A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO
BECOMING AN ANIMATOR
ANIMATION
FOR BEGINNERS
BY MORR MEROZ
For Debbie
For the endless love and
support in all that I do.
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COPYRIGHTS
© 2014 Morr Meroz
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by
copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention:
Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
morr@bloopanimation.com
www.bloopanimation.com
First Edition.
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DISCLAIMER
The author and publisher of this Ebook and the accompanying materials have used their best
efforts in preparing this Ebook. The author and publisher make no representation or warranties
with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents of this
Ebook. The information contained in this Ebook is strictly for educational purposes. Therefore, if
you wish to apply ideas contained in this Ebook, you are taking full responsibility for your
actions.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Introduction
• Tablets .................................................................53
• Who is This Book For? .........................................6
• Apps ....................................................................57
• A Word From the Author ......................................8
• Books ..................................................................59
• My Story .............................................................10
• Best Animation Schools ......................................63
Chapter 2 Animation 101 (Covering the basics)
• What is Animation ..............................................12
• You Don’t Need to Know How to Draw to be an
animator .............................................................14
• Different Types of Animators .............................17
• The 12 Principles of Animation ..........................22
• The 6 Steps of Computer Animation .................27
• Terms and Definitions ........................................30
Chapter 3: Tools of the Trade
• Animating Under a $100 .....................................41
• Software ..............................................................44
• Backup ................................................................51
Chapter 4: Creating (Filmmaking, Portfolio and
More)
• Making Your First Film .........................................75
• How to Make an Animated Movie .......................80
• Demo Reel ...........................................................97
• Creating a Portfolio Website .............................102
• Getting a Job in Animation ................................106
• Free Rigs ...........................................................111
• Links and Resources .........................................114
Last Thoughts .................................................................115
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
• Who is This Book For?
• A Word From the Author
• My Story
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?
This book is for everyone who ever wanted to get into
the amazing world of animation.
You may be a high school student trying to decide if
animation is for you, or a college student looking for new
direction. You might be a working professional who always
had a strong passion for filmmaking and animation and you’re
looking for a change or a hobby for your spare time.
This book is for those who are curious about what’s it like
being an animator. If you’re reading this you probably already
think that being an animator is pretty cool, but I know the actual
reality of being part of the animation industry could look a bit
vague for people outside of it.
In this book I will remove the curtain and tell you everything I
know about becoming an animator. I’ll go over all the types of
animation that you can experiment with, the necessary software
and hardware for the task, recommended reading material, the
best schools for learning animation in depth, some basics
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concepts of animation and even taking the first steps
to making your first film.
I will also show how to create a demo reel following
the proper guidelines and how to build a portfolio
website to present your work.
If you are an experienced animator working in the
industry you’ll probably already know most of the stuff
covered in this book, but I’m sure that there could be
something new to learn here for everyone. Feel free to
skip sections that you already know a lot about.
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A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
Hey, first of all I want to thank you for purchasing this
ebook.
I wrote this book so that I could share everything I’ve learned
(and still learning) about getting into animation. I’m not some
expert or an animation guru but I do work as a character
animator and make animated shorts.
I love what I do, and I also love sharing what I know with
others in hope of inspiring or at least teaching something new.
Everything I talk about is presented with complete transparency,
so that you get a backstage look to how things are done.
I wrote the book I would have wanted to read years ago when
I first started looking into getting into animation. I’ve tried
including everything a beginner might want to know.
I know many people want to make awesome things but don’t
always know where to start (or how). Some people just can’t
find the time to follow their passion project. I hope that sharing
this book with you will push you to get started, or at least show
you how.
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Affiliate disclaimer:
This ebook contains some affiliate links, which means I receive a small
commission on a purchase without additional cost to you. I do believe in all
products mentioned in the book and have experience with them.
If you do purchase through my affiliate links, thank you so much for your
support!
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MY STORY
I’m Morr, a NYC based animator/filmmaker.
After graduating from the School of Visual Arts (majoring in
3D animation), I started my career as a character animator,
freelancing in various studios.
Despite loving what I do, I felt like it’s not enough to work for
other people, and that I HAVE to keep doing my own thing.
What started as a YouTube tutorial channel has quickly evolved
into the Bloop Animation blog, a platform on which I can share
my work with a great audience of animators and creative artists.
On the site, I documented my journey of making LIFT UP (my
second animated short) and shared many video tutorials about
every step of the making process.
I truly hope that sharing my journey will inspire people to
follow their passion. Thank you again for buying this book, hope
you like it.
-Morr
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Chapter 2
ANIMATION 101
(Covering the Basics)
• What is Animation
• You Don’t Need to Know how to Draw to Be
an Animator
• Different Types of Animators
• The 12 Principles of Animation
• The 6 Steps of Computer Animation
• Terms and Definitions
Section 1
WHAT IS ANIMATION?
When asked that question, what comes to mind for most
people is companies like Disney, Pixar, or shows such as The
Simpsons or Spongebob.
If you go to the dictionary you’ll find scientific definitions like “a
way of making a movie by using a series of drawings, computer
graphics, or photographs of objects (such as puppets or models)
that are slightly different from one another and that when viewed
quickly one after another create the appearance of
movement” (Webster dictionary).
I like the shorter and more accurate version (in my opinion):
Animation is of art of creating life.
I believe it captures an animator’s goal best. All we do in animation
is try bringing things to life. Many times it’s bringing life to
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traditionally non-living objects. A lamp, a robot, or if
you’ve seen my short film LIFT UP - a cube and a ball.
Another great way to think about animation is as the
process of making things human (humanizing). Everytime you see an animal in an animated film (a common
notion) the animators are actually humanizing the
animal to act more like a person.
The process of animation is (in most cases) bringing
something to life and humanizing it, and therefore
making it more relatable. That’s a necessity for any
good character.
What Makes Great Animation
Good animation, and I’m not referring to the story,
happens when we feel what the character is feeling.
What motivates them to do whatever it is they do.
The animation can be crude or rough, but if the
audience felt the emotional changes the character was
going through, the animator did a good job.
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Section 2
YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DRAW TO BE AN ANIMATOR
Before you go reading the rest of this book, there’s one thing I
really need to be clear about, in case you were concerned:
You don’t need to know how to draw to be an animator.
Some might think that you need to draw amazingly to be an
animator, and that used to be very true, but while drawing skills are
still a must for 2D animation, you don’t need to know how to draw to
be a 3D animator.
I’ll explain what I mean with my own story.
I don’t know how to draw.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I did go to art school for four years
and have been into drawing since a very young age. However, I am
not even half way good enough to do any industry level 2D
animation. I just don’t have the natural gift.
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As a kid, watching the classic Disney movies made
technical obstacles of drawing, I could focus on the
me want to do animation, but as I grew up I learned
characters and what I wanted to get from them. Like I
that I would not be able to do so since no matter how
said in the previous section - animating means
hard I try I would not reach the level of craftsmanship
“creating life” and drawing is not the only way to do
very few gifted people have.
so.
And so I dropped the dream of becoming an
animator and chose a different path. I actually started
Having said all of that, there are a few things
to note:
my degree as an advertising major. But then
something happened.
If I got you all excited about animating (which I hope
I did) there are a few things to keep in mind:
I discovered 3D animation.
This notion that I had that amazing drawing skills
• Drawing skills are a huge plus. A good
understanding of figures and body movement is
were required to do animation was just flawed. I
important. I studied for four years and had many life
learned that the process of 3D animation is very
drawing classes. I might not have been the best in
different on a technical level, since drawing the
class but my eye have gotten a lot better at depicting
character is not an issue, but instead it’s all about
anatomy.
moving it around like a puppet. A 3D puppet.
I dropped advertising and switched to 3D animation.
• Composition skills are also mandatory. You don’t
need to know how to draw, but you need to
3D animation allowed me to make my dreams come
understand composition aesthetics in order to create
true and animate. Since I didn’t deal with all the
compelling poses for your animation.
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• Basic animation principles are the same in 2D and
3D and you must know them.
Why am I telling you this?
This chapter was not intended to cheapen 3D
of dedication to master. I just believe it’s important to
get the message through to you, the reader, before you
keep reading the book. You might have always
dreamed of being an animator and thought you
couldn’t do it, hopefully this will give you a different
perspective.
animation. It is a craft like any other and requires years
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Section 3
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANIMATORS
So we understand what animation is, we’ve been watching
animation since we were kids, but do you really know what it’s like
being an animator? What does an animator do all day? Is it just
sitting and drawing cool characters? Let’s take a look at a few of the
many options people have in the world of animation.
Traditional Animator
Also known as a 2D animator, a traditional animator draws every
frame to create the animation sequence, like in the old days of
Disney. If you’ve ever had one of those filp-books when you were a
kid, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Sequential drawings
screened quickly one after another create the illusion of movement.
The traditional animator needs to draw each of those drawings,
called frames. In the past that was happening on a big light table (a
drafting table with a big light panel in the middle on which the
animator drew the sequential drawings). The light enabled the
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animator to see his previous drawings through the
tool to drag and move body parts of a drawn
paper to get a better look at his animation.
character.
Nowadays even traditional animation is being done
These flexibilities give beginners more options when
mostly on computers by using a tablet (such as the
approaching animation, especially if drawing isn’t their
Wacom Cintiq). There are many programs for 2D
strong suit.
animation, but we’ll get to those in the software
section.
2D Animator
In addition to traditional animation, a 2D animator
can also animate in a vector-based software such as
Flash, Toon Boom, or even in a motion graphics
program like After Effects.
With Flash or Toon Boom, in addition to the option
3D Animator
Also known as computer animator, or frankly, just an
animator since this is the most common form of
animation these days (the same way a traditional or a
2D animator used to just be called an animator).
A 3D animator, however, works in a completely
different way than a traditional animator. They both
need to understand the same principles of movement
of animating frame by frame, an animator has the
and composition, but the technical skill set is very
option of creating rigs for the characters and then
different, and that’s actually good news for many
moving the body parts individually instead of drawing
people. Why is that you ask? Because in the past you
the character over and over. After Effects allows you to
had to be an amazing draftsman to be an animator
create complex rigs for animation, or use the puppet
and today that’s not the case (as I explained in the
previous section).
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A computer animator works with 3D programs like
When animating in 2D, the character has to be
Maya or 3D Max, and the animation process is more
drawn fro every frame. When the character is viewed
similar to playing with puppets than it is to drawing.
from the side, half of its body isn’t shown and thus
We move the character in a 3D scene with special
isn’t drawn. It technically doesn’t exist. It’s drawn on a
controls that are connected to each body part (such as
flat page and there isn’t really more of the character
hands, elbows, lips, etc…) and then we set a keyframe
other than what the animator draws.
when all the body parts are in the right place. We then
move forward in time and move all these controls
again and create another keyframe. The computer
then calculates the journey the body part is going
through between each of those keyframes. An
animator will spend most of his time looking at curves
that represent the movement of different body parts
With 3D though, the character’s body parts always
exist in the shot. Even when one hand isn’t visible, it’s
still there. That adds some work for the animator, since
we need to be aware of the entire character at all
times. That’s a lot.
The last major difference with 3D animation is the
over time. That sounds very technical, and it is, but it’s
frame rate. While both traditional and 3D animation is
something you get used to very quickly.
usually done on 24 FPS (Frames per second),
Another big difference with 3D animation is that
unlike traditional animation, the character’s body parts
are always present and should be considered. I’ll
explain.
traditional animators usually work on 2’s which means
they draw a new drawing every 2 frames, and thus
having one drawing last for 2 frames. In fast motion
shots they might work on 1’s (creating a new drawing
every single frame), but with very slow motions they
might work on 3’s or even 4’s.
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With 3D animation, however, the motion is always
smooth (except for stylized pieces which intentionally
try to look different) and having a character stop
completely looks like a mistake. Even when the
character is standing still there should always be some
sign of life or gentle movement to keep the illusion of
Stop Motion Animator
Stop motion is a special form of animation that
combines live action filmmaking principles with
traditional character animation.
