External Projects at Animation Apprentice

Our animators can make you a film

At Animation Apprentice we often get asked if our animation students can take on external projects. Our students are very busy with their own work, but on occasion we can tackle "live briefs" for outside clients, such as the 2022 BAA Ident Awards Challenge.

There are however a few things we need in advance, most important of which is a brief (ideally a single page PDF), explaining what the client wants and expects.  Below is a list of things for clients to think about to make sure that the project is a success. 

Have You Tried Re-Starting Your Computer?

Have you tried a re-start?

A few years ago I was working at Digiscope in Los Angeles on an animated film, and was experiencing some technical trouble with my Mac. 

Growling and grumbling about computers and IT, I stomped down the hall to the IT Dept, only to see a big sign in bold font on the door saying "Have You Tried Re-Starting Your Computer?".  I stopped, paused, went back to my room, re-started the Mac and...everything worked fine.

If your machine isn't working, try re-starting your computer. Around 50% of technical problems can be solved with a re-start.   Even better, close your computer down,, wait a minute or two and then start it up again.  Sometimes this works even where a re-start has failed.

Why Lipsync Needs Wide and Narrow Shapes

Mouth shapes by Cliff Nordberg

When animating dialogue and Lipsync, it's important to remember that animators need a contrast between the wide and narrow mouth shapes, otherwise the Lipsync tends to feel a bit like a dustbin lid opening and shutting.

The key is to find flexibility, especially between the wide shapes, such as "ee" shapes, and narrow shapes, such as "oo" or "w" shapes. 

Key Creative Roles on an Animated Short

 

What are the key creative roles on a short animated film? Or, simply put, what are the jobs that absolutely have to get done in order to finish the project?  Below are the key roles that must be filled in order to achieve a successful outcome.

Lipsync: Open Wide on the Big Vowels

Wide on the big vowels

When animating Lipsync, animators should never forget to open the mouth wide on the main vowels, especially "A", "EE", and "O" shapes.

The trick with animating good dialogue is to avoid the timing of the mouth shapes feeling soft and mushy. 

By opening wide on the big vowels, animators can get more texture into a dialogue shot, more "light and shade", so that the animation "hits the accents", and makes a more positive statement.

The timing of the open and shut of the jaw should be nice and snappy, with only a single frame ease-in to the wide mouth position.

"Artifact" Wins Best Micro Short at Vesuvius

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Kristis Bandzevicius whose animated short "Artifact" has won "Best Micro Short" at the Vesuvius Film Festival.

"Artifact" is a short film created by Kristis Bandzevicius. "Artifact" was written, produced and directed by Kristis, currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation.

How to Fix a Floaty Animated Weight Lift

Weight lift from the Animator's Survival Kit

One of the hardest things to achieve in 3D animation is the creation a sense of weight. Weight is hard to simulate because our characters are just pixels - they have no intrinsic weight, so we have to create it from nothing. 

One of the more tricky exercises our students have to tackle is to animate a character lifting a heavy object, such as a box. The box is just a bunch of pixels - it has no weight. So the challenge is to make it appear heavy.

To get started, take a look at the thumbnail sketches on the left, taken from the book we recommend all our students buy - The Animator's Survival Kit. 

The thumbnails show how important it is for the character to get their feet right underneath the object they are going to lift. That way, the weight of the object falls directly over the character's heels - and the object feels heavy. 

How to Get Your Animated Film Financed

Once of the most common questions we get asked at Animation Apprentice is how to finance an animated film. Film finance is never easy, but it can be done, if you follow the right steps. 

Below is a round-up of resources to take a look at if you want to get your animated film funded.

Why Animators Must Master The Art of the Title

artofthetitle.com

Part of making any short film is thinking about titles, and typography.  A good title sets the tone and style for the forthcoming film.

For all our students working on titles and title sequences for their short films, we recommend visiting theartofthetitle.com, a website dedicated entirely to the art and craft of movie titles.

