Animation Apprentice Visits Westminster Kingsway

Westminster Kingsway College 

Last week Animation Apprentice visited Westminster Kingsway College to talk to with students and young professionals about careers in animation. 

The event was hosted by Film London to provide aspiring artists with guidance on how to break into the creative industries  and, specifically, into the animation industry.  

Today the animation industry continues to grow, despite Covid and Brexit, boosted recently by expansion of the UK Govt Tax Credit. 

  

Mark Masters Ranks No3 in 11 Second Club

 

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Mark Masters on his successful entry into the March 11 Second Club - you can watch his animation "Visitor in Nature" above.  Mark's entry was ranked no 3 in this month's 11 Second Club (out of 126 entries) - a very impressive result.  "The 11 Second Club" competition is a monthly contest in which animators compete to animate the most inventive and entertaining take on a piece of dialogue. Mark Masters is currently taking our Masters' Degree in Animation, delivered with our university partner Buckinghamshire New University.

Marc Stevenson Ranks No 4 in 11 Second Club

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Marc Stevenson on his successful entry into the March 11 Second Club - you can watch his animation "Horsin' Around" above.  Marc's entry was ranked no 4 in this month's 11 Second Club (out of 126 entries) - a very impressive result.  "The 11 Second Club" competition is a monthly contest in which animators compete to animate the most inventive and entertaining take on a piece of dialogue.

UK Animation Returns to Cartoon Forum

Cartoon Forum - Toulouse 18-21 September 2023

The European film agency "Cartoon", organisers of "Cartoon Forum" and "Cartoon Movie", has announced that UK animation will return to Cartoon Forum this year in a special initiative titled "Animated UK Meets Europe", led by Animation UK, and supported by the BBC, Disney, and other major UK Partners. 

UK Animation Tax Relief Increased to 39%

One less-reported aspect of the Chancellor's Spring budget here in the UK was an increase in the tax relief granted by HMRC for UK animation to a generous 39%. 

This appears to be in response to lobbying by the UK creative industries, who have long argued that the tax credit encourages UK animation production, and nurtures domestic talent and creativity.

Here at Animation Apprentice we are delighted that the Government is supporting the UK animation industry, and we welcome the news, which will surely boost UK animation production, and create a jobs pipeline for animation graduates in the UK. 

Andrew Schlussel Talks AI and Animation

In the Ted Talk above, DNEG Animation's Andrew Schlussel explains why, even though AI can now automate many jobs - such as concept art - we should not fear it.  Andrew explains how changes in animation and vfx technology over the years have increased the size of the industry - not shrunk it.  He suggests that AI will be no different, and that the "net sum" of jobs in the Creative Industries will continue to increase, even though certain processes can be done by machine learning.  What should we do with AI instead? - embrace it, and use it. 

Animation Grad 2.0 by Aaron McGriff

We're liking this article at Linkedin by Pixar animator Aaron McGriff, who talks about what it takes to get hired as an animator straight out of school.

Aaron's top tips are to "start with your demo" reel, and make sure you specialise in the kind of animation you want to do most. Your demo reel for Pixar will not be the same as your reel for ILM.

Aaron's article is thoughtful and full of great advice, and we highly recommend it. You can find the full article here. 

2023 Rookies Now Open

All of our graduating students at Animation Apprentice are encouraged to enter The Rookie Awards, the international competition for young creatives. The competition opens today, Tuesday March 7th 2023 - and the final deadline is 1st June.

The Rookies was founded in 2009 to "showcase the most talented student designers, illustrators, film makers, animators, developers, digital artists, and launch them into the career of their dreams." All our graduating students should enter.

"Early Bird" Best Animation for Kids at AniMate

Early Bird wins "Best Animation for Kids" at AniMate Fest

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

Early Bird won "Best Animation for Kids" at the Australian "AniMate" Animation 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.

"Johnny Spittoon" Best Animation in Covent Garden

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Neil Whitman whose short animated film "Jonny Spittoon" has won the Best Animation Award at the Covent Garden Film Festival. 

Neil Whitman took our 30 week course in 3D animation, learning the art and craft of character and creature animation, building on the skills he had learned as a motion graphics artist at the BBC.

We are delighted that Neil's new short animated film has achieved festival success - this is the latest of a number of festival awards. 

Using Open AI to Create Story Ideas

AI is a powerful tool for the creation of stories and ideas.  Watch the video above to see how to use the Playground at Open AI to generate ideas for stories and short films.  AI represents the biggest technical advance in the animation & VFX industry since 3D animation began to replace traditional hand-animated feature films in the early 2000s.  Artificial Intelligence is here to stay - so let's make the best use of it we can.

