Animation Tips & Tricks

Check Out the New Blog + Reference Animation Tips & Tricks

2012-10-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we launched our new Animation Mentor blog at blog.animationmentor.com.

Now even though we’ve given our blog a whole new look — you can be sure that it will still be THE stop for all things animation (think tips and tricks, industry news, general chatter) and all things Animation Mentor (new offerings, updates, events).

Animation Tips & Tricks Is Still a Great Reference

We’re also excited to announce that the Animation Tips & Tricks resource is still available. That way, you can check out the great posts and fantastic animation references. Think of it as the best of both worlds.

We look forward to sharing our new blog — and our ongoing love of animation — with all of you.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Upcoming Newsletter Feature Takes a Visit to “Hotel Transylvania”

2012-09-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

There are a lot things that we love about animation. We love how it makes us laugh and takes us through these wild adventures … and even the intimate stories. And boy, do we ever love a good story.

That’s why we are so excited for our upcoming newsletter and feature on Sony Pictures Animation’s “Hotel Transylvania.” The film brings together an all-star animation cast of Count Dracula and his daughter Mavis, Frankenstein and his wife Eunice, Quasimodo, the Mummy, and dozens of other characters.

Our newsletter feature takes us on a visit to “Hotel Transylvania” — through the eyes of mentor Patrick Danaher and alumnus Jason Malinowsky — and the technology, rigs, and talent required to tell the story of Count Dracula seeking a little rest and relaxation away from those pesky humans.

But we’re not going to give away the entire story. Check your inbox next week for the October/November issue of the Animation Mentor newsletter. If you’re not already a subscriber, checkout a past newsletter. Then visit our home page and subscribe today.

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Lighting Your Shot Workshop: Make Your Work Stand Out

2012-09-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

Lighting plays an important role in the overall filmmaking process. Lighting helps to tell a story, evoke an emotion, and capture that moment in time. If you seek proof of the value of lighting — just check out our recent (and inspirational) Student Showcase.

And now, with our six-week Lighting Your Shot workshop, you can add a new level and depth to your project to make your work stand out. The workshop includes aesthetic, technical, and cinematic discussions and teaches Autodesk® Maya®, mental ray®, Composite®, and The Foundry Nuke® techniques.

Here’s a quick summary of our workshop:

Session 1: Overview of the Maya Lighting and Rendering User Interface

Session 2: The Five Principles of Lighting

Session 3: Devising a Lighting Shot Plan

Session 4: Advanced Lighting Topics in Maya

Session 5: The Rendering Process Using Mental Ray

Session 6: Final Renders, Compositing, and Finishing Touches

And did we mention that you’ll enjoy the same Animation Mentor experience with live instruction from industry professionals?

We’re excited about our Lighting Your Shot workshop and we know that you are, too … after all, it’s always exciting to make your work stand out.

Learn more and sign up today.

Our Graduation Speakers: Truly Awesome/Amazing/Inspiring

2012-08-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here at Animation Mentor, we’ve been doing the graduation thing for awhile (24 amazing classes and counting). We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have some of our industry friends join us for our big event. Truth be known, when we think back — starting with Eric Darnell at our very first grad … wow, what a collection of truly awesome/amazing/inspiring grad speakers:

Simon Otto | Head of Character Animation | DreamWorks Animation
Dean DeBlois (introduced by Glen McIntosh) | Director | DreamWorks Animation
Dennis Muren | Visual Effects Supervisor | Industrial Light & Magic
Lee Unkrich | Director, Writer, and Editor | Pixar Animation Studios
Charles Alleneck | Digital Artist and Lead Animator | Industrial Light & Magic
Dave Burgess | Head of Character Animation | DreamWorks Animation
Tim Johnson | Director and Executive Producer | DreamWorks Animation
Glen McIntosh | Character Animator | Industrial Light & Magic
Pete Docter | Director and Writer | Pixar Animation Studios
David Schaub | Animation Supervisor/Sr. Supervising Animator | Sony Pictures Imageworks
Eric Darnell | Director and Writer | DreamWorks Animation