Stop motion is done by taking a photo of an object,
life, this is something 2D animation can get away with
and then moving it just a little bit and taking another
much more easily than 3D animation.
photo. The process is repeated and when the photos
Motion Graphics Animator
Motion graphics is a completely different beast, yet
is still considered a form of animation. It’s the art of
creatively moving graphic elements or texts, usually for
commercial or promotional purposes (such as
animated logos, explainer videos, app commercials,
television promos, film opening titles etc…).
A motion graphics artists would most likely be
working with After Effects and/or Cinema4D.
are played back one after another in 24 FPS they give
the illusion of movement. This is similar to traditional
animation but it uses real life materials instead of
drawings.
Stop motion has different styles:
• Claymation: Working with clay or play-doh
characters that can easily be manipulated for
animation. Advanced claymation (such as The
Neverhood) uses metal skeletons on which the clay
is then molded for more sturdy rigs.
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• Puppets: The use of puppets (usually also built
still photo, moving things around, and then taking
upon some sort of skeleton rig) for animation. The
another photo, but the subject matter is usually real
faces of the characters can be replaced based on the
people instead of puppets.
expression.
• Cut out: Using construction paper or cardboard
• Silhouette animation: Similar to cutout animation,
silhouette animation uses cardboard or some kind of
characters and placing them on a paper while
flat material, but the objects are all black and the
shooting the animation from above (That’s how South
shot is depicted with silhouettes only. This is one of
Park was made before switching to computers). The
the oldest forms of stop motion and is rarely used
cardboard is then moved a little each frame to create
today.
the illusion of movement.
• Toy/Lego: Using action figures or lego characters
for animation. This genre is popular on YouTube with
many channels dedicated to creating funny skits with
lego characters.
Robot Chicken (a show on Adult Swim) did that with
famous action figures making fun of pop culture.
• Pixilation: A form of stop motion that uses real
people and real environments to create unreal
videos. It uses the stop motion method of taking a
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Section 4
THE 12 PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION
These 12 principles of animation were developed by old time
Disney animators. These aren’t specific rules by which one needs to
animate, but rather think of them as a set of basic concepts to be
familiar with.
These principles are an important part of the animation language
and while some are abstract, others (like timing and spacing) are
crucial to understand.
1. Squash and Stretch
The concept of deforming the shape of an object or character to
demonstrate weight. For example - a bouncing ball will stretch into
an elliptical shape when falling right before hitting the floor, and then
upon hitting will change into a squashed horizontal elliptical before
regaining its ball shape again and jumping off.
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This idea is great for cartoon animation and
happen instantaneously. First, the character holds the
humorous moments (like a frying pan hitting the face
sides of the chair, then she moves her legs a little bit,
of a character, causing it to expand for a split second
then she might lean backward to get momentum.
before regaining its shape back).
It doesn’t have to be a specific body part that
squashes and stretches, it could be the whole
character. For example - a ninja dropping to frame.
During the landing the ninja will be stretched very thin
and then squashed when hitting the floor.
2. Anticipation
Here’s the best way to demonstrate the concept of
anticipation: Stand up straight. Now try jumping
without bending your knees. Impossible? That’s
because most actions need some form of preparation
(or anticipation).
As animators we must remember anticipation and
consider it before animating certain actions. The
character throws a dart? We first animate the hand
going backwards. Getting up from a chair? It doesn’t
3. Staging
Staging is the idea of posing your character in the
best way to convey the action, mood, and purpose of
the story. Not every shot needs to have a character in
the center, so where do we put it? Is it a close up or a
long shot?
It’s often a good system to look at your posing in
silhouette mode, and see if the action is still clear. If it
is, that’s a good sign that the staging is good.
4. Straight Ahead vs. Pose to Pose
Straight ahead is the process of animating without
planning the main keyframes in advance. The animator
draws one frame after another in a sort of
improvisational way to create a more spontaneous
action.
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Pose to pose is the opposite of straight ahead
animation. It’s the process of first drawing the main
keyframes of the shot and then drawing the frames in
between them.
5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
The action that happens once another action has
ended. For example, when woman shakes her head,
the hair will still move after she stops moving her head,
before finally settling.
The same goes for clothing. A dress might still move
after the character has stopped in place.
6. Slow Out and Slow In
Also known as ease in / ease out. An action might
start slow at the beginning and then slow down again
near the end. Try touching your toes with your hand
and then raising that hand above your head. Chances
are the beginning or lifting your hand was a bit slow,
then it got fast towards the middle of the action, and
then slowed down again before reaching the high
point.
A case where slow-in doesn’t occur is something
like a character hitting a wall. The action will stop
instantly and will not slow down before the end.
7. Arcs
Most natural actions happen in an arc shape. Think
of the raising your hand example from the previous
principle. If you drew a line along your finger motion,
you’d probably get some kind of an arc rather than a
straight line.
Animating actions that create arc shapes tend to
look nicer and more natural. On the same note, if
you’re trying to achieve a more mechanical motion,
animating in a straight line might be preferable.
8. Secondary Action
Not to be confused with overlapping action (though
it often is), secondary action is another layer of
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animation that is part of the whole action. Take a
limping person walking they might use one leg for
swimmer for example. The main action might be him
longer than the other. So they might stay on the right
using his hands to swim, and his legs as secondary
leg for most of the 24 frames, then at around frame 18
action will move like flippers supporting that action.
will take a quick step on the bad leg and then on frame
A bully walking angrily might have secondary action
in his arms (swinging them) to emphasize his mood.
9. Timing
Timing is a tricky concept to explain, but one of the
most important ones to understand in regards to
animation. It is certainly something you get better at
the more you experiment with.
Timing refers to the time when certain parts of an
action take place. Let’s look at a walk as an example.
On a regular walk the legs hit the ground at an even
pace, lets say one foot hits the ground every 14
frames, thus completing one walk cycle (meaning
24 they will go back to the other leg. We still have a full
walk cycle within 24 frames but the timing of the steps
will be completely different.
Changing the timing will often change the nature of
your animation, and that’s why it’s something that can
best be internalized with experience.
10.Exaggeration
In animation, as opposed to in real life, we often
exaggerate certain actions to bring our scene to life.
This should be used with common sense and good
taste, but exaggeration in the right places can give
your shots more appeal and charm.
taking two steps - one with each leg) in 24 frames. So
the first hit of the foot would be on frame 14 and the
second foot will hit on frame 24. If, however, we had a
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11. Solid Drawing
One of the more abstract principles, having an
12. Appeal
Animated characters should have a certain amount
understanding of figure drawing, form, weight and
of appeal, in shape, silhouette, movement and
perspective is very important for animation.
personality. It doesn’t mean they have to be cute, but
It is much more important for traditional animators,
since excellent drawing skills are a must, but it’s also
important for 3D animators. It gives a better familiarity
with motion, form and posing and is a great
advantage.
they should posses an amount of visual appeal.
Villains, heroes, sidekicks, they all need to appeal to
the audience in one way or another. Again, one of the
more abstract concepts and not something I can point
my finger at, but it’s something to keep in mind.
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Section 5
THE 6 STEPS OF COMPUTER ANIMATION
At this point you might be wondering what’s it like to actually
animate a shot? What are the steps an animator takes when
approaching a shot? While every animator might have their own
system of how they do things, there’s a general process I have found
to be consistent with most.
I should also add that this process is only relevant to 3D
animators and NOT 2D.
Again, this is based on my experience and does not reflect the one
and only way of approaching animation, but if you follow these steps
you’ll probably be on the right track.
Step 1: Shooting Reference video
This is a very important and overlooked step. It’s weird
how people really think they know what certain actions look like and
how long they take, but in reality they are often wrong.
27
Physical actions are something you need to analyze
before animating, especially if you’re a beginner.
Animating a shot of a guy throwing a baseball? You
better YouTube some reference videos of pitchers
next by adding ‘in betweens’ (also known as
breakdown poses or passing poses). These are the
poses that connect the key poses.
We keep adding more poses until the movement
throwing balls. Don’t assume you know what it looks
looks as good as it could while still staying in stepped
like just because you’ve seen it before. Looking at an
mode (stepped mode is when you don’t allow
action as an animator is completely different than
computer interpolation between poses, so the
looking at it as a regular viewer.
animation looks very choppy).
Step 2: Posing
Step 4: Splining
After shooting a reference video, it’s time to create
Splining is a 3D animation term, it’s the process of
the key poses for the shot. These poses are called key
converting the interpolation of the key frames from
poses because they are the most important poses of
stepped to spline. In other words – we make the
the shot. These are the poses that convey the story.
computer connect the movement between each of the
It’s important to get these poses right, because we’ll
poses, and that makes the movement look smoother.
be building on top of them later on in the process.
Step 3: Blocking
Once we’re happy with our key poses, we start
breaking down the movement from each pose to the
The problem is that the computer doesn’t do a very
good job at interpolating. It only works with what it has
so that’s why the better the blocking is the better the
splined version is going to look.
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Step 5: Smoothing and Offset
Now that all of the keys are in spline mode we have
to work on them. We need to clean up all the curves
and make sure the movement works correctly.
It’s also a good idea to offset some of the actions
so it doesn’t look so ‘stop and start’, as if the
character is doing all the motion at once. By the end of
this step the shot should look pretty solid and
almost finished.
Step 6: Adding Life
This step is a lot of fun. We’ve already finished with
the grunt work of animating and it’s time to add some
fun stuff.
In this step we add small imperfections that
bring life to the character. Maybe an extra blink or a
mouth twitch here and there. The difference between
these last 2 steps is small but very noticeable. This is
where the magic lies.
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Section 6
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Before we finish off this chapter, I’ve compiled a dictionary with all
the terms and definitions from the wold of animation filmmaking for
you to refer to at any time. Feel free to skip this section and come
back to it during your reading when you encounter a term you’re
unfamiliar with.
2D Animation
The creation of moving pictures in a two-dimensional environment,
such as through "traditional" cel animation or computerized
animation software.
3D Animation
The creation of moving pictures in a three-dimensional digital
environment. This is done by sequencing consecutive images, or
"frames," that simulate motion by each image showing the next in a
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gradual progression of steps, filmed by a virtual
"camera" and then output to video by a rendering
engine.
Aspect Ratio / Resolution
Aspect ratio refers to the ratio between the width
and length of the screen, while resolution refers to the
Animation
amount of pixels squeezed into the screen. For
A way of making a movie by using a series of
HD720 or HD1080. Each have a different pixel amount
drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of
objects (such as puppets or models) that are slightly
different from one another and that when viewed
quickly one after another create the illusion of
movement
Animatic
Simply put, an animatic is an animated storyboard.
Boards are brought together in an editing program and
are cut with the correct timing and pace of the film.
They include basic sound effects, dialogue recordings
and temporary music.
example, HD aspect ratio is 16:9, but that could be
but the same screen ratio.
Blocking
The next step after posing and before splining (or
finessing the animation). Blocking is posing all the inbetweens for the shot until achieving a legible piece of
animation, however blocked and choppy. After getting
approval on the action in the blocking, the animator
moves on to the next step.
Boom
A long pole device that carries either a microphone
or a camera to create a “boom shot,” which is a shot
31
that travels from the ground going high up or the other
way around.
Cel Animation
In the old days of animation, cels were commonly
used in production as a transparent surface to draw
on, and then to be placed on another cel (like a
character being placed on a background) to create the
final look of the shot.
CGI
Stands for Computer Generated Imagery, it is the
use of computers to create images, art, designs and
animation for all uses.
Claymation
A way of describing a stop motion based on clay
characters (watch some Aardman films to understand
better).
Color Matching
The process of changing the colors of each shot to
match one another. It starts with picking one shot as a
guide and then going through all the rest of the shots
within the same scene and matching their colors to it.
Compositing
The complex process of bringing in different render
layers from the animation software (layers such as
background, characters, shadows, lights, reflections
etc…) and putting them on top of each other or
combining them together to create the desired look,
effect and feel of each shot.
Concept Art
Initial drawings, sculptures, designs and any form of
art that was created to be used as a visual guideline
for the look and feel of the movie.
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Demo Reel / Show Reel
An edited video of the artist’s best work. This is the
most important piece for getting work in the animation
industry. See the full section on demo reel guidelines
for more in depth information.
Depth of Field
Also known as focal length, refers to the distance
between the nearest and farthest objects from the
camera that are in focus.
