| I'm a Type 2 Person
I'm a person who's decided that this is what you want to do and I'm currently in a college level animation school Similar to the Type 1 person, you're someone who has 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. If you've just applied and are awaiting the beginning of the school year then click here. If you're currently in an animation program somewhere, read on. You're probably in one of three different types of animation school (and I'm being very general here): 1) a school that is focussed primarily on traditional 2D animation with a bit of supplimentary computer animation mixed in such as Flash or Toon Boom, 2) a school that is focussed primarily on 3D animation using either 3D Studio Max or Maya with maybe some After Effects course and just a little bit of drawing added in such as Life Drawing, Character Design, and or Storyboarding, or 3) a school that has a blend of both 2D and 3D being taught at the same time or the first half in 2D and the second half in 3D. A possible scenario for this is 1 year of traditional 2D Animation principles with courses in Character Design, Storyboarding, Layout, and Life Drawing and then the 2nd year focussing on 3D animation in Maya or 3D Studio Max and then possibly a 3rd or Post-Graduate year in Film Production and Portfolio Development. Usually the third type is a 3 year Diploma program or a 4 year Degree in Animation (depending on the school type, i.e. college or university). You can use the materials in this website as a suppliment to what you're being taught in your individual courses. In most cases, the information here will be practically the same as what you're getting taught right now in your current program. Assignments like the one's in the 1st Year, 1st Semester are all standard assignments that are pretty much universally taught throughout the world. The idea is to teach the basic principles in a simple, effective way that conveys the idea without getting bogged down with a lot of detailed drawing. You move on to the more complex stuff of character animation usually in the 2nd year of the program at most schools. Since you're already in a program you obviously have a set schedule of classes, and if you're anything like my students, you don't have a huge amount of time outside the given assignments to do any extra work. I'm not suggesting that you do any extra assignment above and beyond what you already have. You need to focus on getting your work done for your instructor by the given deadlines. I suggest that you use these notes as extra material. As I mentioned on the index page, many instructors don't give out all the information that they might have available to them because too much paper can just go unread. Plus the fact that there seems to be a move towards saving trees by posting information on the internet instead of printing it on paper, which brings us right here. After you have received your assignment from your instructor, go through all the information that they've given you. Understand the perameters and the requirements specific to the purpose of the assignment. If something isn't clear to you, be sure to ask the instructor for clarification! Once you understand what it is that you need to do for them, then you can come in here and find the extra stuff you need. In some cases, it will fall right in line with what you have to hand in. In others, it might need to be modified to apply. For example: you have an assignment that requires a character to say the words: "I like ice cream." One of the early lip sync assignments I have is a character saying: "Absolutely incredible." They're both short statements that require a bit of attitude and a specific enunciation. The information contained in the website and on my DVD will still apply in theory and can be used to suppliment the information given by your instructor. Some of the assignments on this site will have a DVD that is available. These were made to help you through the process of doing that specific assignment or one similar to it. 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. Because you could be at any point in your education, you can jump in wherever it seems applicable to you. 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! 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, a fellow student or your instructor, 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. As I mentioned earlier, if you're already in an animation school, these are all the same assignments (more or less) that you will get when you're in the program. You may feel like repeating these assignments is too redundant, especially if you've alreay mastered the principles involved. 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, you've already taken the first steps towards what could be the beginning of a great career in animation. Years from now you'll look back on your first assignments and think, "Why did I think that was so hard, I could do it with my eyes closed now." What I hope you'll find is that these assignments were helpful in your understanding of the principles. Good luck with your continued studies. Brian |