And today, we are excited (and proud … and humbled, too) to add Andrew Stanton — Executive Producer and Writer from Pixar Animation Studios — to our esteemed list of graduation speakers. If you ever wanted to see inspiration in action, be sure to check out Andrew's speech:

Andrew’s speech

— The Animation Mentor Crew

11 Second Club: Check Out the New Look and Enter Now

2012-08-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

For many of our long-time followers, the 11 Second Club has been the monthly stop to gain an inside view at Animation Mentor. You see, the 11 Second Club is a monthly character animation competition open to everyone. Aspiring animators submit their work — and one of our esteemed mentors rewards the winner with an Animation Mentor eCritique. Yup, it’s pretty cool.

And we’ve been busy giving the 11 Second Club a whole new look. We’re also excited to now host this great animation resource directly on www.animationmentor.com.

So be sure to check it out … then get your animation shot ready and enter. Remember, you’ve still got a few days to submit your shot for the August competition. Thanks and good luck.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

“Flat Frog” Short Hopes to Make a Great Leap

2012-08-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

Margherita Premuroso graduated from Animation Mentor and went straight to work. Today, she owns and operates InkyMind, a studio with locations in the UK and Italy. InkyMind focuses on storytelling, character animation, VFX, postproduction, and titles … the same interests she shared with her classmates.

In fact, Margherita is still very much a part of the online Animation Mentor campus. With the help of classmates Frank Spalteholz, Jonas Manke, and Rodrigo Huerta — not to mention mentor Dana Boadway Masson — InkyMind has proudly produced the pilot episode of
Flat Frog.

Margherita and crew hope to get Flat Frog into production as a full series. The initial rave reviews included a feature in the Daytime Selects portion of SIGGRAPH 2012.

Margherita directed the pilot from Italy, with her classmates and mentor contributing from Germany and the United States. It was a great example of animators putting their brains together — remotely and creatively — to produce an amazing short.

So here is a big Animation Mentor WOOT to Margherita, Frank, Jonas, Rodrigo, and Dana. We are all so super proud of you.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Shawn Kelly Shares the Value of HIS Animation Mentor

2012-08-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

Animation Mentor's Shawn Kelly (left) and Becca Romeo (right)

Straight from SIGGRAPH 2012, our very own Shawn Kelly shares an exciting tale about his very own animation mentor experience.

Listen as he takes us on a journey of how an animation legend inspired him to pursue his dream … and to ultimately unite with friends Bobby Beck and Carlos Baena to create Animation Mentor.

THEN, sit back and watch Shawn do what he does best as he lectures on how blinks can bring life and emotion to an animated character. Big Animation Mentor thanks to our friends at Autodesk for inviting Shawn to their Autodesk Student Experience 2012.

Check it out.

Student Financing Options

2012-08-20T08:14:00.001-07:00

At Animation Mentor, we’ve always prided ourselves on being a full-service school. From the moment you first express interest to the day you receive your diploma (and beyond) — we’re there, right by your side.

So we want to make sure that you’re aware of our student financing options, including some new ones for our international students:

Character Animation Program, Student Financing Options

Career Training Smart Option Student Loan – Sallie Mae
Mountain America Credit Union (U.S. Only)
UK Student Loans
Portugal Student Loans
Singapore Student Loans
Dominican Republic Loans — FUNDAPEC
Jalisco, Mexico Resident Grants
Skills Training Grant Reimbursement Program — The Animation Guild

Animals & Creatures: Master Class, Student Financing Options

Career Training Smart Option Student Loan – Sallie Mae
Mountain America Credit Union (U.S. Only)
UK Student Loans
Skills Training Grant Reimbursement Program — The Animation Guild

Remember, we’re always here to help. If you have any questions, please contact our student loan advisor, Amiko Foster at 510-450-7232, to schedule a pre-loan counseling session. Or email your questions to loans@animationmentor.com.

And as always, a big thanks to you for being a part of the Animation Mentor community.

Happy animating.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Watch (and Share) Our Summer Events Video

2012-08-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, let’s be honest … the other week, when people asked, “so how was your weekend?” — you could not WAIT to tell them about your amazing and awesome Animation Mentor Open House/Graduation/BBQ weekend. Well, now, instead of telling folks about your weekend — SHOW them.