Why Animators Need Stepped Curves

Stepped Curves in Maya

Why do animators need to work in Stepped Curves? Many animators resist using Stepped Curves when they first start learning animation. Spline Curves feel much more intuitive, because Maya does the interpolation for you.

However, for most character acting shots, and any shot which is basically pose-to-pose, Stepped Curves are a much more powerful tool, and one which it is very important for animators to master.

"Early Bird" Best Animation at Golden Nugget

"Early Bird" wins Best Animation at Golden Nugget

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

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

Animation Apprentice 2022 Student Reel

Check out our latest edit of the best work done by students at Animation Apprentice over the past year. Many of them are also enrolled in our MA in 3D Animation, delivered in association with Buckinghamshire New University.  Many thanks to Robin Herrmann, Kristis Bandzevicius, Alex Southcombe, Brandon Barwise, Michael Davies, Liam Devinney, Carla Narvaez, and Michael Acosta on their excellent work.

Happy 2022 to all our Students

Happy 2022!

Happy New Year to all our students past, present and future.  The New Year brings new challenges but also opportunities - the animation industry continues to thrive, with studios now offering new jobs working either in-house or remotely. 

The 2D animation industry is experiencing a Renaissance, with new technology, such as Toonboom Harmony, making 2D animation easier to access, and studios such as Blue Zoo and Jellyfish are expanding their 2D capacity.

So, as the industry continues to grow, what should an animator's new year's resolutions be in 2022?

"Artifact" by Kristis Bandzevicius

Meet "Artifact", a new short film created by Animation Apprentice student Kristis Bandzevicius. "Artifact" was written, produced and directed by Kristis, who is currently studying for his MA in 3D Animation with our academic partner, Buckinghamshire New University.  "Artifact" was completed during the course of Kristis' final module at BNU, and is currently being entered into film festivals. 

New Year Class Starts 10 January 2022

Our New Year Animation Class begins on Monday 10 January 2022.

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.

How to Give Feedback When You're a Beginner

Recently a student at Animation Apprentice asked the following question: "What's the etiquette on leaving feedback when you're a beginner? I had a few thoughts on a student's shot. But I was reluctant to post them as it got a bit too nit-picky and I'm not an expert.  So I don't want to give feedback that won't improve the piece, or steer them in the wrong direction.  And I don't want to insult someone who's much better at this than me."

It's a good question. The answer is simple - trust your instincts, be positive, and understand that your opinion is as valuable as anyone else's.  

What Kind of Tablet Should our Students Buy?

What Kind of Tablet Should our Students Buy? This is a question we often get asked at Animation Apprentice. 

Nowadays there are many different kinds of tablets available, and cheaper versions than the traditional Wacom brand. 

Benn Garnish Product Manager at fTrack

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Benn Garnish who is working as Integrations Product Manager at fTrack.

Benn's remit at fTrack is creative direction and strategy, currently leveraging the technology of Virtual Reality to treat mental health conditions. 

Benn leads a team of developers and digital artists, with successful releases in the NHS, Hong Kong and the United States.

Benn's career shows how many animators are now moving into areas of medical animation, VR and AR, literally helping to save lives. 

Charlie & Yip Wins Best Trailer at NEXT Fest

My short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award - Best Trailer at the NEXT 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.  

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

Why Animators Should Submit Early

Deadlines matter, and for all our students studying for their Online MA in 3D Animation at Buckinghamshire New University, it is very important to submit formal assessments on time. 

At BNU the animation lecturers have very little leeway in accepting late submissions. The "No Detriment" policy that was in place following the Covid Pandemic is now at an end, and BNU deadlines are now a lot more rigid than they have been for the past year.  Our recommendation to all our master's degree students is this: Don't wait until the due date to submit your work.  Instead, aim to submit your work the night before. 

Ragdoll Dynamics for Maya

We're recommending Ragdoll Dynamics to all our animation students. Ragdoll Dynamics provides Maya animators with real-time physics for fast, automatic overlapping motion. 

Ragdoll is a real-time physics solver for Maya, similar the native nCloth and nHair solvers except that it works on transforms rather than points.