Cartoon Museum "Comics Maestro Competition"

"Young Comics Maestro" Competition

The Alison Brown "Young Comics Maestro" Competition closes in 11 days, on 30 June.  London's Cartoon Museum is looking for the next big "18 or Under" comic artist.

Send in your best comic strip to the Cartoon Museum, three pages max, to enter the competition and get your work in front of judges from The Beano, The Phoenix, and The Cartoon Museum. The deadline is Sunday 30 June at 6pm. 

Free Beginner Tutorials at Animation Apprentice

Animate a Cartoony Vehicle

We have lots of beginner animation tutorials at Animation Apprentice, many of them completely free. 

To get started with animation basics, why not Animate a Telephone Ringing in Maya, Animate a Flag Waving in Maya, or Animate a Submarine Underwater. 

It takes a while to master the art and craft of animation, but these beginner tutorials are a great way to get started.

Quadruped Horse Walk Tutorial

Horse walk by Matt Lawson-Hall

We've uploaded a new series of video tutorials on animating quadrupeds, a "Horse Walk Tutorial" using the "Rhett The Clydesdale" Maya Rig, which is free to download.

All animators need to learn how to animate a quadruped walk cycle.  The horse walk tutorial is password-protected but available to all our current students.

Spiders and Scorpions Animation Demo Reel

Above is a compilation of some of the best arachnid animation by our students completed in recent years. Spiders and scorpions might seem hard to animate - but we break down the technique into a series of simple steps, re-using animation curves to get a quick and effective result. Edited by Miguel Teixeira, Song: New Arcade. Music by: CreatorMix.com. 

Young Animator of the Year Competition Open

Young Animator of the Year 2024

The Young Animator of the Year UK ("Yay!") 2024 Competition is now open for entries. Entries are welcomed from UK-based animators between the ages of 11 and 18 years.  All they have to do is submit their film to http://younganimator.uk by September 16th 2024.

Takes & Reactions Demo Reel

Reaction shots are the bread-and-butter of junior animators. On a feature film, once an animator has graduated from walk cycles and crowd shots, they get given reaction shots.  In the compilation demo reel above we show some of the best takes and reaction shots animated by our students at Animation Apprentice. 

Animate Dialogue with Monty: "I'm Outta Here!"

Monty: "I'm Outta Here!" 

In the simple animation tutorial below we show how to animate a character with no mouth saying a line of dialogue.  

But how can you animate dialogue and lipsync - with no lips?  The answer is - it's all in the performance.  If the body language is working, then the audience will believe that the character is speaking - even if it has no mouth. 

Crab Scuttle Animation Tutorial

Animate a crab scuttle underwater

In this new animation tutorial we demonstrate how to create a locomotion cycle in Maya with a crab rig, showing how to take a complex motion, break it down - and make it simple.

A crab's sideways scuttle looks complex, but is in fact very easy to animate, by following this basic tutorial.

We start by animating a single animation curve, and then copy it across the crab rig. 

Anticipation, Action & Reaction Tutorial

In this very simple tutorial we show how to animate an anticipation, action and reaction in Autodesk Maya, using the Yellow Beetle "AnyCar" rig. Instead of animating the Beetle out of the frame, we add a "smear frame", to get it off screen as fast as possible, in the style of the old Tex Avery or Chuck Jones cartoons.

The reaction at the end is the camera shake, simulating the air pressure as the car whizzes past. 

Animate a Swimming Jelly with Caustics

 Animate a cartoony jelly traveling underwater.

In this super simple tutorial we show how to animate a cartoony jelly traveling underwater. This is a very basic tutorial aimed at beginners in Maya.

The idea is to do some very simple animation of an underwater scene, then add a caustic effect to reproduce the effect of light penetrating water.  The jelly rig can be downloaded for free here. 

SuperHero Pets! A Creativity Exercise

via GIPHY

Welcome to Super Hero Pets! This is a fun exercise designed to help imagine an original TV or web series.  Your goal is to learn the basic building blocks of story, story-telling and character, by imagining a short film based on your first pet, or cuddly toy.  Start by imagining the characters, who they are, and what they do. Then design your four main characters.  