Dolly
A piece of equipment that allows the camera to
overall film, bringing it together with the music and
sound design to create the final movie.
FK/IK
Two different rigging techniques usually
implemented in arms, legs and spines. FK (Forward
Kinematics) is animating through the hierarchy of the
object. Using the arm as an example, an animator
would start by rotating the shoulder, which will move
the entire arm with it, then the elbow which will control
the forearm, and then the actual hand.
In IK (Inverse Kinematics) however, we use the hand
to control the whole arm, which feels a bit more
move smoothly on the ground to create a seamless
natural, as if you were holding a puppet’s hand and
motion.
moving it around.
Editing
FPS / Frame Rate
Putting the different shots together in a compelling
way to best convey the sequences, scenes and the
How many frames are played per second. Animation
is usually done in 24 fps.
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In Between
The drawings or poses that connect the keyframes
to complete the movement.
Keyframe
An animation key frame is a single still image in an
animated sequence that occurs at an important point
in that sequence. In the traditional work process, an
animator would create those keyframes (either by
drawing them if they’re doing it in 2D or by posing the
character if they’re doing it in 3D) and then slowly add
transition poses and in-betweens to complete the
animation.
Layout
Refers to the background/environment of a shot and
placement of characters within it.
Light Table
The desk used by traditional 2D animators. It
contains a large light panel on which animation paper
is placed. That allows the animator to see previous
drawings from pages under the current page.
Lip Sync
The process of animating the mouth of a character
to match the dialogue.
Modeling
The process of building the model of the character/
prop/environment in the 3D software, to later be rigged
and animated.
Model Sheet
A model sheet, also known as a character board,
character sheet or character study, is a document
used to help standardize the appearance, poses, and
gestures of an animated character.
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Motion Capture
the process or technique of recording patterns of
movement digitally, especially the recording of an
actor's movements for the purpose of animating a
digital character. This is mostly used in video games
and live action films, and less in animated features.
Moving Hold
An animation term that refers to animating a
character standing still without any distinct motion, yet
making it seem alive.
Onion Skin
Viewing past drawings while animating the current
frame. A light table enabled this in the old days, but
even in today’s software there’s an onion skin option
that enables the animator to view previous drawings
with less transparency, which makes the animation
process easier and more accurate.
Pan
The rotation of a camera on its horizontal axis (left or
right) in order to keep a character or object in view.
Passing Pose
Refers to the pose of a walk cycle in which the leg is
in its transition and the weight of the character is in
between shifting.
Pencil Test
A 2D animation term, which refers to the process of
creating an animation sequence purely with pencil and
paper to test a character’s behavior or the flow of a
shot. It could turn into the final animation or could be
used as purely a test.
Pipeline
The technical order and manner of which 3D tasks
are done. Studios have their own specific pipelines
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they stick to, making sure the process goes as
smoothly as possible.
For example - first, the models are made, then they
are sent to the rigging department. After the rigging is
done the animators start working and so forth. Pipeline
also refers to the specific software and render engines
the studio uses. A new employee is usually trained to
Pose to Pose
This is the opposite of straight ahead animation.
This is the process of first drawing the keyframe and
then drawing the frames in betweens those keyframes.
Pre-Visualization (Previz)
Pre-visualization is the process of making a stripped
work within the guidelines of the studio pipeline upon
down version of your film before actually making it.
recruitment.
Usually made within the 3D program, a previz is
Pose
animated very basically, just enough to get the story
The pose of the character. ‘Posing’ the character
refers to the process of establishing the main poses
for the shot before diving deep into finishing the
across.
Rendering
The process of taking every frame in the shot,
animation. This way, the client or director can approve
applying all the render settings and producing one
the action of the shot without having the animator
finished singular image at a time, to then be used as
spend many hours finessing the shot.
an image sequence.
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Rig
The final file with the character and the different
Shot
A take, in part or in its entirety, that is used in the
controls that move it, ready for animation.
final edited version of the film.
Rigging
Sound Design
The process of taking a 3D model and building a
Unlike score or music, sound design deals with
digital skeleton for it to then be manipulated by the
layering the actual sound bits across your film and
animator.
editing them together (mixing). That includes the
Scene
A film term that refers to a part of a movie, play or a
show that takes place in one place and time.
Script / Screenplay
The written form of a movie that also includes
instructions on how it is to be acted and filmed. Any
dialogue or action is described in the script to later
turn into storyboards, animatic and previz.
sound effects, foley, dialogue, ambiance and the
actual music.
Spline
Splining is the process of interpolating the motion
between the keyframes in a smooth manner.
Stepped
Step mode refers to not having any computer
interpolation in the animation between the keyframes.
An animator would work in stepped mode when they
are at the posing stage of their work.
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Stop Motion
An old animation technique of taking a still photo of
Straight Ahead Animation
The process of animating without planning the main
the object and then moving it a little bit before taking
keyframes in advanced. The animator draws one frame
the next photo. Then, when played back, the viewers
after another in sort of an improvisational way to
get the illusion that the object is moving. This can be
create a more spontaneous action.
done with different objects such as clay puppets,
wooden puppets, paper cutouts and more.
Storyboard
A storyboard is a series of drawings meant for previsualizing the movie. It is an essential tool for the
director so he could get a sense of the way the movie
is going to look and feel.
The Storyboard saves time on set. Since the camera
angles were determined beforehand, the DP (director
of photography) knows exactly what is expected of
him during the shoot.
Texturing
The process of creating the digital textures for the
models, character, environments and props.
Tilt
The rotation of a camera on its vertical axis (up or
down).
Timeline
The section of the editing or animation software that
shows the progression of time by seconds or frames,
to which we edit or animate the film.
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Video Reference
A video shot by the animator before animating a
shot to be used as a reference for making the
animation process easier and more accurate.
Working on Ones/Twos
Working on ones means that there’s a new drawing
in each frame of the 24 frames/second. Working on
twos means there’s a new drawing every other frame,
which means a single drawing lasts for 2 frames.
There’s also cases where the animation is done on
threes, fours and up, when the character barely
moves. That’s common in Japanese animation or stop
motion.
Zoom
Changing the focal length of the lens in order to
make the character appear closer or more distant.
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Chapter 3
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
(Hardware, Software and More)
• Animating Under a $100
• Software
• Backup
• Tablets
• Apps
• Books
• Best Animation Schools
Section 1
ANIMATING UNDER A $100 (a quick note)
Before I jump into the list of hardware and software that is
available (and there’s a lot of it) I have a few words to those of you
who think they don’t have the right tools to make animation, or that
it’s too expensive of an investment to get the right computer, tablet
or program. In this quick section I’ll show you what you’ll need to
start animating like a pro right away with less than $100.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Software - $19
For this price range I can mostly focus on 2D animation, since 3D
software isn’t cheap.
One of the most common 2D animation programs is Adobe Flash.
It cost $19/month and you get a free trial month. That gives you 2
months of animation for $19. If you’re more into detailed frame by
frame drawings, Photoshop is also a great option for the same price.
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Both of these programs will work on most recent
computers, so you can probably use the one you
already own.
Option 1: Flash
Probably the most popular 2D animation
software out there. Flash has a long lineage of
animation making, even before it was purchased by
Secret Option 3: After Effects.
After effects can be used for 2D animation. It has
great rigging capabilities and the puppet tool is for
animation.
Hardware - $79
Since we're doing 2D animation, using a drawing
Adobe. Flash is vector based, which I don’t personally
tablet is a must. I know what you're thinking: These
like, but it’s very intuitive to work with (as most
Wacom tablets are so expensive! They're like a $1000!
Adobe’s products are) and relatively cheap.
Well, that's true if you're talking about the high-end
Option 2: Photoshop
ones. however, Wacom makes great tablets at lower
Photoshop is sometimes skipped when considering
an animation software, since it’s known for its photo
editing features, but in reality its powerful drawing
prices as well.
Wacom Intuos Pen
For $79, This is the cheapest professional tablet
capabilities make it one of the best choices for frame
Wacom makes, and it is a great product for beginners
by frame Disney-style animation.
on a low-budget. It Allows you to quickly draw straight
Photoshop’s timeline functionality lets you animate by
to your computer, which makes the process extremely
drawing frame by frame, using onion skinning and is
quick.
incredibly robust.
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Total price: $98
Now it's up to you to do something about it. You
can sit around and tell yourself that you don't have
the right equipment or that you don't know how to
draw - but look at the animation videos on YouTube.
Many of them have very basic animation and white
backgrounds. Anyone can make something
interesting if they have a good idea and sit down to
do the work.
Will you take up the challenge?
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Section 2
SOFTWARE
One of the most common question I get from people (both friends
and readers) is “What software do you use?” Is that Maya? After
Effects? In this article I will break down the options you have when
choosing your animation software.
Before I start I want to clarify that this is only my opinion based on
my experience. It’s important to remember that good skills will get
you far no matter what software you use. Tools are just tools.
I did not include every animation software out there, just the ones I
thought were good enough to mention.
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3D Animation Software
Autodesk Softimage
From Autodesk: Softimage character
Autodesk Maya
Maya is the industry standard 3D software,
used in most large studios. Maya,
Softimage and 3D Max are all a part of Autodesk and
work quite similarly. Choosing one is a matter of
personal and technical preference.
Supported platforms:
• Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
• Mac OS X
• Linux
Learn more…
animation software offers high-performance
creative tools for artists and technical directors
working in 3D game development and visual effects.
Supported platforms:
• Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
• Linux
Learn more…
Autodesk 3DS Max
From Autodesk: 3DS Max provides a
comprehensive 3D modeling, animation,
rendering, and compositing solution for games, film,
and motion graphics artists. It has tools for crowd
generation, particle animation, and perspective
matching, as well as support for Microsoft® DirectX
11® shaders.
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Supported platforms:
• Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8
• Mac OS X
Learn more…
Cinema 4D
Cinema 4D is a motion graphics artist’s best
friend. It’s a 3D program for the After Effects
user. Very intuitive, and works directly with After
Effects without the need to render first. This would not
however be my first choice for serious 3D production
since it was designed from the ground up with motion
graphics in mind.
Supported platforms:
• Windows Vista, 7, 8
• Mac OS X
Learn more…
Blender
I don’t have much experience with Blender, but
its main advantage is that it is open source,
works on multiple platforms and free for download.
From Blender: Blender provides a broad spectrum
of modeling, texturing, lighting, animation and video
post-processing functionality in one package. Through
its open architecture, Blender provides cross-platform
interoperability, extensibility, an incredibly small
footprint, and a tightly integrated workflow.
Supported platforms:
• Windows XP, Vista, 7
• Mac OS X
• Linux
• FreeBSD
Learn more…
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2D Animation Software
Adobe Flash
creating rigs for 2D, and using the puppet tool is very
convenient and intuitive. I find After Effects to be a
great choice since I’m very comfortable with Adobe’s
work environment, but that’s my personal preference.
Probably the most popular 2D animation
Since it’s also an editing software, it’s great to be able
software out there. Flash has a long lineage
to edit and color correct in the same place you
of animation making, even before it was purchased by
animate.
Adobe. Flash is vector based, which I don’t personally
Supported platforms:
like, but it’s very intuitive to work with (as most
Adobe’s products are) and relatively cheap.
• Windows XP, 7, 8
Supported platforms:
• Mac OS X
• Windows XP, 7, 8
Learn more…
• Mac OS X
Photoshop
Learn more…
Photoshop is sometimes skipped when
considering an animation software, but in
Adobe After Effects
reality its powerful drawing capabilities makes it one of
An interesting choice for 2D animation. After
the best choices for frame by frame Disney-style
effects gives you great control when
animation. Photoshop’s timeline functionality allows
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animating by drawing frame by frame, using onion
skinning and is incredibly robust.
Supported platforms:
• Windows XP, 7, 8
• Mac OS X
Learn more…
TVPaint
Toon Boom
Toon Boom offers a user friendly set of
animation programs with advanced rigging
systems,effects and camera tools. It is vector based,
which means you’ll get that flash-look that
I ,personally, am not a fan of.
They offer different packages for different prices.