Watch (and Share) Our Summer Events Video

Our Video crew put together this piece that pretty much represents what Animation Mentor is all about. Wow, to gather all of you into our house … then watch none other than Andrew Stanton (yes, Andrew Stanton) address you at graduation … and then to celebrate like crazy at the BBQ … uh, that is truly amazing and awesome.

To all of you who joined us, and for those of you who were with us in spirit — we invite you to check out the video and to experience it all (again and again). Then be sure to Facebook, Tweet, Tumble, or blog about your experience and embed our YouTube video into your post. We want to hear all about what the Open House/Graduation/BBQ weekend meant to you.

Then send us a link to your post to events@animationmentor.com by August 31… and who knows, you could be randomly selected to win some Animation Mentor swag. Yup, that amazing and awesome stuff just never stops.

Big congrats to the newest Animation Mentor graduates and alumni … and big thanks to all of you for being a part of the Animation Mentor community.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Heard Around Campus

2012-08-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

Things are always buzzing in and around the Animation Mentor campus … and our blog is your place to be for all the awesome updates:

Student’s Animated Commercial to Air Nationally on CNN

And we’re talking prime time CNN nationally. Brock Boyts and his wife Nellie tag teamed to help commemorate Union Pacific’s 150th anniversary. The result is this amazing commercial that’s sure to bring out the little kid in all of us. So be sure to tune in and give an Animation Mentor woot to Brock and Nellie:

(Please note updated time.)
CNN

Thursday, August 16, 2012

6:17 p.m. Eastern Time

Animation Mentor Ranks No. 35 on Animation Career Review’s

“Top 100 Animation Sites You Need to Know”

Want to hear something cool? A trio of Animation Mentor sites landed their way onto Animation Career Review’s “Top 100 Animation Sites You Need to Know.” For starters, the Animation Mentor site ranked no. 35 on the prestigious list. And, our Animation Tips & Tricks (no. 68) and 11 Second Club (no. 37) also made the cut. It’s always good to be in the know — and thank you to all of you for helping us share the love of animation.

More exciting buzz to come.

Thanks again and happy animating.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Our Recent Events: How Did We Do?

2012-08-08T10:18:00.001-07:00

It’s been a fun couple of weeks. We had that great seminar — Breaking Down the Animated Shot. Then we had our favorite weekend of the year — the summer events of Open House/Graduation/BBQ.

And we have to ask you: How did we do?

Send us an email to events@animationmentor.com and tell us what you loved and what you would like to see us do differently.

Since you’re sharing — how’s about telling us what you would like to see for the next Animation Mentor event? Some things to think about:

1. What type of content would you like discussed in an event? Animation, visual effects, lighting, compositing, etc. Be specific.

2. Where would you travel for an event? City, trade show, in-house, etc. Be specific.

3. What times works best for you? Morning. Afternoon. All day. Be specific.

4. How much would you pay for an event?

5. You have total control to create your own event. Describe it from start to finish (content, guest speakers, lunch options, number of breaks, etc.).

This is your chance to shape the next wave of Animation Mentor events. So please email events@animationmentor.com and tell us about your perfect idea for an event.

And remember, we’re always doing/sharing/asking something fun on our Facebook page — so be sure drop us a comment there, too.

Big thank you for the help and happy animating.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Shawn Kelly at SIGGRAPH Autodesk Student Event

2012-08-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

Some of the Animation Mentor crew is getting ready to hit the road to SIGGRAPH.

And we've already made plans to buddy up with our friends at Autodesk.

So be sure to check out the Autodesk Event featuring our very own Shawn Kelly:

Autodesk Student Experience 2012

See you soon.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Advanced Placement: What It Takes

2012-08-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

Advanced Placement Into the Character Animation Program is a great opportunity to save on tuition and complete our 18-month program is as little as nine months. The process begins with an application. Then, one of our professional animators on staff will review your demo reel for the following — and recommend if you can be placed into Class 2, 3, or 4:

Demo Reel Placement Qualifications

Class 2, Psychology of Body Mechanics. Demo reel conveys fundamental principles of animation and body mechanics including showing varying weights, basic timing and spacing, overlap, and anticipation. You can animate mechanics of a basic bipedal walk and a walk with character using a simple character; e.g. hips and legs only will suffice. Poses on your reel convey weight, balance, and line of action.