Spring Class Starts on 6th March 2023

Our Spring Animation Class begins on Monday 6th March 2023.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do is visit the main Animation Apprentice site and go through a few simple steps.

If you want to learn 3D animation to a professional level, and start your new career as an animator - your journey starts here.

2023 Animation Demo Reel

Above is our 2023 student demo reel, a selection of the best work done at Animation Apprentice over the last year. The reel includes work by Joshua Reynolds, Robin Herrmann, Lee Caller, Lisa Springett, Francis Lowe, Dan Fitzgerald, Alex Southcombe, Brandon Barwise, Hamill Buyco, Joris Van Laar,  Chantelle Fairburn, Mark Masters and Muhammad Al-Dasoqi.  Congratulations to all of them on their excellent work.

Bouncing Ball by Lisa Springett

 

Above is an excellent example of the "Bouncing Ball" exercise by Animation Apprentice student Lisa Springett.  Our course at Animation Apprentice, like almost every course in animation, starts with the bouncing ball, as students learn to apply the principles of timing, spacing, paths of action and weight - four of the Twelve Principles of Animation.  Lisa's skilled work shows that even a simple exercise can be entertaining and interesting, and can be completed to a demo-reel level of skill.

 

How "APEL" Works

APEL: route to post-graduate study

What is the APEL process, and why does it matter? APEL stands for "Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning", and is the formal recognition of prior learning by UK universities.

Why is it important? APEL is the means by which students who do not have an undergraduate degree can gain entry onto a masters' level course, such as our master's programme in 3D animation.

For example, an animator with ten years' experience in the industry might not realise they can apply for our MA course in animation, because they need a BA first.  In fact, this would not necessarily be true.

We can consider a student's body of work, and their professional career, as a route into post-graduate study, permitting them to meet the necessary qualifications for entry onto a masters' programme.

Luxo Lamp Hop by Lisa Springett

 

Above is a charming example of a "Luxo Lamp" animation by Lisa Springett, created as part of Lisa's studies at Animation Apprentice, using the Pixo Jr lamp rig.  The lamp hop is part of students' early induction into character animation. Like Pixar's first short film "Luxo Jr", our students have the chance to show emotion and character in an inanimate object with no facial expressions - breathing life into a simple table lamp and creating a fun, entertaining performance - the hallmark of good animation.

Flour Sack Animation with Joshua Reynolds

 

Above is a fine example of "Flour Sack" animation by Animation Apprentice student Joshua Reynolds, using the free flour sack rig, available for download online.  The flour sack rig is one we like to use in the early stages of learning animation, so that students can get used to the idea of creating the illusion of weight, and also getting a performance from an inanimate object.

Storm Trooper Animation by Mark Masters

Above is an excellent piece of locomotion animation by Animation Apprentice student Mark Masters, created as part of his studies on the Animation Masters' Degree at Buckinghamshire New University.  The assignment brief for the first module, DA701 PR1, is to create a short piece of human locomotion, with character and personality. 

Pantomime Animation with Joshua Reynolds

 

One of the key skills every animator needs to learn is how to tell a story without words, to create "pantomime" animation. The art of pantomime is that, like mime, the audience should understand completely the story being told - without words.   In the example above, by Animation Apprentice student Joshua Reynolds, Joshua tackles the "Phone Booth" exercise, in which the animator must tell the story of a phone call silently, just using body language and expressions, communicating to the audience what the character is thinking and feeling.

Do You Need a BA to Apply for an MA?

One question we often get asked here at Animation Apprentice is this: "Do I need a BA in order to apply for your MA in animation?". The answer is... "maybe".  Ideally, candidates for our Online MA in 3D Animation, delivered in partnership with Buckinghamshire New University, will already have a BA in an arts-related subject.  However, those without a BA can still go through what is called the APEL process - APEL stands for "Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning". APEL is the formal recognition of prior learning by UK universities, and is the means by which students who do not have an undergraduate degree can gain entry onto a masters' level course, such as our master's programme in 3D Animation.

2023 New Year's Resolutions for Animators

Happy New Year to all our students!  The New Year brings new challenges but also opportunities - the animation and VFX industries continues to thrive, with remote working now fully established as an alternative to the traditional in-house commute. 

This year, top of our list of New Year's Resolutions, is to experiment with the new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as  OpenAI and MidJourney.  AI is changing the face of the animation industry in a way that challenges everything we do, but also offering new opportunities.