The packages are Toon Boom Studio, Animate,
Animate Pro and Harmony. For hobbyists animators I
A french animation software, TVPaint is the
would suggest the Toon Boom Studio package, which
all-in-one 2D animation software you’ll ever
is not very expensive but still packs a great set of
need. It’s more robust than Photoshop, but also much
pricier. Great for professionals and studios.
Supported platforms:
• Windows XP, Vista, 7
• Mac OS X
features.
Supported platforms:
• Windows 7, 8
• Mac OS X
Learn more…
• Linux
Learn more…
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Anime Studio
Stop Motion Software
Anime Studio is a complete 2D animation
package that can produce traditional
animation, cutout animation and anime style
animation.
It have a complex bone system for complex
rigging and even supports the Unity engine.
It offers two packages, the Debut and the Pro
(priced at $49 and $299 respectively). The debut is for
Dragonframe
If you’re planning on making a professional
stop motion video, Dragonframe is the best
tool for the job. Its comprehensive software can be
used with many different attachments, such as devices
that control the camera, lights and even camera focus.
It gives the user complete control over the lighting of
hobbyists and beginners while the pro offers working
the shot with an option to program the dimming of the
professionals its most advanced tools.
different lights over a period of time. It comes with a
Supported platforms:
keypad controller for easy control of the photo taking
process, and for flipping between frames.
• Windows 7, 8
• Mac OS X
Learn more…
Supported platforms:
• Windows 7, 8
• Mac OS X
Learn more…
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iStopMotion
If you’re looking to spend a bit less and
you’re making stop motion more as a hobby,
this software is just for you. It’s not expensive and very
user friendly.
It does have good features though, such as DSLR
support, onion skinning, using an iPad or iPhone as a
remote and even chroma keying (using green screen).
Supported platforms:
• Mac OS X
Learn more…
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Section 3
BACKUP
Before we wrap up the software section, I want to talk
about backup for a moment.
I’ll start by telling you about what used to be MY backup system.
I had a pretty good system. Two external hard drives connected to
my main computer. Each one was big (in capacity). I would then
manually back up files to either of the hard drives, and the most
important projects to both. While I was working on my first short film
I even backed it up at school AND on my girlfriends computer, just in
case. I’m a careful person when it comes to my files.
Remember this though - There’s no fail-proof backup.
I’ll give you an example: A few months ago my computer hard
drive failed, and on the same day one of my external hard drives
failed too. What are the chances of that? But it’s not just me. This
could happen to anyone, no matter how prepared you are.
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In his new book, ‘Creativity Inc.’, Ed Catmull, the
The thought of online backup never occurred to me
president of Pixar, tells a horrifying story of how
because of the large files I have, and most places
someone accidentally erased the files of Toy Story 2,
would offer only a few hundred Giga Bytes.
and when they turned to their backup system for
recovery it turns out that that system was not working
properly for a while, and the files were truly gone.
This could have taken Pixar 30 people working for a
Then one day while listening to one of my favorite
podcasts I heard of a company called Backblaze that
allows you to backup all the files on your computer
plus all the files on your external hard drives! That
year to recover their loss, and at the time might have
sounded crazy to me, so I checked it out and it was
caused Pixar to go bankrupt. Luckily, one of their
true.
employees was forced to work at home at that time
and had the files in her apartment. She saved the day.
Now, I just want to clarify that Backblaze didn’t pay
me to say that, I’m telling you about them because I
But you can’t really count on such luck, can
was blown away by how awesome their service is and
you?
I really think you should try it yourselves. It’s $5/month
After my incident I tried finding a better way to
backup my files. I thought about getting more hard
drives, but that was quite an expensive idea,
and you can start a free trial for 2 weeks to check it
out.
That was my little rant about backup, and whatever
especially since I have A LOT of files. As a 3D artist I
system you choose to use (online or not) be vigilant
work with huge renders and massive files.
about it and don’t let your files get lost. If it happened
to Pixar it could happen to you.
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Section 4
TABLETS
Switching to a Tablet
“He reached his hand for the mouse, and the interview was
over.”
There’s an industry tale about a guy interviewing for a VFX position
and when asked to perform a certain task he reached for the mouse
instead of the tablet pen. At that moment his fate was determined.
However, this is just an amusing story and I do know very talented
and capable visual artists who use a mouse. I still use it for most
things, and until a few years ago I was using it for 3D animation. I
used it when animating my first animated short.
In this section I want to tell you why you should switch to using a
tablet instead of a mouse for animation.
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Using a Tablet
I bought a Wacom tablet in my senior year of
college. I thought I needed one to be more
professional, but I only used it for drawing in
Photoshop. I never managed to use it as a mouse
On my first day I was seated at my desk, and in front
of me was a Wacom tablet. I looked around and saw
that other animators were using it too. At that moment
I had to make a decision:
• Do I stick with the mouse and never give myself
replacement for other things, and every time I tried it
the chance to get used to something that might be
resulted in a slower work pace, so I gave up.
much better?
When I bought it, I thought I’d use it for compositing
(since I knew people who were working on nodebased compositing software such as Nuke with a
tablet) and Photoshop drawing. I never thought it
could be better than a mouse for 3D animation, since
most of it is moving joints and controls around – which
seemed easiest with a mouse.
Why I Started Animating with a Tablet
• Or do I take a chance?
I decided to go for it. Nobody knew me or what I
use, so I just pretended that this is what I use every
day, and like in many other cases – necessity brought
accomplishment. I was a bit sluggish at first but I had
to push through it.
You wouldn’t believe how fast I got used to it
once I had no other choice.
After graduation I was accepted to an animation
summer internship at Framestore, which was definitely
an amazing opportunity. It’s one of the best VFX
studios out there.
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Why It Is Better to Animate with a Tablet
Mostly because it’s faster. Way faster.
If you’ve ever worked with a 3D software such as
Wacom Tables
I’ve explained why you should switch to using a
tablet, now let’s go over the different options you have
Maya or 3D Max you know that you spend a lot of your
when choosing a drawing tablet. There are basically 3
time looking at the character model and moving its
tiers of tablets, all for different levels and budgets.
body parts around. Doing that with a pen feels so
much more natural than a mouse, it’s like touching the
model with you hands. You get more precise with your
tweaking and move around incredibly faster.
How to Practice Using a Tablet
Other than just starting to use it, the best way to
Beginner - Wacom Intuos
Pen & Touch ($99 - $199)
This small yet fantastic
tablet (formerly known as the
Bamboo) is the best way to
practice and get better and faster with a tablet is to do
start using a tablet when
some exercises. Lynda has a comprehensive course
you’re just a beginner and don’t know if you want to
for learning to use a Wacom tablet, but it’s not free.
spend much money.
A great free resource is Wacom’s learning pages.
It’s small but not so small that it can’t be used for
You can watch some of their webinars and learn the
professional work. It’s wireless, has a touch screen,
basics on their tutorials page.
1024 pressure levels, and if you want to spend an
extra $100 you can get a larger size.
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Professional - Wacom
professional 2D animators or digital painters.
Intuos Pro ($249 - $499)
The model I recommend is the Cintiq 13HD ($999),
The best tablet for 3D
animators, and the most
since 13” feels like the perfect size for most uses.
It’s not too bulky or too small.
commonly used tablet. The medium one ($349) is the
most popular Wacom tablet and is the perfect size for
most uses. It’s great for free drawing straight to
programs like Photoshop or Flash and also for
animating in 3D program like Maya and Cinema 4D. It
has 2048 pressure levels, a touch screen and
awesome programable buttons. This is the
tablet I use, and unless you focus on
heavy drawing this is my most
recommended choice for most people.
Expert - Wacom Cintiq ($999 - $2999)
The Cintiq is Wacom’s high end product
line, featuring an amazing HD screen to
be used as a tablet and as a secondary
screen. This tablet is mostly for
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Section 5
APPS
The majority of animation work is being done on a big strong
computer with a heavy software such as Maya or After Effects. But
as an independent animator, there are certain smaller apps that can
make your life a bit easier and will contribute to the larger creating
process.
Here are a few great apps that I use in
different production stages:
Celtx
Celtx is a great script writing app that works on all devices
(desktop, iOS) and it’s the only screenwriting experience I
actually enjoyed on an iPad. The app syncs online which enables
you to switch between different devices whenever you want.
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Paper
If you have an iPad, you’ve probably
heard of Paper. It’s arguably the best
drawing app on iOS. It has different kinds of
brushes and they all work great. They also sell
physical pencil that works with the program, and
seems much more fun to use than your own fingers.
I use this app often when I’m playing around with
basic storyboard ideas, or if I’m trying to find some
nice design ideas for character. It’s also really fun to
have a never-ending drawing canvas on the go.
serious animation software on your desktop, but it’s
fun for playing around with ideas or ‘pencil testing’.
Evernote
I feel like Evernote is a recommended app for
almost any kind of professional, not necessary
animators, but I find it is the best way for me to keep
track of all the notes and ideas I have.
When you’re in production and working on each
shot in different stages (animation, lighting,
compositing…) you need to be able to keep track of
every note, and that’s the best tool I know for that
Animation Desk
purpose.
I should say right here that I have yet to
Adobe Color
find a great animation app for the iOS.
They are all a bit clunky and not user friendly. BUT if
I had to choose one, Animation Desk is probably the
best. I have played with it and got some pretty cool
results. It’s by all means not a replacement for a
Color (formerly Kuler) is an online color palette
planner app from Adobe. I refer to it once in a while
when I’m doing color correction or when I’m trying to
find a color scheme for a project. It’s a great little free
tool any artist should be familiar with.
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Section 6
BOOKS
Different arguments could be made for which is the best book for
learning animation, and the answer is simple: there isn’t one. There is
a large variety of animation books for different uses such as stop
motion, 3D, 2D and much more.
However, there are a few must have books that need to be
on any aspiring animator’s shelf, regardless of the type of
animator they are.
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Must have books
The Animator’s Survival Kit /
Cartoon Animation /
Preston Blair
Why this book?
Richard Williams
Originally released in 1994,
Why this book?
Cartoon Animation (also known
Because you have to. Seriously.
This book is an animator’s bible. It
thoroughly covers the basics of spacing, timing, walks,
as “The Preston Blair Book”), has been an amazing
reference source for creating cartoon-style animation.
With this book you’ll learn how to develop a cartoon
runs, weight, anticipation, overlapping action, takes,
character, create dynamic movement, and animate
stagger, dialogue, animal animation and much more.
dialogue with action. This book focuses on character
It’s not called a “survival kit” for nothing. This book will
development and covers topics such as creating
teach you EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW to
compelling lines of action, timing, dialogue and more.
start your training as an animator.
This is a great book for animal animation since it
Richard Williams is an academy award-winning
director responsible for hits such as “Who Framed
Roger Rabbit,” “The Pink Panther” and more. He got
shows in detail many examples of animating different
types of cartoon animals.
Preston Blair was a predominant animator in his
his training from animation greats such as Milt Kahl
time and worked in many big studios such as Disney
and other old-time Disney animators.
and Hanna Barbera. He worked on famous scenes in
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the original Fantasia such as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
important to know the history of how animation came
and the hippo – alligator dance.
to be, and this book covers both in amazing depth.
The Illusions of Life / Frank
Thomas and Ollie Johnston
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two out of
Disney’s nine old men, worked at Disney since the
earliest days and contributed to films such as Snow
Why this book?
White, Pinocchio and The Jungle book.
This is not just a pretty book to
Additional Books
have on your shelf so you can
look professional. I mean, it is
pretty, but it is also extremely thorough in what it’s
trying to tell. This book has started as an animation
guide and turned into a detailed survey on the
progression of animation, both within the Disney
studios and in the world of animation in general.
Setting Up Your Shots /
Jeremy Vineyard
Why this book?
This is a great book for
Written by two of the nine old men who defined the
getting your basic understanding of shot composition
Disney animation style, this book takes the reader
and camera movement. These concepts are not only
through all the steps it took them to discover and
important for filmmakers and directors, but also for
research the best methods of animation. There are
animators. As an animator you will often be asked to
great concepts to learn from this book, but it is also
61
animate cameras, so you should have at least a basic
understanding of it.
The Art of Pixar / Amid Amidi
Why this book?
Character placement in the shot is also important
and keeping a nice compositing while you’re animating
the character in the shot is crucial.
