I'm super pumped on this months Animation Mentor newsletter and wanted to point people to this insightful article that Victor Navone wrote around tips for dailies.
Check it out here

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Resources, Animation Studio, In the News

I received a fantastic email the other day from a newly inspired and very talented animator working at a major studio. They approached me with this general feeling:

“Is the animation industry jaded? What happens to people when they get older? Are there still jobs in animation for them? Am I going to always be worked to death like this or will I find some balance? I just want to know these things so I can decide if animation is something I want to do for the long haul.”

Great questions! I was happy to answer them to the best of my ability, as most all of this is very subjective. I thought it’d be great to share my thoughts here.

Is the animation industry jaded?

It is true that a lot of people get burned out due to working long hours and on projects they may or may not believe in. I remember working at Disney on Dinosaur and people would tell me, “You’re so happy, it’s just a matter of time before you get all jaded and crusty like the rest of us.” Ha ha. I’ll always remember that. If you know me I’m anything but jaded and crusty. It’s all a matter of perspective. I know at AnimationMentor.com we have worked hard to create an environment of support and inspiration. Our hope is to create more “inspired” animators that go in to the work force and populate it with hope and enthusiasm. Is this bad? Hell no. Most every one who got in to this industry was inspired at some point. “We’re making cartoons for goodness sakes.” I often hear this and it’s an important reminder to tell ourselves.

So, my answer to this question is, no. No, I do not think the industry is jaded. I think it’s easy to become jaded and negative energy is like cream and it tends to overpower and rise to the top. Beware of getting sucked in to this ugly pattern and remember to keep your chin up. Just as the negative rises to the top, the inspired will also outshine at the end of the day. So, I say work together to be stoked about what you do. This energy is infectious and will create something so powerful.

A good experience I’ve heard of this is at Psyop. One of our graduates got a job over there and the team said something to the tone of, “Wow, you really know what you’re doing and you seem really easy to work with; do you know anyone else like this looking for a job?” Before you know it there are 13 people from Animation Mentor working on their project! I recently met the CEO of Psyop at a party in New York and he told me they love hiring people form Animation Mentor. I was told the work ethic inspired the whole team to raise their standards and pumped an infusion of enthusiasm throughout the organization!

This is the type of story I LOVE to hear. It’s not the first I’ve heard like this. Am I saying only Animation Mentor students are this way? No, not at all. What I am saying is that being jaded or feeling like, “I’m a great animator” are dangerous ways to think. When you are a constant learner, supportive, sharing of your knowledge and are inspired by the work you do, you will be creating a SUPER POWERFUL quality of life, not only for yourself but for everyone around you! Something to keep in mind.


What happens to people when they get older? Are there still jobs in animation for them?

Ha ha. Yes, there are older people in the industry that are animators. For the most part it is a “young” industry, however the older people I know, and I do know a LOT of older folks who animate, feel that the young talent keeps them fresh and inspires them to maintain their energy and passion for why they got in to the industry in the first place.

A lot of older animators do become lead animators, supervisors, directing animators, story artists, directors, etc. It’s a natural progression. Some choose to become supervisors on one film and then jump back to being purely an animator. There are a lot of choices, and as long as you keep pushing yourself to do great work, the work will be there.

Am I going to always be worked to death like this or will I find some balance?

This is a tough one. I remember on The Incredibles I was working a lot on side projects after work. Those projects kept me inspired to do the best work I possibly could while AT work. I remember I did get a “talking to” by one of the supervising animators that I was only getting my work done on time but wasn’t staying late like the rest taking on additional work; aka “team spirit.” I tried to explain that I was a BIG team player and that I was giving my all to the team in dailies and in the work and support I gave during work hours. This did not go over so well and perhaps reflected in the shots I got on that film.

What I wanted to do was to help start setting a standard that is important and one that I employ at my company. That is, “inspired people create inspired results.” That is my motto at Animation Mentor. One BIG way we do this is by promoting true work/life balance. We don’t work overtime. It is true that during graduation, Siggraph and BBQ’s that some extra hours are required by the marketing/events team. However, as a whole we work hard to keep this balance. It is so critical to staying inspired and pacing yourself.

