| I'm a Type 1 Person
I'm someone who's really interested in animation but I'm still not sure if this is what I really want to do. You're one of those people who have always liked to draw since you were a little kid. Maybe you've taken some community center courses or were lucky enough to go to a school that offered a course in animation like basic computer Flash, Toon Boom or even 3D Studio Max. These courses are usually basic introductions that try to give you a bit of foundation teaching and then you just jump right in and do a simple little animated movie. You've been thinking of applying to an animation school (or maybe you already have and are just waiting to see if you got accepted). If this describes you then here's how you can use the materials in the website: Pick one area that interests you the most such as: Character Design, Layout, or Animation and just focus on that one area for a period of time. If you're like most people getting ready for college, you've probably got a job to try and make a bunch of money for the school year, so you won't have a huge amount of free time to spend on your drawing. I suggest that you try to set aside at least two hours a day (more realistically, at night) to devote to your formal drawing period. You're going to have to be pretty religious about this, by this I mean you need to set aside a specific time each day (based on your personal schedule) that you can give focussed and undisturbed attention to the assignment that you have at hand. Treat it the same way you would your job: you have to be there at a specific time for your shift - then you have to do your job, otherwise you don't get paid! Once you've chosen the area you want to focus on, go to that section of the website and start at the beginning assignment. Don't jump forward to the 2nd year assignments because they look really neat. If you're not ready with the fundamentals, the assignments will only end up frustrating you because you can't get them done right. If you've chosen Animation, start of with the 1st year, 1st semester Assignment #1 - Perpetual Ball Bounce. Read through the assignment so that you know what it is you're supposed to do. Check all the links related to it including the Principles Involved links. These will give you a more thorough understanding of what you should be thinking about as you go through the exercises. Some of the assignments will have a DVD that is available. These were made to help you through the process of doing that specific assignment. The format is very simple. It's an over-the-shoulder presentation of me going through the assignment step-by-step. I take my time to fully explain each part of the process and show you how it's done. You can pause the DVD and follow along at your own pace. In many cases, the video shows the exact same information that I would give my students when I'm teaching the course in college. All of the 1st year assignments in Animation can be done without needing to "shoot" or scan them into a computer to create a pencil test of the action. You can simply see the results by flipping the animation paper yourself at your desk. Be sure to pace yourself and try not to do everything as quickly as you can. Speed can kill you artistically. After you do each assignment, take some time to reflect on what it is that you've done and what you've learned from the experience. You need to carry this information over to the next assignment so that you can build you skills. In most cases, the assignment is like on step on a set of stairs; each one will take you to the next level up. Don't get discouraged. If something goes wrong and it doesn't turn out the way you hoped it would, assess the assignment. Get someone else to look at it too and give their opinion on what could make it better, then go back and try to correct the mistakes you made. In some cases, it may require that you start the assignment over completely from scratch. This is all part of your learning experience. Build on those mistakes and remember not to repeat them the second time around. My mantra has always been: "Think when you draw!" After you have progressed through the assignment, move on to the next one and follow the same routine. Don't be afraid to take a break now and then. Not just during the hours that you've set aside (you will need to stretch now and then to avoid getting a neck cramp!) but also over the weeks that you'll be doing these assignments. If you get frustrated with an assignment, try sliding over to another area and do an assignment from the Character Design section for a bit. Then come back to the original assignment with a fresh view. Sometimes you might see something that you missed before. If you actually have applied to an animation school, these are all the same assignments (more or less) that you will get when you're in the program. The neat thing is that you'll have a solid understanding of what the principles are that are involved and you'll be able to ace them all which just might impress a few people along the way. Don't start feeling like, "This is really redundant, I've already done this and I know what I'm doing!" I've been teaching this stuff for over 20 years now and it never hurts to review the basics again. It will only make the process of doing the more complex animation assignments that much easier. Everyone has to start somewhere and for you this could be the start of a great career in animation. Years from now you'll look back on your first assignment and think, "Why did I think that was so hard, I could do it with my eyes closed now." That may be true but everyone has to take the first step and for you, this is it! Go get to work. Brian |