For whenever you need a creativity boost, though
not directly related to animation, leafing through
Pixar’s color scripts from 25 years of filmmaking is
Creativity Inc. / Ed Catmull
Why this book?
Ed Catmull is currently the president of
Pixar Animation Studios and Walt
Disney Animation Studios. This book
amazingly inspiring.
This is a great reference book for studying color
theory and exploring different color palettes. Especially
interesting if you’re in the concept art stage of making
your film.
follows him throughout his amazing
journey from being a brilliant scientist to founding
Pixar. He also gives amazing advice on
management and sheds light on why he made a
log of the choices he did in Pixar. This will be a
fascinating book for everyone interested in the
animation industry.
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Section 7
BEST ANIMATION SCHOOLS
In this section I present a curated list of the best animation
schools out there.
If you are thinking about getting into the world of animation and
visual effects I hope you'll find this section useful.
The schools are not listed in any particular order and will cover all
the basic information such as tuition, notable alumni and some
impressive student work. Each school was carefully selected.
This topic can be very objective and that's why I have the
following IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The list was constructed out of 3 different sources: (A) my own
personal experience and knowledge (B) conversations with
colleagues, peers and students, and (C) internet research.
63
School of Visual Arts (SVA)
School information: Founded in
1947 by Silas H. Rhodes and
Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonist
and Illustrators School, and then
renamed in 1956. Part of the
Association of Independent
Colleges of Art and Design as one of 36 leading art
colleges in the United States.
The school offered its first degree in 1972, and it's
first master’s degree in 1983 in Fine Arts for painting,
drawing and sculpture.
• Location: New York, NY. USA
• Courses: Animation, Computer
Animation and Visual Effects
• Tuition cost: $16,780 per semester +
• Notable alumni: Bill Plympton (Academy
nominated animator), John.R.Dilworth (creator of
Courage the Cowardly Dog), Pres Antonio
Romanillos (supervising animator at Disney and
Dreamworks animation)
• Start of Academic year: September
• BA Animation: 205 students
• BA Computer Animation and Visual effects: 302
students
• Notable graduate film: Kiwi! (Dony Permedi,
2006)
Read more...
Ringling College of Art and Design
School information: Founded in
Sarasota, Florida, by Dr. Ludd M. Spivey
Department fees (Animation: $900,
as an art school in 1931, and as a branch
Computer Animation and visual effects:
of the Southern College in Orlando.
$1,340)
Became an independent college in 1933.
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Qualified as a full degree-granting institution in 1971.
• Notable graduate film: Dia De Los Muertos
Ringling College is named after John Ringling, a circus
(Ashley Graham, Kate Reynolds, and Lindsey St.
magnate, who was interested in funding an art college,
Pierre, 2013) Won Student Academy Award, 2013
but wasn't interested in Southern College as he
wanted to establish his own at his wife's museum.
However, he lost his museum and residence in
Read more...
Vancouver Film School
bankruptcy, and it was all given to the state just
School information: Founded in
before he died. Ringling's nephew made a deal
1987 with a single class of six
with Southern College to open an art college in
students. Hosts the annual Game
Sarasota, and it was named School of Fine and
Design Expo since 2007.
Applied Art of the John and Mable Ringling Art
Museum.
• Location: Sarasota, Florida. USA
3D animation & VFX and Classical
Animation are only one year study. Character
Animation is 6 months.
• Courses: Computer Animation
• Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
• Tuition cost: $18,400 per semester
• Courses: 3D Animation and VFX, Classical
• Notable alumni: Aaron Blaise (Director of Disney's
Brother Bear)
• Start of Academic year: August
Animation, Character Animation
• Tuition cost: $35,250 (Canadian Dollars) per
semester
65
• Notable alumni: Chad Moffitt (Academy-award
winning animator on Lord of the Rings), Andrew
Overtoom (Animation director on Spongebob
Squarepants)
• Start of Academic year: October
• Notable graduate film: The Story Tree (Stephanie
Sim, 2006) Won best Classical or Stop Motion
Animation, CAEAA awards 2006
decided to start a course in Classical Animation at the
college in 1968 in hopes of getting trained animators.
• Location: Toronto. Canada
• Courses: Animation, Computer Animation, Digital
Creature Animation, Visual Effects
• Tuition cost: $9,356.05 (Canadian dollars) per
semester
• Notable alumni: Dean DeBlois (Disney animator),
Read more...
Dan Lee (Pixar animator), John Kricfalusi (Creator of
Sheridan College
School information: Sheridan
College was founded in 1967 as
The School of Graphic Design at
a converted public school until it
was eventually moved.
The Canadian animation industry was virtually non-
Ren and Stimpy show), Dan Antonucci (Creator of
Ed, Edd 'n, Eddy)
• Start of Academic year: September
• Notable graduate film: Night Light (Qing Han,
2014)
Read more...
existent during the 60's and 70's, but President Porter
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CalArts
• Start of Academic year: September
School information: CalArts was
• Notable graduate film: Trust & Estates (Jeanette
founded in 1961 by Walt Disney,
Bonds, 2013) Official Selection, Melbourne
when Chouinard Art Institute and
International Animation Festival 2013
the Los Angeles Conservatory of
Music merged together due to financial difficulties.
Read more...
Gobelins
Nelbert Chouinard, founder of the Chouinard Art
Institute, started a professional relationship with
School information: Founded by
Walt Disney in 1929, and agreed to train animators
the Parisian Chamber of Commerce
for him on a pay-later basis as Disney was
and Industry in 1964, but is best
struggling financially.
known for the Cinema Department
of Animation, which was founded by
• Location: Valencia, California. USA
• Courses: Film/Video (Includes animation)
• Tuition cost: $41,700 Full-time enrolment
• Notable alumni: Tim Burton (Disney animator and
Director), Brad Bird (Director, Disney and Pixar), John
Lasseter (Pixar), Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck (Directors
of Frozen)
Pierre Ayma in 1974 when the first
Asterix and Obelix feature film was being produced by
Studio Idefix.
The studio didn't have enough animators for the
project, so they asked Gobelins to start an animator
training program.
• Location: Paris. France
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• Courses: Character Animation and Animated Film
Making, 3D Character Animation
• Tuition cost: €6,350 First year, €6,450 Second
University of California (UCLA)
School information: UCLA is a
public University that was founded
year, €6,550 Third year
in 1919 as part of the University of California system,
Notable alumni: Pierre Coffin (Director of Despicable
comprised of three universities in the state.
Me), Bibo Bergeron (Director of A Monster in Paris)
Start of Academic year: Beginning of September
Gobelins is opening a Masters program for BA
students next year.
• BA Animated Film Making: 80 students
• Notable graduate film: Oktapodi (Julien
Bocabeille, Francois-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier
Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, Emud
Mokhberi, 2007)
Nominated for Academy Award, 2009
Read more...
The animation program was established in 1948 by
William Shull, a Disney animator, as just a group of
various animation classes. When Dan MacLaughlin
became head of the department in 1971, he started
the MFA program for animation where he worked as
the sole faculty member for years.
• Location: Los Angeles, California. USA
• Courses: Animation
• Tuition cost: $33,193 per academic year
• Notable alumni: David Silverman (Animator,
Producer on The Simpsons), Hoyt Yeatman (VFX
supervisor, won Academy Award for The Abyss)
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• Start of Academic year: February
• Location: Providence, Rhode Island. USA
• MFA Animation Notable graduate film: Her
• Courses: Film/Animation/Video
Lion's Jump (Régis Camargo, 2013)
Read more...
• Tuition cost: $44,284 per academic year
• Notable alumni: Seth MacFarlane (Creator of
Rhode Island School of
Family Guy) Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante
Design (RISD)
Lance Wilder (Animator, The Simpsons)
School information: RISD
was founded by the group
The Centennial Women in
1877. The Centennial
Women was a group formed to exhibit creations made
by women from design schools, patents from female
entrepreneurs, and books written exclusively by
women, at the 1876 Centennial Exposition.
The group raised $10,000, and by the end of the
DiMartino (Creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender),
• Start of Academic year: Second week of
September
• Film/Animation/Video: 50 students per year
• Notable graduate film: Inner Tubes (Tim
Beckhardt, 2009) Screened at Ottawa International
Animation Festival and Boston Underground Festival
Read more...
expo had over $1,675 left, which they decided to
invest into founding Rhode Island School of Design.
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Savannah College of Art
and Design (SCAD)
School information: Founded in 1978 by Paula S.
Wallace with her husband and parents, taking out a
$200,000 loan to build the first educational building, by
renovating the Savannah Volunteer Guard Armory.
The university first opened in 1979 with only 71
students. Currently the University has over 11,000
students.
• Location: Savannah, Georgia, USA. Atlanta,
• Notable alumni: Mir Zafar Ali (Visual effects
specialist, The Day After Tomorrow)
• Start of Academic year: September
• Notable graduate film: Legacy (Adam Floeck,
2013)
Read more...
University of Southern California
(USC)
School information: USC was
Georgia, USA. Hong Kong, Guangdong, China.
founded in 1880 by judge Robert M.
Lacoste, Vaucluse, France.
Widney, who managed to acquire
• Courses: Animation, Visual Effects
• Tuition cost: (In order of locations) $33,795
(American dollars), $261,911 (Hong Kong dollars),
$10,983 (American dollars)
donations from Ozro Childs, John
Gately Downey, and Isaias W. Hellman; three very
influential figures at the time.
Originally operated in affiliation with the Methodist
Church, but became officially secular in 1952. It has
the largest amount of international students in the
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United States, and enrolls over 18,000 domestic/
international students each year.
Has its own IMAX theater and research lab, which
opened this year.
• Location: Los Angeles, California. USA
• Courses: Animation and Digital Arts
• Tuition cost: $48,347 for two semesters
• Notable alumni: George Lucas (Creator of Lucas
• Notable graduate film: Ladies Knight (Joe
Rothenberg, 2012) Nominated Best Animated
Student Short at Annie Awards.
Read more...
Online Schools
Animation Mentor
School information:
Arts, Industrial Light and Magic, Star Wars), Eric
Founded in 2005 by Bobby
Hanson (Digital Designer/Lead VFX artist, The Fifth
Beck, Shawn Kelly, and Carlos
Element), Ray Harryhausen (Stop-motion and Special
Baena, the last two employed
Effects animator, Jason and the Argonauts)
• Start of Academic year: Last week of August
as animators at Industrial Light
and Magic.
• BA Animation and Digital Arts: 75 students
• Location: Emeryville, California. USA
• MFA Animation and Digital Arts: 45 students
• Courses: Classic animation, Character animation,
Creature animation
• Tuition cost: $18,928 for Full 18 Month Program.
71
• Notable alumni: Siggurdur Orri Thorhannesson
(Animator, Guardians of the Galaxy), Jude Brownbill
(Animator, Pixar)
The University started offering online degree
programs in 2007.
• Location: Orange County, Florida. USA
• Start of Academic year: Every Spring, Summer,
Fall, and Winter
• Animation Mentor courses: 5,000 students (Total)
• Notable graduate film: Greed (Alli Sadegiani,
2011)
• Courses: Computer animation
• Tuition cost: $14,762 per semester
• Notable alumni: Culley Bunker (Lead visual effects
artist), Chance Glasco (Senior animator)
• Start of Academic year: Second week of
Read more...
November
Full Sail University
Read more...
School information: Founded
in 1979 by Jon Phelps in Ohio,
before the University was
moved to Orlando in 1980,
under the name of Full Sail
Recording Workshop. Focused on video and film
production, but added in animation when the
University moved to Orange County in 1989.
72
Digital Tutors
• Location: Oklahoma. USA
School information:
• Courses: 3D animation, Visual Effects
Founded in 2000 as a online
tutoring program, focusing on
giving lessons via streaming.
Currently has 18 tutors from
• Tuition cost: $499 (American dollars) for a 12
month subscription
Read more...
around the world.
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Chapter 4
CREATING
(Filmmaking, Portfolio and More)
• Making Your First Film
• How to Make an Animated Movie
• Demo Reel Guidelines
• Creating a Portfolio Website
• Getting a Job in Animation
• Free Rigs
Section 1
MAKING YOUR FIRST FILM
Why Make a Film?