In the beginning it is true that you will most likely work crazy hours and need to work 6+ day weeks on projects. This IS an unfortunate reality of the industry. However, there are many studios that believe, as I do, that you need to nurture your talent and keep them inspired for the long run. They are few, and they are out there. However, it is important to understand this reality as it is something to consider.

Not everyone will last in this type of environment, perhaps it is a byproduct of the movie making industry as a whole. This is the ugly truth of the matter. I long to see the day where studios take work/life balance into consideration and promote it in the work place so that people can go home at a reasonable hour, see their kids, play music, go to the movies, do to dinner with friends/family and simply enjoy life as a whole. Maybe it’s rare at this point, however I believe it is possible. This is a personal endeavor for me as I see the results of what can be accomplished with the work/life balance mindset and it is outstanding!

I just want to know these things so I can decide if animation is something I want to do for the long haul.

At the end of our email back-and-forth discussion I thought this person may leave the studio they are at to find one that promotes a better work/life balance. Instead they told me this, “No, no. I’m going to stay here. Perhaps I will be someone who helps lead the movement to a more inspired work place and one that values a stronger work/life balance.”

Wow!!! That is so inspiring to hear and something that touched me so much that I wanted to take the time to share these thoughts with you guys. It’s up to us to work on this. If the work/life balance part is hard to achieve, then, at the very least, let’s make this job something fun and absolutely inspiring to come to each and every day!

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Resources, Bobby Beck

Today we launched two new ebooks. These ebooks are not meant for people who are currently animators so much as they are for people who are interested in becoming animators. Although we feel that Animation Mentor is a great place to learn animation and we do give a shameless plug or 3 throughout, it is still filled with great info for people who are interested. We also decided to make the content 100% free. No, "give us your email" "Free." This is actually free, so we hope the link gets passed around.

I also was stoked to see us pop up on www.AnimationConversation.com regarding our new student showcase. It's a nice critique of the work we're doing and they also ask some great questions that we are always asking ourselves internally:

1. Are our student reels starting to look the same?
2. Is Animation Mentor flooding the market with animators?

Addressing #1:
I addressed this topic a couple posts back on things we are doing to vary up the look and feel. SO, to paraphrase:

1. We have updated the curriculum and launched this in January of this year which addresses adding new assignments which now allows students to pick from a variety of assignments.

2. Stewie (the "generic" character with coal eyes) now has a "costume picker" which allows students to "dress" Stewie up in a variety of combinations to give their shots a more individual feel while still keeping the Animation Mentor branding; i.e. look and feel.

3. We have made it way easier to customize Bishop so people can add hair, lipstick, stubble, hair styles, clothes etc. You can also scale the proportions of Bishop to get a different look and feel.

4. We are launching something next quarter which will also excite the students and will DRAMATICALLY change the look and feel of future reels and showcase reels coming out of Animation Mentor.

Addressing #2:
I hear this a lot and it's important to note a few things:

1. Because we are worldwide we are providing opportunities to people in other countries, not just the U.S. Almost half of our student population are from overseas.

2. Have we helped change the dynamic of studios hiring policies? Perhaps. It is true that some studios are now bringing in more entry level talent than they did before. I honestly feel it's because the overall talent is going up from students and Animation Mentor definitely does provides talent to the studios. Is this bad? Depends on how you look at it. We feel it gives more opportunities to people allowing them to get in to the industry. We also think it helps keep jobs in the U.S. as opposed to watching all the studios jump fully over to the outsourcing bandwagon. I'm actually very happy about that one! There are plenty of studios all over the world making unique and amazing content for people to be entertained by. I'm SUPER happy that Animation Mentor is one of the providers of that talent, not only in the U.S. but overseas as well.

I hope this inspires some healthy discussion. :)

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Resources

Today the Animation Mentor Summer Showcase reel launched. We're so incredibly happy with the quality of work and dedication that has gone in to this. It's nice as I really feel it shows a good variety of work and also shows a depth to the "look" of the work, too. We've had some comments from recruiters that it would be nice to "mix it up a bit" and I"m proud to say that we've done a lot to mix it up and the next showcase reel will REALLY reflect a lot in these changes that we've made to add the variety to the work and reels. Here are some things we've done and are doing:

1. Bishop has a variety of looks and styles to him/her. Students are getting more creative each and every time they do an assignment; putting different hair styles and clothes and really designing their shots keeping this in mind for their final pieces.
2. The new curriculum has a lot of new assignments which will and have really mixed things up showing a greater overall variety.
3. Stewie now has a "costume picker" which allows students to choose from a variety of pre-defined costumes and sets that we've created. This will reflect in the next showcase.