Class 3, Advanced Body Mechanics. Demo reel conveys core concepts of body mechanics and you are able to create physical movements that are believable. Using a bipedal character, physical movements convey weight, convincing weight shifts, force, changing speeds using a variety of locomotion, and physical movement (walks, runs, skips, jumps, throws, pushes, etc.). Your work shows strong ability to pose a bipedal character to convey physicality (weight, volume, force, line of action, etc.).

Class 4, Introduction to Acting. This is the most difficult class to place into. Demo reel shows outstanding skill with body mechanics work using a bipedal character. Your animation is believable and appealing — and shows strong staging, posing, timing, spacing, phrasing, overlap, anticipation, and polish. You are comfortable with creating physical shots with a character and show potential for maintaining strong body mechanics in acting shots.

Note: If your reel doesn’t meet the above qualifications, you will receive feedback and may be placed into Class 1, Basic Foundations to ensure that you have a strong foundation in the principles of animation.

To be considered for Advanced Placement, all you need to do is apply for the Character Animation Program. There’s no charge to apply — but please be sure to indicate that you’re interested in Advanced Placement and provide a link to your demo reel in your application.

Hurry, registration for the Fall terms opens August 6. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Admissions Office at admissions@animatonmentor.com or 1.877.326.4628. Happy animating.

Student Showcase 2012: We Love Inspiration

2012-07-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

After watching Student Showcase 2012,

one word pops into thought (amid a loud gasp):

Wow.

We think you’ll have the same reaction after

watching the best student shots from the past year.

And that’s the Power of Inspiration,

brought to you by the students, alumni, and mentors of our

Character Animation Program.

To all of our students and alumni, thank you.

To those of you interested in Animation Mentor,

we welcome you to campus.

Stay Inspired.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Maya Workshop: Animation Basics

2012-07-23T07:47:00.002-07:00

Maya Workshop: Animation Basics

Six-Week Workshop with Live Q&As

$499

We’ve been putting the final touches

on a workshop designed just for

beginning animators with no previous experience.

Our Maya Workshop: Animation Basics

helps you gain the foundational knowledge of Maya 2012,

includes a student account to the Autodesk Education Community,

and (best of all) — introduces you to the Animation Mentor experience

(we’re talking live Q&As with mentors and alumni).

What better way to start your animation dream?

We’re getting ready for the Fall term.

Registration begins on August 6.

But due to high demand, we encourage you to join our waiting list.

Checkout all the details.

See you on campus!

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Introducing the New Registration Portal

2012-07-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

When you are part of the Animation Mentor community, you soon realize that we always strive to improve anything and everything.

For example, we just finished upgrading every component of the registration experience. And that's why we're excited to announce the launch of the Registration Portal (registration.animationmentor.com).

Now you can apply for programs, register for workshops, pay for classes, view our complete catalogue, and more — all from one easy-to-navigate resource. From top to bottom, the Registration Portal promises to be a better experience for you — our valued students.

Registration Priority and Password Reset

Note: Registration will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis — and sections will fill fast. To prepare, please reset your password before registration opens on August 6, so that you can register for your preferred section next term. Remember, you must reset your password before you can enjoy the Registration Portal:

Click “Forgot password” on the login screen at registration.animationmentor.com and enter the email address you have on your account.
Enter “Spike” when asked: “Who’s Animation Mentor’s Mascot?”
Keep or change your password after it has been emailed to you. You will use this password to login to the Registration Portal to register for Fall classes.

Important Notes:

Space is limited in each section in the Registration Portal — do not wait to change your password at the time registration opens on August 6.
New users only. You do not need to reset your password, however, you must create a new account.

Thank you for being a part of the Animation Mentor community … and we hope you enjoy our new Registration Portal.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

A (Butt-Kicking) How to: From Dr. Stuart Sumida

2012-07-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

The way we look at animation — anything is possible.