Making a short film is a necessary step for every filmmaker. It’s a
right of passage one must take to learn the ins and outs of
production. It’s no different for animators. If you went to college for
animation, chances are you graduated with a short film (often called
a thesis film). This is crucial because it’s one of the only chances
you’ll have to get really dirty with hands-on production experience.
If you’re thinking of getting into animation, or maybe you’re trying
to do it on the side without taking a 4 year degree program, then you
should seriously consider making a short film on your own.
The film doesn’t have to be loaded with production value. Not at
all. All you need to do is think about what you are trying to get out of
the film. In your case, I’m guessing you’re interested in animation
(otherwise you probably wouldn’t have gotten this far in the book),
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but even if you’re more into modeling or rigging or
whatever it is, just think about the goal of this first film.
The goal is to get your skills presented in the best
way.
What do I mean by that?
Well, say you don’t want to be an animator, then
I didn’t stop there. I also wanted the animation to
not be too challenging so that I could push it as far as I
could without spending an extreme amount of time.
That’s why I chose fish, They don’t have legs or
fingers. They’re basically a floating head (which I spent
time making sure is full of expressive expressions).
It might sound like I was lazy, but that wasn’t it. I
maybe a film about 5 characters heavily interacting
knew how hard it is to animate, so I tried giving myself
with each other isn’t the best idea for you.
the best chance of making great animation without
When I made my student film Food For Thought I
knew I wanted to give my animation skills as much
taking more than I could handle. I didn’t forget I was
only a beginner.
room as possible so that I wouldn't waste production
Others had films with 2-3 human characters and
time on stuff I’ll never do again (such as modeling and
winded up with mediocre animation. That’s because
texturing), so I kept them as basic as I could.
animating full bodied people is really really hard, and it
My film had two characters, and one location. That
way I could concentrate on the interaction between
takes a long time.
The bottom line of what I’m trying to say is that you
them and not worry about environment modeling,
should only take projects you know you can handle,
lighting, texturing and all that stuff.
and more importantly, that you know you can finish.
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Starting a project without finishing is worst than not
starting at all, and it’s a huge waste of time.
Why Make a Second Film
This part is for those who already finished their first
short. You must feel good about yourself, and you
should. Making a film is a huge accomplishment.
Ok, now that it’s done - are you ready for another
one?
Here’s a fact:
Every person that graduated from animation/film
school has a short film.
Here’s another fact:
The Second Film
The film/animation industry is intense.
When you get booked on a job or a project the
hours are very long and the work is demanding. That
could make it very hard to ever have time to work on
your personal project. I know that many recent
graduates have said that they would like to make
another film, but so few of them ever do.
Hey, I get it…
Making a film is really hard. In school it takes us
between 1-2 years to finish a film.
But here’s the thing – it’s only going to get harder.
The more you wait before making your second film the
harder it’s going to be to do it.
Very few people have ever made another one.
You’re going to have a lot of stuff going on. A job,
spouse, kids… After school is probably the most
relaxed time you’ll ever have until you’re 50. Plus, you
still have that momentum going from finishing your first
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film. That’s why making your second film right after the
easy being one of those people. If you’re like that and
first is probably the best time to do it.
you get some job and just stop making things you’re
But why make another one anyway?
You already got your awesome demo reel right? It’s
full of great shots from your film, and you don’t really
need another one. Plus, your first one won all these
special awards and went to all these festivals, so why
do you really need to do that all over again when you
can probably get a job right now?
Well…
There’s basically two good reasons to do it:
1. You want to keep creating.
2. You’re having trouble getting work.
Creating
This is for those who enjoy the creating process.
Born filmmakers. Pixar fans. People who for them
going to be very unhappy very quickly.
Those people have to work on some kind of project
in their spare time. Evenings, weekends… It’s a must.
Even if it takes you 3 years instead of 1, try keeping
that creative work alive – for your sake. It’ll be worth it.
Trouble getting work
That’s another problem that might arise. You have
that awesome demo reel with all these film awards –
but guess what? So does everybody else. And for
some reason they did a better job networking than you
and you’re stuck for weeks (or even months) without a
freelance project.
In that case having a second film puts you in such a
huge advantage over the rest, because it not only
shows your talent, but also your dedication,
management skills, accountability and so forth.
creating is not a choice. And let me tell you, it’s not
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Plus it gives you something to do when you’re at
home waiting for that email to ring.
Sad isn’t it?
The Biggest Challenge
What’s really hard about keeping at it is the fact that
after sitting all day in front of a computer moving pixels
Some people say “the last thing I want to see when I
get home is Maya.”
Well, you need to push through that if you want to
stand out of the crowd.
My point
I’m using a second film as an example for something
around at your freelance gig, you get home at 7-8PM
bigger. The idea of staying creatively active after
and... sit on your computer moving pixels around.
graduation. You’re a creative person right? Otherwise
That’s hard.
you wouldn’t be reading this book right now. Don’t let
the daily routine kill your creativity. Remember who
you were before you got that job.
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Section 2
HOW TO MAKE AN ANIMATED MOVIE
I hope I convinced you that making a film is important, but if you’re
just starting out you probably have no idea how to even begin
tackling such a project.
You might ask yourself - what do I need? What’s the priority of the
different tasks? How much time should I spend animating before I
move on to lighting? How long should it be? How do I know if this
idea is good and worth pursuing?
I can’t answer every question completely, since every project is
different, but I can break down the different steps it takes to make an
animated short, and help you focus on the right questions and tasks.
This section will be all about the steps of making an
animated movie.
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Coming Up with an Idea.
Like I said in the previous section - your idea should
be focused on the skill you’re trying to show off. It
nature proves the exact opposite. People want
boundaries! They love them.
A quick example: If I told you to draw a tree, you
should be very small and executable. I cannot stress
might feel a bit ‘ugh’ or even freeze for a second. Then
this enough - if this is your first film - don’t overdo it!
you’d probably scribble some generic tree and move
Don’t take more than you can handle because you’ll
on, not being creative or feeling inspired.
either not finish the film or get a mediocre one. Both
results are useless and a waste of time.
So how DO you come up with the right idea for you?
If, however, I told you to draw a tree using only
triangles, an artist would get excited. She would start
thinking about how to do it, start thinking about
Start by restricting yourself to what you can’t do. I call
creative solutions and try to make something unique
it the Restriction Method.
and interesting. I bet it wouldn't look generic at all and
What is The Restriction Method? Don’t worry, it’s
not some flaky theory, but a logical system I came up
I bet every tree would look different.
That’s what creativity is - finding interesting
with that will get you to a solid idea, even if you feel
solutions to problems. A blank canvas has no
stuck.
problems, that’s why it’s so hard to face it.
The Restriction Method is pretty much what is
Now that I explained what the Restriction Method is,
sounds like. It’s all about making restrictions for
let’s examine the real life example of how I used it for
yourself to induce creativity and ideas. You might think
my own film - LIFT UP.
that artists want ‘freedom’ and ‘space’, but human
81
Since I knew I would be doing this animated short
film all by myself, I had to have restrictions. So I
decided to write them down.
• The movie will have only two main characters.
• It will take place in 1 location
• It needs to be humorous.
• It will be under a minute.
I already had a stronger starting point than most
people just by writing down those rules for myself, but
I took it a step further. Since I am not so good with 3D
modeling, I decided to restrict myself even more.
I decided that my two main characters would be a
ball and a cube. No eyes, no legs and no arms. Not
only would that make my 3D modeling and rigging
process a lot easier but it would also be an amazing
challenge as an animator, bringing life into such basic
shapes. Two birds in one stone! In fact, one of the
most common comments I got from people who
watched the film was “I can’t believe how much
emotion you got out of a freaking cube!”
So now that I have all the rules set up it’s time to
come up with the actual story. I started thinking and
broke down the elements in order to build the story:
What’s the main difference between a ball and a
cube? Well, one of them is round and the other is flat.
When will those differences make a difference? The
first thing that came to me was walking. If you don’t
have any legs or arms it will be a lot easier to move
around as a ball rather than a cube. So I already have
a conflict between the characters: A cube who is
slowly trying to walk down a path and an arrogant ball
zooming around it, showing off, while the cube is
struggling.
That’s a great start. I have established a conflict
between the two characters and found an interesting
dynamic. But then I needed to find the twist. Not a
shocking twist but something that changes things
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around. I asked myself: In what case would a cube
the story from your brain into written words. This is
have the advantage over a ball? The answer was clear:
especially important if you have dialogue in the film.
A slope. In a downhill slope the ball would roll quickly
but going up the hill would be hard.
So now I have a cube and a ball walking down a
My first film Food For Thought had plenty of
dialogue and I spend a lot of time with the script
before moving on to drawings. However, on my
long road, and while the cube is struggling to move
second film LIFT UP, I skipped the script and went
forward, the ball is rolling around freely, mocking her.
straight to storyboarding. That was because that story
When they reach a hill, the cube climbs easily (since it
was more physical than verbal. I felt like drawing it
has flat sides) but the ball cannot get enough
instead of writing it would be easier, and it’s just as
momentum to follow.
effective in learning new things about the story.
Will the cube help the ball after its display of
I use Celtx for script writing. It’s a great writing
arrogance and selfishness? That was for me to decide,
software that syncs on multiple devices. It’s very
but look at that: I had a story. I would never have
friendly to use and fun to write with. Another great
thought about that had I not restricted myself in the
solution is Final Draft, which seems to be very popular
process.
with screenwriters. For more information on
Writing the Script
The next step after coming up with ideas is putting it
down on paper. You discover a lot when you translate
screenwriting format go here.
Storyboarding
After you come up with an idea and put it to writing,
it’s time for storyboarding. For you, animators and
83
artists, this should be one of the most fun steps,
despite looking daunting at first.
The storyboard’s biggest role is to convey the story
effectively, as close as possible to what the movie will
look like at the end. That means that when someone is
reading your storyboard they should instantly get the
story.
So what is a storyboard? A storyboard is a series of
drawings meant for pre-visualizing the shots of a
movie. It is an essential tool for the director (in this
case - you) so they could get a sense of the way the
movie is going to look and feel.
A storyboard is also used in live action productions
and saves time on set. Since the camera angles were
A few things to help convey the story:
• Write captions under the drawing
• Use arrows to show camera movements
• Color the object to differentiate it from the
background.
• My preferred template for storyboarding is six
determined beforehand, the DP (director of
boards on a single page (each one 16×9 – HD ratio),
photography) knows exactly what is expected of him
three on top of three, with a few empty lines for
during the shoot.
writing captions under each one.
There are different approaches to storyboarding.
You can download a storyboard template I made for
Some like to use colors, some only draw the outlines,
you and the full storyboard I made for LIFT UP here for
some color in greyscale (my preferred method) and
reference.
some go really deep into the details.
84
Animatic
After the storyboard is done you’ll need to turn it
into an animatic.
Simply put, an animatic is an animated storyboard.
Boards are brought together in an editing program and
are edited with the correct timing and pace of the film.
They include basic sound effects and dialogue
recordings.
Similar to storyboards, animatics are used for previsualizing the film before production starts. Animatics
are extremely important for making an animated
movie, since they let you see what the movie might
look like for the first time. This is when you first get a
sense of the pacing, the rhythm and the progression of
the film.
This is also the last step before going into 3D, so it’s
important to make sure no more story changes need
to be made.
Adobe After Effects is the most common software
for creating animatics.
With After Effects you can:
• Manipulate the drawings with the puppet tool (if
necessary).
• Easily add elements to the view screen (such as
frame count, time-codes and shot number).
• Export in various codecs and formats.
Modeling
After we have our story figured out and the animatic
looks good, we step into the 3D world for the first
time. We usually start with modeling the characters,
props and environments.
Modeling in 3D is the process of building and
shaping a character or an object in a 3D software, to
match the design. The modeling is done based on the
character design and is something I have less
85
experience with. That’s the reason I chose to go with a
cube and a ball when I made LIFT UP, since they are
the easiest objects to work with. I worked within my
restrictions.