Overall these small changes will make a HUGE difference in the quality of work coming and out and this showcase should give you a good sample of that. Enjoy and please let me know what you think! WOO HOO!
Click Here to view

Labels: Animation Classes, Animation Mentor, Animation Resources, Video

I had lunch today with Rebecca Stockley and Luci Napier. We were discussing the possibility of doing a live, in-person improv class for animators. Rebecca has taught improv to Pixar, DreamWorks and Disney animators. She knows her stuff and I think these classes could be a HUGE value add to people who experience "animators block." Who doesn't experience that stuff?!

She was discussing charging $250 for a 6 week training session meeting once a week for 3 hours. I wanted to put this out there to see if this is something people would be interested in. It would be a physical workshop in the Bay Area and one that we may open up to the general animation community. Please post your thoughts, suggestions and comments here. This could be the beginning of something really cool and is something that could possibly spread to other areas of the world depending on the need.

Labels: Animation Resources, Bobby Beck

As promised, I'm proud to annouce our associate with the amazing two series books on the life and work of Walt Stanchfield! I will be hosting a FREE webinar with editor of the two books, Don Hahn. The webinar will focus on the legacy of Walt as well as talk about the power of his teachings, mentorship and lessons.

We will also be holding a panel discussion at Comic Con. I will be introducing the panel. We are SUPER proud to annouce that Glen Keane AND Eric Goldberg will be there along with Don Hahn and other Disney greats!

As I said before we really believe in these books and think they offer something fresh to the animation world. We are so VERY proud to be promoting the books in a big way and helping to spread the word. We hope you enjoy the events we have planned! WOOT!

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Resources, Animation Studio, Events, Webinar

Sorry if this is old news, I'm still getting back into the swing of things. We're SO super stoked to be working with Jason again. He was one of our first mentors and he is such a fantastic teacher. The price point for this webinar is a no brainer for sure. It should be pretty sweet!

Sign up here

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Resources

This report was put together to better help us understand the
animation industry, the people within it and the level of fulfillment
people have in it as a career. A lot of work and independent research
went into this and the AM art department really made this something to
be proud of. We hope you enjoy it!

http://www.AnimationMentor.com/report

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Resources

So many great things are happening at Animation Mentor! Today we launched the latest version of our Public Site. We are happy to have tested the usability with beta users to make sure the design and ease of use was there. We're really proud of it and the Art Department did a fantastic job putting this together. A lot of love went in to this and we tried to add as much video stuff for people coming to the site so they can get a feel for what we're all about. We hope you enjoy!

Oh and it's all HTML now so it's tons faster and we can link people directly to pages like our FREE RESOURCES page! Sweet!!!

www.AnimationMentor.com

Ps. If you see the old site just hit F5 or Refresh on your browser to get the latest site.

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor Staff, Animation Resources

This is a tough one for me to write about. I'm not sure the best way to say this so I'll need to come out and say it. Animation Mentor rigs are meant for AM students and graduates. When people outside of AM use these rigs or distribute them to non AM students it creates a lot of problems; let me explain:

The biggest problem is that Animation Mentor is recognized in the industry now quite visibly. So, if a studio (especially the major studios) see someone's work with AM characters they will inevitably ask that person, "Did you go to Animation Mentor?" or, "Who were your mentors at Animation Mentor?" If they find out that the person did not go there this could blow up in the persons face. This is worth noting as it has happened. Ouch! Talk about uncomfortable.

Because we have so many animators, mentors and studio recruiters that know us they will really take offense at this. Why? Well, who's to say that this person won't steal their rigs and put them on the net, or take footage that is not yet released and put it on their reel? These things are BIG flags for studios.

I wanted to mention this on my blog so that people are aware of this and can pass the word on. If you are not an AM student or graduate and you are using our rigs I would point out that you're doing yourself a huge disservice. Why take the risk?