So it makes perfect sense to us that two dragons can take flight and kick butt.

And who better to talk about kicking butt than the industry's leading butt kicker?

Check out this cool tips and tricks video with Dr. Stuart Sumida
and our very own Luci Napier:

Since we're on the topic of kicking butt, we are excited to announce

a great offer to both new students and Animation Mentor alumni:

Animals & Creatures: Master Class

Over 50% Off Full Tuition

Now $3,198 for Complete Program

Fall 2012 and Winter 2013 Terms Only

Apply online and kick it.

Advanced Placement Into the Character Animation Program

2012-07-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Want to save on tuition and

complete our 18-month program in as little as nine months?

Sure you do.

You have art experience.

You have 3D animation experience.

You have both.

And you’ve been asking us for a way to complete

the Character Animation Program in less time.

Big thanks for your input … and believe us, we’ve heard you.

Today, we’re excited to announce our

Advanced Placement Into the Character Animation Program.

Now you can save on tuition and

complete our 18-month program in as little as nine months.

To learn more, please visit our Advanced Placement page
or email admissions@animationmentor.com.

T-Minus 06 Days Till Student Showcase 2012: PREMIERES 07.17.12

2012-07-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

We just released a Showcase teaser …

and wow, the Animation Mentor community is BUZZING.

What better way to, ahem, showcase our students

and their amazing work in both our Character Animation Program

and Animals & Creatures: Master Class?!?

Big props to Fernando Peña and his Showcase shot.

Our Facebook and Twitter pages are sending lots of love Fernando’s way, too.

Fernando is just the start.

Student Showcase 2012 premieres 07.17.12 …

Just 06 days away.

Like Bobby Beck said, check out the full Showcase

and “get a BIG dose of animation inspiration.”

So prepare to ooh, ahh, cry, laugh, smile …

and above all, Prepare to Be Inspired.

See ya in T-minus 06 days.

2012-06-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Join Our Friends from Pixar, DreamWorks, and Tippett!

We’re ALL about helping you pursue your animation dream. It starts by learning face-to-face from the same professionals who bring our favorite characters to life. And we want to make it affordable and accessible. That’s WHO we are … and now you can check out the full Animation Mentor experience during our ALL-DAY animation workshop!

Best of all … the registration fee for our upcoming live event is now $299!

And did we mention that …

Our professional animator friends will be there … pros like Victor Navone from Pixar Animation Studios; Peer Lemmers, Robyne Powell, and Sean Sexton from DreamWorks Animation; and Will Groebe and Chris Mullins from Tippett Studio!
Our friends will take you behind the scenes with their shot breakdowns and share studio feedback and director notes from current and past animated features, including Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Puss in Boots, How to Train Your Dragon, Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon, Toy Story 3, and Monsters vs. Aliens!
We are kicking it with Autodesk. They will sponsor the event and share their expertise with a working Maya® demo!

Freight & Salvage

2020 Addison Street

Berkeley, Calif. 94704

Saturday, June 30, 2012

8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Limited Seating

Registration Now $299

All this plus lunch, some cool giveaways, and the usual Animation Mentor love.

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Sign up for our ALL-DAY animation workshop!

2012-06-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

Our peeps got to talking with their peeps over at Pixar, DreamWorks, and Tippett … and now we’ve got six professional animators ready to break down their feature film shots just for you!

Stoked? Sure you are, so register for our ALL-DAY animation workshop — Breaking Down the Animated Shot: Live & Uncut!

Freight & Salvage

2020 Addison Street

Berkeley, Calif. 94704

Saturday, June 30, 2012

8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Check out the studio pros who will conduct live breakdowns of their animated feature film shots:

Pixar Animation Studios

Victor Navone, Animator

DreamWorks Animation

Peer Lemmers, Animator

Robyne Powell, Animator

Sean Sexton, Animator

Tippett Studio

Will Groebe, Animation Supervisor

Chris Mullins, Animator

Our friends from Autodesk will sponsor the event and share their expertise with a working Maya® demo. And did we mention lunch, some cool giveaways, and the usual Animation Mentor love?!?