For a deeper learning of modeling techniques I
Rigging
Rigging is the process of taking a 3D model and
building a skeleton into it so it could move the way we
want it to. This is a very important step for animators
because they are the ones who will later have to move
recommend checking out Mastering Autodesk Maya
that skeleton. You need to know in advance what kind
2014 or Digital Modeling. If you’re more into videos I’d
of movement or facial expression you want the
recommend taking some Digital Tutors online courses.
character to make. That’s why many animators have at
least a basic understanding of rigging and are
sometimes just as good at it as they are at
animating.
To learn more about rigging check out
Mastering Autodesk Maya 2014 or any of the
rigging courses at Digital Tutors.
Previsualization (Previz)
After you have all the 3D assets made (they are
rigged and ready to go) you’ll first make a previz
of your entire film.
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Previsualization (previz) is the process of making a
stripped down version of your film before actually
There’s no one formula for the way a previz
looks, but I’ll share with you the way I do it.
making it. Made within the 3D program, a previz is
animated very basically, just enough to get the story
across. Think of it like a 3D animatic.
It’s a good idea to leave space around your actual
film for displaying various information. I usually just
scale down the video and add a black background in
In recent years, live action filmmakers have started
my editing program (I use Adobe After Effects). Around
making previsualizations before shooting their films,
the video there are a few elements I like to have
because it’s such a great way to see how shots look
shown:
before actually going out and shooting them. It could
save a lot of time and money if you know the scene is
• The film title on the top middle.
going to work ahead of shooting.
• WIP (Work in Progress) on the top left, so that
For animation, just like live action, it’s a necessary
step. Animating takes so much time that you wouldn’t
want to waste days and days working on a shot only
to find out later that the sequence doesn’t work. After
storyboarding and making an animatic, previz is the
last step before diving into full animation.
viewers will know this is still in development.
• Timecode on the bottom middle – one of the most
important elements.
• Frame count on the bottom right – timecode isn’t
enough, sometimes you need to know the exact
frame count of shots, or when giving comments it’s
easier to specify what frames need changing.
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• Shot number on the bottom left – so you can
instantly know what shot you’re watching when
writing notes or comments.
• Focal length (or lens size) above the shot numbers
– not a must have, but I like to know the kind of lens I
used for each shot.
Camera Shots and Angles
Speaking of cameras, here are a few things you
should know about setting up your shots, camera
lenses and movement.
Great cinematography is always challenging to
achieve. Great and convincing cinematography in 3D
At the end you should have a version of your film
can be even more complicated. Why is it challenging?
with basic animation. The camera movement should
Because in a 3D environment (the 3D software) there
be finalized, because you’re going to keep it for the
are no limitations, unlike real life where you are
animation phase.
restricted by the rules of physics or by the budget of
your film.
Creating a flying helicopter camera shot and a
simple tripod shot costs the same in 3D, and that
could be a problem.
When first learning the capabilities of the 3D
software, many newbies tend to go crazy with the
camera. Either using an extravagant boom shot where
it isn’t needed, or creating shots that would be
impossible to achieve in real life.
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But hey! – you might say – isn’t that what
a big crane shot, you’ll get that natural arc in the
animation is for?
movement of the camera that is caused by the boom
being a physical rod.
Well, yeah, if you have a good reason for it – sure
go crazy. But going crazy just because you can isn’t
the right way to go about it. You must remember that
the audience is used to watching movies in a certain
way. Knowing basic rules of cinematography and
understanding the uses of different lenses is critical to
making a good animated film.
If you’re using Maya, here are 2 camera rigs that I
use:
• Maya Camera rig (from creativecrash.com)
The reason I think this rig is excellent, despite
• Maya camera
This is the default Maya camera that anyone can
create. The advantage of using this simple rig is that
having many buttons and controls, is that it simulates
you can look through the camera lens and move
a real dolly/boom rig.
around, just like in the perspective view. This is great
This is important because when you are animating
mildly complex shots it’s important to have something
that grounds you in reality. With this rig, if you’re doing
for when you’re just trying to figure out your shot and
decide on a good direction for your camera angle and
lens.
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Speaking of lenses, let’s talk about them for a
second. In Maya we determine the lens in the ‘Focal
Length’ attribute. If you’re familiar with lenses then you
should be able to figure out the right sizes for your
needs, but if you need a little guidance, here is a
quick reference:
• 8-15 focal length: Used for very wide shots,
landscape, establishing shots, creating deep
perspective.
• 35-55 focal length: Used for close ups, medium
shots, whenever you just want to show a character
doing something without being too intrusive.
• 80 – 200 focal length: Used to flatten out the
perspective, extreme close ups or for quick action
shots.
Voice Acting
If your film has any dialogue you’ll probably need
voice actors. When I made Food For Thought I was
facing a very dialogue heavy film and the search for a
voice actor was not something I had experience with.
Luckily, I was introduced to Voices.com, a great
website for finding voice actors. It’s really great,
because you can submit a sample dialogue and get
dozens of auditions from actors reading your script
within 24 hours. Hearing my script come to life was
one of the most exciting moments in the production.
Animation
This is what it’s all about right? This book is about
getting into animation. Of course, I’m not going to
cover the entire art of animation in this section, but I
can tell you what’s it like animating, and the skills
required.
First of all, it’s important to know that you’ll most
likely be focusing on very short segments of animation
at a time.
What do I mean by that?
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A film is broken down into sequences. Each
The camera movement and angle should already be
sequence is made out of a few scenes and every
in place from the previz, and the character rigs should
scene is made out of shots. A shot is defined as a
be in the right places. Before jumping into animating,
take, in part or in its entirety, that is used in the final
however, some preparation is needed.
edited version of the film. It’s the piece of the film
between two edits, a "piece of time.” In live action film
a shot is everything between the moment you start
Here are a few things you can do:
• Shoot reference. Even though you think you might
recording to the moment you stop the camera. Then in
know what an action looks like, you’ll be surprised
the editing process the editor cuts these shots to the
how much you don’t think about until you watch the
timeframe they need.
action and analyze it. It’s good practice to record
In animation we only animate those final timeframes
for the final edit. In a film they might shoot the same
scene from 3 different angles, where in animation we
only animate the time needed for each angle. It’s much
less flexible but since animation is such a time
consuming task studios just can’t afford to have all
angles animated.
A shot is usually very short, so in reality an animator
wouldn’t animate a shot that’s more than a few
seconds at a time.
yourself on video doing that action even if you’re not
going to animate it exactly the same. It’s good to
have that reference nearby. You can also YouTube it
instead of shooting it yourself. Say you need to
animate a skydiver, it’s probably easier to look online
for a reference video than shoot one yourself.
• Thumbnail the shot. If you have good drawing
skills, it might be good to thumbnail the main poses
of your shot and then refer to them while you
animate. I admit it’s something I do not do since I like
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diving straight into the animation, but it’s something I
For example, if the character is furry you’ll need to
know many good animators do, so keep that in mind.
find a way to create fur material to add to it. The same
After the preparation we start by blocking out the
shot. Then, we refine it until it’s done.
For more detailed information about the process of
animation read the ‘6 Steps of Animation’ section.
Texturing Lighting and Rendering
Once animation is finished and you’re happy with
goes for reflective materials like glass.
After setting up all the materials and the lights in the
shot we determine the render settings (resolution,
quality and many others depending on the type of
render engine). Now all that’s left is the actual
rendering.
Studios would usually use a render farm, which is a
the way the movie feels, it’s time to handle the way it
network of many computers connected together for
looks. The process of texturing, lighting and rendering
the sole purpose of rendering. That results in faster
your film is very technical, but basically it’s taking each
render time. If the scene isn’t too complex you can
shot of the film and establishing the lights and
render it on your own computer (I rendered LIFT UP by
appropriate 3D materials to the characters and
myself on my 2010 iMac).
environment before rendering the final output.
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The topic of texturing, lighting and rendering is
look different despite happening in the same location,
extremely complex and deep. If you intend to learn
and so we need to subtly grade them to match each
more about it, I recommend checking out Mastering
other. After that is done we’ll do a final grade for the
Autodesk Maya 2014 or some great online courses at
whole film to establish a general look and feel for the
Digital Tutors.
whole film.
Editing
After each shot is rendered, we replace the previz
To see this effect, check out some of your favorite
action movies and try noticing if there’s any dominant
color throughout the film.
shots already set up on the timeline with those new
renders. The actual editing process has mostly already
happened in the previz and animation stage, since we
kept updating the shots with new ones as we worked.
Unlike live action, in which the editing happens after
Sound Design
Unlike soundtrack (or score), sound design mostly
refers to editing together the sound effects, folly,
ambiance and dialogue of the film. It’s done very
the footage has been shot, the editing in animation
similarly to editing a film. There’s a timeline with the
takes place throughout the whole process, all the way
video of the film on top of it, and we slowly insert bits
from the first animatic to the last render.
of sound effects according to the action in the film.
After the shots are all put together we perform color
There’s separate tracks for dialogue, wind, chatter,
matching on them. Color matching (or color correcting)
footsteps, and everything else that happens in a
is the process of changing the colors of each shot to
scene.
match each other. Often times different shots might
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I find it to be a very fun and creative process since it
characters journey of helping each other, and maybe
requires a lot of creativity and out of the box thinking.
incorporate the hill and going up a slope somehow.
Once it’s all mixed together with the music of the
A good system to finding names is choosing an
film, it’s time to export one final sound file and add it to
idea, and milking it as much as you can, and then
the editing program. Then all that’s left is exporting the
doing the same for another idea.
final film.
Picking a name for the film
Before this section is over I wanted to talk briefly
about finding a name for the film.
For example, lets say we want a name with a square
or a cube in it, since the main character is a cube. I
would just make a list like this:
• Squared Away
Not so easy to do.
• Squared
I’ll try to give you some ideas on how to go about
• We’re Square
finding a good name by sharing the story of how I
came up with the name LIFT UP, and believe it or not,
it was much more methodical than you’d think.
When I tried to come up with a name for LIFT UP I
knew I wanted something creative but not corny. Cute
but not too cute. I wanted something that reflected the
• Rectangled
• Cubism
• Rounding Corners
• Sharp Edges
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Then I would focus on a different element, maybe
the ball:
• Bounce
• Bounced
• Bouncing
• In the Ball Park
• Round and Round
• Over the Hump
• Lift Up
Then I pick my favorites from both lists:
• Up and Down
• Moving Forward
• Rectangled (one of my favorites, but still too out
there)
• Up and Down
• Lifted (taken by a Pixar short)
• Rolling
• Lift Up
Then maybe something about the hill, or moving up:
• Rounding Corners
• Up the Hill
• Bounce
• Moving Forward
• Over the Hill
• Over the Hill
• Squared Away
• Path
• Cubism
• Hill Side
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The reason it’s a good system is that it lets you
focus on a single idea and get the most out of it,
Here’s an estimated chart of how much time I
spent on each step in LIFT UP:
instead of looking at a white canvas and trying to
come up with something. It’s not so different from the
restriction method I wrote about in a previous section.
So I looked at the list. They were all cute, but with
names, just like love, when it’s right you just know it.
Only one of them was right.
Previz
16%
Animatic
7%
Sound Design
4%
All the other names I found either lacked emotion or
Animation
41%
were too emotional and cutesy.
As you know, I went with LIFT UP. The name was
Lighting & Rendering
20%
good because it captured the emotional journey they
go on together, and the physical as well. They both
‘lift’ each other up on that journey, and the double
meaning, of course, is an emotional lift up (like
Modeling & Rigging
12%
cheering someone up).
It’s short and sweet.
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Section 3
DEMO REEL
When you have enough bits of animation that you’re proud
of, the next step it to compile them to a short demo video
called a Demo Reel.
A reel is the animator’s biggest factor in getting hired, so it’s
crucial to put a lot of thought and work into it.
The problem is that many newbies make the same damn mistakes.
Crappy loud music, wrong order of shots, too long etc…
So how about instead of guessing around and making common
mistakes, I suggest you just follow these guidelines I’ve composed
after seeing a lot of reels and doing some research on what studios
are looking for.
If you follow these guidelines you’ll be judged ONLY on your work
and not on other unimportant factors.
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Demo Reel Guidelines
Length
The length of your reel should not be over 2
If you’re not convinced that a shot is worth putting in
your reel, either polish it or don’t use it.