Okay, now back to lighter topics. :)

Labels: Animation Classes, Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor alumni, Animation Mentor students, Animation Resources

Carlos Baena will be hosting our next Webinar. The focus will be on Demo Reel Tips. Our hope with these webinars is to give outside folks the opportunity to see what Animation Mentor is all about. We will be recording it for all you HUNGRY Animation Mentor students and Alumni and will be showing it shortly after the event. In the mean time, please invite your friends and fellow animators to this event. It should be packed full of goodies. I talked to Carlos and he's been doing A LOT of research for this and I know he wants to make it great so expect a good one! WOOT!

Click here for more info on the upcoming Webinar

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor alumni, Animation Mentor students, Animation Resources, Webinar

Okay, here is the link to the May winner (Ivan Oviedo) of the eCritique. Kevin Koch did a FANTASTIC job eCritiquing this one. It serves more than a crit and reads more like a fantastic lecture on animation! So many great points for people to learn from and spans about 50 minutes. "Free GOLD" we love to call it! Thanks to Kevin for doing such a great job with this!

MAY 11 SECOND CLUB Animation Mentor eCRITIQUE

Ps. If you see last months eCrit when you click the link be sure to refresh your browser. Enjoy!

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor mentors, Animation Resources

"… i thought i was crazy since i started all i dream is to work in big studio like Pixar or ILM and everyday i come to work people are cynic and sad, and me always happy to work in a company where i always wanted to work, but people always look at me like why are you so happy ... or stop to be so optimistic, life is harder than you think, or stop dreaming you will never achieve that, seriously this is so good to hear that i'm not the wrong one, and that people have to be optimistic and stop to complain about their life but start to move and change what they don't like and not drown the people surrounding them." - Samy aka Oddjob


In response to “Oddjob’s” reply to my “what is your potential” post I wanted to elaborate on this. I will tell you that the industry is definitely a tough place and many people are indeed jaded. However, I don’t think this is limited in any way to just the animation industry, nor do I think you have to become jaded to be a great animator or to “make it” in this industry.

My wife often tells me that I’m a magnet for “negative people.” Ha, ha! It’s funny but somewhat true. (If you haven’t read my “what is your potential” post that will give you some context) A lot of people can not deal with positive energy so they try to crush your spirit and I’ve had so many tough times dealing with this issue. At one point in my life I actually tried to change this part of me due to peer pressure and I can tell you a big part of me died. After much struggle and conflict in my core being I had to really build this part of me back up and I can honestly say that this is me; “I’m genuinely happy! I’m a positive person, so what!? Take it or leave it!”

Positive energy CAN throw people off. It can come off as “too loud,” or “obnoxious.” I think professionally you do have to keep yourself “in check,” but know who you are and never lose who you are at your core. You can be positive and energetic without being loud and jumping on tables. But, the cool part is, if you do want to jump on tables just close your office door and do it!

It’s important to be aware of the overall energy of the group/team and that took me some time to figure out. Ultimately I will tell you that there are GREAT studios out there where your enthusiasm will be admired and encouraged and many that will not take to it. You’ll have to find a match that works for you as this is key to being fulfilled as a person. There’s no worse thing than continually being crushed for who you are. You NEVER want to lose who you are, no matter what! No matter HOW cool the job is.

Ps. Note that no one is "wrong" in who they are. They just are who THEY are. Please see my post below about "Role Models" for more info on the only thing you are in control of in life (yourself).

Labels: Animation Resources, Animation Studio, Bobby Beck

Check out this crazy slow motion reference. The cool part happens when they start showing the impact of the punches. Not sure if this footage has been manipulated but there's all sorts of drag and overlap going on all over the place! WOW.

Click here to check out some crazy Squash and Stretch Action!

Labels: Animation Resources, Video

So many great things have been happening inside the walls of AnimationMentor.com. This term we launched a beta program for people coming in to the program who have never animated before. This workshop has had a lot of love and heart put into it by dozens of people and we’re so excited to see that it’s going great so far! Learning the software is a small part of this art, but it is a critical piece to be comfortable with so that is what the workshop is based around. It’s optional but for those coming in to the program “cold turkey” into the animation world, however we know it is a nice addition and has the love and thought that we like to put into things.

