artifact wins Best No Budget Film at DSFF

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won "Best No Budget Film" at the Dreamer's Film Festival. 

"Artifact" is an animated short film written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying at Animation Apprentice for his MA in 3D Animation.   This is the film's fourth festival award. 

Animation Apprentice 2022 "BAA" Idents

British Animation Awards Ident from Noad Animation on Vimeo.

The British Animation Awards ("The BAA's") are back tonight - celebrating the best of British Animation.  The BAAs take place every two years at London's South Bank, and this year the organisers offered our students the chance to animate an ident for the Awards Ceremony at the BFI.  To see what our students came up with, take a look at the winning ident above, created by Dan Fitzgerald, and two more examples below, by Brandon Barwise and Parminder Kauldhar. 

Artifact Special Mention at One Reeler Film Fest

Artifact wins Special Mention at One Reeler Fest

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won a "Special Mention" at the One Reeler Film Festival. 

Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw

For all our students storyboarding their short film projects we're recommending the video above by Russell Hasenauer titled "Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw". It's a useful video because it helps to explain how the storyboarding process can be achieved even by students who don't draw well, or lack confidence in their drawing. Storyboarding is not chiefly about drawing - it's about how you juxtapose shots to tell a story, ideally clearly and simply.  

What is "Grammelot"?

What is Grammelot? And why do animators need it? Sometimes you want your characters to speak, but what they are actually saying isn't really that important.  Much more significant is the tone, and what that tone tells us about the character doing the speaking.  Think of the adults in the old Charlie Brown feature films; they spoke in a dreary unintelligible monotone.  We didn't know what they were saying, but we didn't need to - their tone of voice told us everything we needed to know.  And the content of their speech was far less important than what the Peanuts' kids had to say.

Nine Ways to Create a Great Animation Pose

How do you create a great pose in animation? Creating great poses is a necessary skill for all animators to learn. In the video above, I suggest nine ways that an animator can create a great pose - the key starting point for a great acting scene. 

Body Language for Animators

 

Body language is as important as spoken language, and just as important for animators to learn. Animators are actors (with a pencil or a mouse) and we must understand how body language can be used to communicate emotion, and how to create great poses in our work. A great pose should communicate what the character is thinking and feeling.  In the 13 minute video above, I explore some of the basic principles of body language and how these can be applied to character animation.

Introducing Journey of Life by Robin Herrmann

 

Meet "Journey of Life", a new short film created by Animation Apprentice student Robin Herrman.  "Journey of Life" was written, produced and directed by Robin, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation at Animation Apprentice, in partnership with our degree-awarding partner, Buckinghamshire New University.   "Journey of Life" is currently being entered into film festivals. 

Aid Film Wins Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

"What is Wrong...?" Wins Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "What is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?" which has won "Best No Budget" film at the Dreamer's Film Festival.

Directed by Monika Dzikowicz, the two minute micro-documentary tells the story of an aid organisation which has lost sight of its founding principles.  It was made under the aegis of Nano Films, our film co-operative.