Ready to break it down? We are too. But step one, register!

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Sign Up for Maya Workshop: Animation Basics!

2012-05-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our workshop is designed to help beginning animators learn the specific tools needed for character animation.

This is a six-week workshop with a super small 7:1 student-to-mentor ratio to ensure that you get the same great Animation Mentor experience:

Week 1. Introduction to Animation and Maya

Week 2. Tools for Basic Animation: Getting the Ball Rolling

Week 3. What Is “Workflow” and Shading?

Week 4. Tools and Workflow: Making Sense of Curves and Basic Lighting

Week 5. Tools and Workflow: Creating a Simple Character and Character Animation Workflow

Week 6. Tools and Workflow: Animating Simple Characters in Maya

You will also receive a three-year active student account to the Autodesk^® Education Community where you may access the Maya^® animation software.

We are really excited to introduce you to this dynamic software and to start you on your journey of bringing performances to life as a character animator!

Hurry, space is limited for the Summer 2012 term. Apply today!

— The Animation Mentor Crew

Learn More or Apply Today

Building Trust Takes Time

2012-04-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Animation Mentor was an effort that started almost nine years ago by three good friends. We wanted to share what we knew to an upcoming generation of animators. It was our hope that they didn't have to go through what we went through to learn animation.

Back in school, I had no access to feature film animators. Didn't know anyone, didn't know how they thought about animation, what their process was … didn't know anything. All I remember was me and a few hungry animator friends sharing back and forth some beaten up fifth-generation VHS copy of some Disney talks … and even these were more than difficult to get. It looked like a scene from a total underground espionage movie to pass a friend a Ruben Aquino talk on locomotion in exchange for an Andreas Deja talk on timing at someone's house. Additionally, I'd meet with these hungry animator friends a couple of times a month to frame by frame some old Disney classic VHS or regular live-action movies, until the VHS player heads wouldn't take it anymore. I broke two. Sometimes one of these friends would come back after a few months of doing self learning with some revealing knowledge about how to overlap joints in a character so that the character wouldn't look as stiff when it was being animated. We'd talk about what we learned in our work, even if it was ridiculously basic. Those were still giant milestones for us. We shared whatever knowledge among ourselves, because we didn't have anyone else. Among those hungry animator friends were two of my college best buddies, Bobby Beck and Shawn Kelly.

Once we started Animation Mentor, we put on the table all the things in those experiences we'd like to make more accessible through the internet. We also fought hard at the thought that this "internet community" perhaps wasn't going to work. We heard several times, "I just don't trust the internet, why should my son/daughter go to your school?" Worst part, we didn't have a good answer … we only had our hope that through our motivations, our passion, and our honest effort to create something a little different — that people would trust us.

Trust doesn't come from one day to the next … or one year to the next. Building trust takes time. It is not easy to earn trust when something hasn't been done previously, and there is so many unknowns.

Many times, the three of us asked — "How on earth are we going to do this? Will this work? Will people even connect with each other through this little webcam window?” And I guess, the most important question — “Will people learn an art — that was so difficult for us to learn in PERSON — through this artificial means of communication?" So we decided to put those types of pressures off the table … and simply have fun. The key moments for me were when we said, “screw it, we are doing it, whether it works or not.” Big difference for me.

So we started. The beginnings weren't working. The way we were teaching was very serious, in front of a blackboard and in a room. It wasn't the way we learned animation … and it just wasn't us. So we got out there. We decided to record things on the street, went to the zoo, went on trips. It was about having fun and enjoying ourselves while hopefully sharing and passing along that passion and motivation that has been fueling us to future generations. We wanted these future generations to experience why what we do is potentially the most special job on the planet.

We found that if we are ourselves when teaching the same way we are when animating, the information would come out more naturally than if we took ourselves too seriously. So we all decided to make the lectures and talk to students in the ways we'd like if we all went back to school. We tried our best to create an encouraging, supportive, and respectful environment.