We also invited Jason Schleifer and Victor Navone to the office this week for “media training.” This is was great. Especially from the perspective of an animator. We learned about body language, voice patterns, rhythm in our speech and how to speak more comfortably when it comes to doing interviews with news and press. It may sound silly but we all confessed afterwards that if/when we need to animate a sequence where someone is being interviewed we have an arsenal of cool tools and subtleties to exploit! We also did mock interviews and they were filmed. Woo hoo. We each got a copy of our respective interviews so we can study them later. Ha, ha. So funny, but it did feel like an “acting for animators” class for sure.

We had two “Horton Hears a Who” Q&A’s which were packed with great info for both our Alumni and students. We’ve taken a bit of a break from doing Guest Speaker content for a while. We’ve been working HARD on several upcoming projects that you guys will be excited to hear about so stay tuned!

Dana Boadway gives the Animation Mentor Critique this month at the 11SecondClub. Be sure to check it out. It’s very in-depth packed with great information!

We’re gearing up for Summer graduation and Siggraph. We have some cool things planned and some tentative things in the works that might be very cool. We also have several Animation Mentor student films that have been accepted into the Animation Festival (formerly known as “the electronic theatre)! Woo hoo!!!!!

We hop you guys enjoyed the webinar stuff we did a while back. We’re already in the works on some new cool stuff which will be greatly improved.

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor mentors, Animation Resources, Events

We are just wrapping on a big promotion at Animation Mentor. The whole point of this promo was to give back to people and share what Animation Mentor is all about. It started with Shawn's eBook and then went on to a Webinar with Shawn. We recorded the webinar and have now made it available for people to view:

Click here to view a replay of Shawn's Webinar

We finshed up the promo with a webinar hosted by myself giving people a taste of what Animation Mentor is all about and what it takes to become a professional animator. Aja Bogdanoff, Animation Mentor graduate and the co-creator behind The 11 Second Club joined in to share what her experience has been like after graduating Animation Mentor. This webinar was also captured and will be replayed soon.

Of course we want to get people excited about Animation Mentor but even more I feel it was something of high value for people and for free. In my heart I know we're elevating animation education and it feels really good to be able to give back on a variety of levels like this.

We also did this promo video for people who want to know more about the school and the application process. We had so much fun filming this and putting it together.

Click here to view the video

It's so awesome to be building such a fun and energetic place for people to learn the art of animation. It's really becoming more than we could have dreamed of and we will never stop pushing it forward to make it better. Thanks for your support!

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor alumni, Animation Resources, Video, Webinar

Shawn Kelly hosted the super DUPER Animation Mentor tips and tricks webinar this evening! Here are a few snaps from the event. In true Shawn Kelly form, it was full of great energy and enthusiasm! If you were able to attend the Webinar we hope you enjoyed it and hope it served as a "sneak peek" into the world ofAnimation Mentor ! Whoo hoo!!!!

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Resources, Webinar

This month we're happy to have Mike Belzer as our featured mentor for the 11 Second Club eCritique! Mike is a fantastic animator who has a wealth of knowledge to pass on! He's been with Animation Mentor from the beginning and is a huge believer in passing his knowledge. This critique is a great expression of this knowledge transfer! We hope you enjoy!

Click here to view the eCritique

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor mentors, Animation Resources

Ollie Johnston passed away today. He leaves us with a legacy to look up to and be inspired by for the rest of our lives and our children's lives to come. Ollie's work is among the best, or THE best, depending on who you talk to. His work has always been a huge inspiration to me and will always be.

If you haven't seen the movie Frank and Ollie, I highly recommend checking it out. When Frank passed away I watched it and it was a big reminder of why I wanted to be an animator in the first place.

Click here to read more info

Labels: Animation Resources, Bobby Beck

So you want to see what Animation Mentor is all about? Or, you want to see how to take a shot from “good” to “great” then check out this fantastic eCritique from Dave Burgess for the February winner of the 11 Second Club!

This eCritique is 33 minutes of pure animation gold! It’s a “mini animation lecture” for the whole world to see for FREE! I hope you pass this link around to your friends and fellow animators as this is what it’s all about, spreading the knowledge and sharing in the art. Animation Mentor wants to give a HUGE thanks to Dave Burgess for doing a fantastic job on this crit!


Click here to review the full eCritique

Labels: Animation Mentor, Animation Mentor mentors, Animation Resources