Animate Willy "I'm Outta Here"

Willy: "I'm Outta Here!"

In this three part dialogue tutorial we show how to animate a cartoony character ("Willy") saying a line of dialogue.  The line is "I'm Outta Here!", taken from Iago in Disney's Aladdin. 

In the first part of the tutorial we block out the animation with Willy. In the second part, we add a "Smear Drawing" to simulate motion blur. 

In the third part we animate Willy's hat flying up in the air and landing. 

How Do Animators Get Hired For Games?

Into Games is hosting a free live-streamed talk today Wednesday 22nd May at 1pm UK time for animators seeking a career as an animator in the Games Industry. 

The title of the talk is "Animation: Communicating the fundamentals. How to Prove You've Got The Experience".

Today's talk is for animators who are either "pre-games or very early in their games industry career". 

The talk will be delivered by Hannah Kravets a Gameplay Animator currently working with Climax Studios. 

Animate a "Take" with the Luxo Lamp

Animate a "Take" reaction shot with the Pixo Jr lamp

In this simple free tutorial we show how to animate a "take" (a reaction shot), with the Pixo Jr lamp rig which you can download from highend3d.com. 

The tutorial is a simple one, aimed at animation beginners, but it helps if you are already familiar with the Maya Interface.  Follow the thumbnails below to replicate the tutorial.

Smear Frame Animation Tutorial in Maya

In this brief tutorial we show how to animate a "Smear Frame". Smear Frames simulate motion blur in super-snappy animation, in the style of the old Tex Avery or Chuck Jones cartoons.

But how do you do a Smear Frame in 3D animation, using Maya character rigs? Watch our free tutorial to find out.

Robots, Vehicles & Machinery Demo Reel

Above is a selection of the best Robots, Vehicles & Machinery animation created by our talented students at Animation Apprentice. The cartoony yellow car is one of our weekly exercises, as is the helicopter airship.  Congratulations to all our students on their excellent work.  The reel was cut by Miguel Teixeira. Song: Get Back Music by: CreatorMix.com

Locomotion & Mechanics Demo Reel

Above is a selection of the best locomotion and mechanics animation created by our talented students at Animation Apprentice.  Every animator needs to know how to animate a walk cycle, and then (having mastered the basic mechanics) to give that walk character and personality.  Every person moves differently, and those differences add up to their own unique personality. Congratulations to all our students and recent graduates on their excellent work in locomotion and mechanics.  Song: Ocean Drive Music by: CreatorMix.com

Fish Swim - Free Animation Tutorial

Animate a fish swimming in Maya

In this simple tutorial we show how to animate a fish swimming, and then add some underwater lighting using Maya's software renderer. 

Start with a single side-to-side rotation of the fish; then copy and paste the curves down the fish's body, offsetting each curves by a frame or two. 

The result is the distinctive swish of a fish's tail.  The underwater lighting with caustics can be done with a few clicks. 

Animate a Submarine Underwater with Caustics

Animate a Submarine Underwater

In this super simple tutorial we show how to animate a submarine traveling underwater.  This is a very basic tutorial aimed at beginners in Maya. 

The idea is to do some simple animation of an underwater scene, then add a caustic effect to reproduce the effect of light penetrating water. 

Attach and Un-Attach a Hat in Maya

Attach & Un-attach a Hat in Maya Using the Parent Master

In this short (just under ten minutes) tutorial for animation beginners we show how to attach and un-attach a hat in Maya using the free ZV Parent Master Plugin. 

The ZV Parent Master Plugin is a very useful tool that we recommend for attaching and un-attaching objects in Maya.  To see how to download and install the Parent Master, read this blog post and watch this video.  

RTS Bursary Scheme Now Open

The Royal Television Society (RTS) Bursary Scheme is now open, offering bursaries (scholarships) to students  pursuing careers in television, film or related media.

The application deadline is Monday 24th June 2024. As always, we encourage our students to apply. 

There are many scholarships and bursaries available for education.