Then, to our surprise, something happened — the Animation Mentor community. We did stress helping each other out, the same way we did when we started. Helping a student mate today means he/she may help you in the future once you are both in the industry. That couldn't be more true. It's happened to me personally with Bobby/Shawn and when other student mates became co-workers — and I continue to see this. And the online communication created by all these hours we all spent in front of the computer when animating made the community grow faster and stronger. Special friendships were created, students were even getting married after meeting in this online animation community. Groups of students were gathering in different parts of the world to talk animation and help each other. Students were not only kind to us, but now recruiters from studios supported us as well. In fact, some of the best times I've had in different conventions and talks were thanks to a combination of industry friends hanging out with students and recruiters of all sorts. Not in a million years did I think this would all happen the way it has.

Animation Mentor means all those things and many many more. For that, this school means a lot more to me than any other educational experience I've seen. So thank you Animation Mentor, for all you mean to me.

Carlos Baena.

Get More Information or Apply Now

What Inspires Me About the Character Animation Program

2012-04-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, it's been just over seven years since we opened our virtual doors to our very first class of students. Time flies, huh? Technologically, everything about Animation Mentor was different back then. We launched with a radically different website, a different physical headquarters, and a somewhat different curriculum. Even the entire platform the school runs on was completely different. Over the years, we have completely reprogrammed the entire school, refining and broadening the experience of our students with the never-ending quest of providing the best educational experience possible.

Some things, though, haven't changed in the slightest. Right from day one, we launched with an incredible roster of mentors, a talented and dedicated school staff, and a group of students with enough excitement and passion to match them all. I don't think any of us were quite prepared for the level of enthusiasm we saw in our students! Anyone who has ever been to an Animation Mentor gathering or event knows exactly what I'm talking about. Pretty much right from the time we announced the school, I realized that I would probably never find anything quite as inspiring as hanging out with our students and graduates. They come from every imaginable background, culture, and corner of the world, but they are truly a family. They look out for one another, help one another, and together form the most inspired and inspiring group of people I've ever met!

And while our focus as a school has always been to teach the ART and CRAFT of animation, it's equally been our mission from day one to share our love of that art and craft with our students. As animators ourselves, we know full well that you just cannot make it in this business if you don't love it. We all need the passion to continue to learn and grow as artists every single day. We need the enthusiasm to get right back up on that horse when it bucks us off, and to dive right back into our shots when directors change their minds or hate our ideas. We need the dedication to embrace and learn from our failures, because without that, we will never be the artists we have the potential to be.

Above all, we need each other. We need extra sets of eyes to advise us on our work. We need hands to high-five us when we knock one out of the park. When the fear or frustration set in and we're in a rut with our work, we need shoulders to cry on and hands to hold. Ears to listen and strong animation backs to carry us when we're tired.

Sometimes people ask me what sets Animation Mentor apart. Why is the enthusiasm and excitement of our incoming students only more passionate when they graduate at the end of such a challenging program? The answer is in the people.

We now have students, graduates, staff, and mentors all over the world — and that means that at any moment of any day, there is a hand somewhere out there, ready to reach out to them. Ready to high-give, ready to help, ready to teach, or ready to just be a friend. Our alumni have formed a bond that transcends school, and they all know without any doubt that there is this safety net of hands out there at a moment's notice, not just as they go through our program, but for the rest of their lives.

If you ask me what I find most inspiring about our program, I'd be hard pressed to come up with something more powerful than that, and I'm humbled and honored to get to be just a tiny part of it.

-Shawn :)

P.S. For you longtime readers who might miss our extensive chats about the wonders of fried chicken, have no fear: my love of fried chicken is still deep (deep-fried?), and while friedchickenmentor.com does not yet exist, it will always exist in my heart. :)

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No Application Fee AND Smaller Classes!

2012-04-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

We're always looking to improve the Animation Mentor on-campus experience … and we've come up with some great ideas.

First, we want to make it easy for you to apply. That's why we're waiving the application fee, effective immediately!
But we've got something else …

Students always tell us that they LOVE the one-on-one time with their mentors. So we're super excited to announce smaller classes with our low 10:1 student-to-mentor ratio! Just think … more mentor time and individual instruction!

We are excited about these changes and hope you are, too. Most of all, we hope to see you on campus soon!

— The Animation Mentor Crew

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