Regarding the actual content of the shots, try being
as original as much as you can. Don’t do the stuff that
everybody does (lifting something heavy, walk cycle,
minutes, (ideally it would be under a minute) unless
bouncing ball). Try putting your own personality into
you are a veteran animator, in which case you don’t
the shots. Stand out.
need this guide anyways.
For example: I wanted to add a diving board shot to
It’s not likely that a beginner would have more than 2
minutes worth of amazing content. And that’s what
my reel (not uncommon), but instead of the guy
jumping I made him slip and fall down.
we’re looking for – amazing content.
Content
I cannot overemphasize this:
The reel should ONLY include awesome work.
A 30 second reel with amazing animation is much
better than a 2 minute reel with mediocre work. Don’t
include less than amazing work as a time-filler.
Order
Put your best work first. It takes people a few
seconds to decide if they want to keep watching your
reel. Make sure you have things that grab their
attention.
Music / Sound
Include the original sound for dialogue pieces. Quite
un-intrusive music in the background is ok, but be
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careful with the choice of music – it should not distract
the viewer or annoy them, but only act as a connector
between the shots. If in doubt – just turn off the music
completely. That’s what many producers would do
anyway.
Presentation
Give every piece the time it deserves.
Don’t edit to music or get too creative, this isn’t a
motion graphics reel. In an animation reel you want to
present each shot separately (sometimes with a title
card before each shot) to let the viewer understand
what they’re watching without confusing them.
Number the shots in the reel, and write about each
shot in the description of the video
YouTube vs. Vimeo
After finishing the reel, you might ask yourself:
“Where should I upload it?”
You have two main choices – YouTube or Vimeo.
Both valid options, but they both have advantages and
disadvantages.
YouTube has much more viewers, which means
your reel will have more exposure. but it’s considered
less professional.
Vimeo has less viewers but it’s got one great feature
– it allows users to replace the video under the same
url, which means that when you update the reel you
can replace the video. This means that the link to your
reel will always have the latest version. This is pretty
Example:
7) Bouncing Ball: Animated the Left Ball.
huge.
My verdict is Vimeo.
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It is considered to be the YouTube for artists,
filmmakers and professionals, and the fact that you
can always update the reel without changing the url is
really important.
It’s less exposed, but that doesn’t really matter since
the people who are going to watch your reel would
usually be people who got the link from you rather
• Throwing knives on a board / darts
• Man hits a ball with a bat
• Someone chews food and likes/hates it.
• Sword fight
• Kung Fu fight
than strangers who happened to find it.
• Man on a pogo stick
What if I Don’t Have Enough Stuff? (Ideas for
• Diver on a diving board
Exercises)
• A character’s expression as it gets bad/good news
If you’re in that place where you are looking for
ideas to add to your reel, 11 Seconds Club has some
great suggestions for animation exercises.
Here are some of my suggestions:
• Flour sack animation
• Laughter
• A dialogue
• Underwater action (man or fish)
• Transition between walk and run
• Bird flying
• Dog walk/run cycle
• Man juggling
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What Pixar Has to Say
Pixar wrote a guideline for creating an effective
demo reel, based on their needs. It’s a great reference
guide for any animator trying to make their first reel.
Here is the gist of it:
• Keep it under 4 minutes.
• Don’t do a collage, give every piece its time.
• Don’t include unapproved work.
• Turn music off! Keep it basic.
• Put your best work first.
• Include a breakdown (what did you animated in the
shot).
• Include a title card at the beginning and end of the
reel.
• Take time to polish!
• If you don’t have stuff to put in the reel, don’t send
it.
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Section 4
CREATING A PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
These days when it’s easier than ever to create a website, every
artist (or in our case – animator) needs their own professional
portfolio website to show off their work.
That’s the way you get noticed, and eventually hired.
The problem is that most people are intimidated by the process
and often resort to having their work shown on free websites (such
as Wix) which aren’t very professional looking.
In this section I’m going to take you step by step and show you
how to create a portfolio website with your own domain name
(johnAnimator.com).
We’ll go through everything from buying your own domain name to
installing free Wordpress templates to make the site look awesome.
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Step 1: Choosing a Hosting Service
When using your own domain instead of a free site,
you’re going to need some kind of hosting service.
Hosting just refers to the place where your site is
stored. It’s usually cheap and you only need to pay
After pressing the Sign Up Now button you’ll have to
provide a domain name.
Enter whatever name you want in the ‘I Need a
Domain Name’ box and press next.
If that domain is available you should be directed to
once a year. There are many hosting companies out
the payment screen. If the domain isn’t available you
there, most of them are decent.
will be offered some alternatives such as ‘.net’ or ‘.org’
My favorite one is Blue Host (this is the one I use for
the Bloop Animation site), since it’s one of the most
used ones out there and they have great customer
service. They’re also very cheap.
To get started with Blue Host and follow along with
the steps in this section simply go to bluehost.com (or
your chosen hosting site).
Step 2: Getting a Domain
I’ve already explained the importance of having your
own domain name, so now we’re gonna pick one.
versions of your desired domain name, but I would try
find a ‘.com’ if possible.
If you’re using your own name (since this is a
portfolio site) it should be available.
Some suggestions in case it’s unavailable:
• johndoeanimation.com
• johndoeportfolio.com
• johndoereel.com
• johndoeart.com
You get the gist…
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Step 3: Paying
You usually get a better deal for signing up for a
longer period. Blue Host, for example, will charge you
After that, you’ll be walked through a few selfexplanatory screens and at the end – WordPress will
be installed on your site.
around $7/month if you sign up for a year, but if you
It’s important to understand that WordPress is just
sign up for 3 years in advance you’ll pay only around
the platform on which themes can be installed. Those
$5/month.
themes determine the way your website will look and
I signed for only a year because I didn’t want to
commit to a service provider before I knew what they
are like, but you can choose whatever time period
works for you.
Other providers might have different offers, but they
are all pretty similar.
Step 4: Activating WordPress
After finishing payment, you will be logging in to
function.
Step 5: Installing a Theme
WordPress comes with 3 themes already included.
To activate one of them go to Appearance ->Themes.
Then pick the theme you want to use and click on
‘Activate‘.
These themes are free, and are not bad, but if you
want to have an amazing looking portfolio, I suggest
your account. There, under the ‘Home‘ tab you should
checking out our Best WordPress Portfolio Themes
see a button named “Install WordPress” in the
list.
‘Website‘ box.
Also check out our step by step video tutorial on
how to install a WordPress theme.
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Step 6: Adding content (Placing your demo
reel on the home page)
There are a few ways to have your demo reel
displayed in the Home page, but the easiest one
just to get started is to go to Posts -> Add New.
Give the post a title (such as “My Demo Reel“)
and in the content box just paste a YouTube/Vimeo
link. When you’re done, press ‘Publish‘ (the blue
button on the right).
You can play around with the design a bit to make
it nicer, but keep in mind that you want to have your
reel front and center on the HOME page of your site.
Don’t make people click on some “demo reel”
tab. Have it be the first thing they see when opening
your site.
The main purpose of this portfolio site is to
show off your work, so don’t forget that.
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Section 5
GETTING A JOB IN ANIMATION
So how do you take the next step? What if you want to
make animation your career and not just a side project?
How do I Get My Foot in the Door?
Since I don’t know you personally, I can give you some advice that
will work for most people.
The best way to get noticed is to create things.
Having a BFA in animation or a diploma from an online school
such as Animation Mentor will definitely help, but it won’t guarantee
a job upon graduation.
You know what I did the day after graduation?
Continued making animation for my reel. And that’s what I did
everyday until I got my first freelance work.
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And then in the evenings I would keep animating
and adding to my reel so I’ll be ready for when the
freelance project is over.
You need to keep making. Always.
There’s always enough time to work on your reel,
especially in the first year of your animation career.
When you add stuff to your reel make sure you follow
the demo reel guidelines we discussed in a previous
section so you don’t waste your time.
If you keep creating things and putting them out
the same link – that way you guarantee the link stays
relevant when you update your reel.
• A portfolio website with your own domain. Non of
those free Wix sites.
• A solid demo reel.
Great places to look for work
• Elance: A great website for finding various
freelance work, including animation work.
• oDesk: A freelancing matching website that lists
there, while constantly applying to studios, you will
jobs based on skills, and similar to Elance – a good
eventually get noticed, and hired.
place to start with.
Getting a job checklist:
• An updated resume.
• An updated linkedIn profile.
• A working link to your demo reel, preferably on
Vimeo, since there is an option to swap videos under
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Advertising Yourself
What I Do
The best way to find work (other than networking
events, school’s portfolio nights etc...) is systematically
applying to all the studios in your area.
Not in an annoying spammy way, but in a
professional to-the-point way.
I’ve seen too many students only apply to 2-3
studios upon graduation. They’re either afraid
approaching too many studios or they are only aiming
for the studios of their choice.
Aiming high is great, but just like with applying to
colleges, you need a safety studio. You need to give
yourself the best chances of finding work.
So what do I do?
I make a list of all the studios around me and email
each of them individually.
Unlike other industries, there’s no need here for any
fancy cover letters, a simple email stating your
intention + resume + link to your demo reel is good
enough.
My Email Guidelines
• I try to make the email personal if I can but I’ll
admit that I do use a template. If I have the person’s
name I’ll use that, otherwise I’ll just start with “Hello
people at ‘studio name’.
• I never try to make it seem like I’ve been a fan of
them if I haven't. Be sincere in your words and don’t
try to suck up. If you DO have something nice and
relevant to say about the studio’s work you can
gently mention it.
• Don’t make it look like a template. I know I just
said that I use a template, but that’s only a starting
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point for each email. I later change a few details here
and there to match the application. For example, if
I’m applying to a studio that does more previz
animation than character animation I’ll mention some
previz work that I’ve done.
• Keep it short and concise. Don’t start rambling
about your life story, tell them what you do, where
you’ve worked and what you’re looking for.
• Go over it. Twice. Make sure you didn’t make any
mistakes like keeping the name that was in your
template without changing (happened to me), writing
the wrong studio name etc... These mistakes are the
surest way to have your email ignored.
My Email Template
Hey people at ‘Studio Name’!
My name is Morr and I'm a character animator. I
graduated from SVA (computer arts) and I freelanced at
various studios (Framestore, Nathan Love, MTV…). I
am currently looking for more work.
I was wondering if you might have some availabilities
now or in the future.
You can check out my reel at: https://vimeo.com/
62968798
I've also attached my resume.
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My Resume Guidelines
Here are the elements I use in my resume by order.
You don’t have to use this exactly, but this is what I
have found to work best for me so feel free to tweak it
to your needs.
• On the top: Name, profession (animator, modeler
etc...), address, phone number, email.
• Professional Profile: Here I write who I am in one
• Qualifications: Here I write all the programs I’m
proficient in (such as Maya or Photoshop).
Just like in the experience section, I recommend not
listing any irrelevant programs (Excel, Keynote) or
obvious programs (Mac OSX, Word).
• Education: Here I write what school I went to and
what program. This is also where I would list any
special achievements such as scholarships, grants,
awards etc.
sentence. Example: 3D character animator,
graduated from the School of Visual Arts in the
Computer Arts department.
• Experience: Here I start listing the places I’ve
worked at starting with the latest one. Only include
relevant places, don’t write about your burger flipping
job you had while in college/high school.
• Demo reel link: After I list my experience I like to
have my demo reel link at the end, just in case they
are convinced and want to see stuff I’ve done.
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Section 6
FREE RIGS
I always encourage the “rebel” approach for creating cool things.
That’s why I was completely transparent with my Making an
Animated Movie series and that’s also why I love great free
resources.
Using free rigs is great for animation exercises or for adding shots
to your reel.
I’ve listed the rigs in order of mastery. Starting with the classic
bouncing ball all the way to humanoids.
In this section I’ve listed my favorite free Maya rigs that
you can download and use right now.
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Bloop’s Ultimate Ball Rig
To master their basics, animators can’t go wrong
with some old fashioned bouncing ball exercises.
For that purpose we created the Ultimate Ball Rig.
Get the rig here.
Tailed
Stepping forward with animation exercises – the
tailed ball is a classic.
With it you can learn the basics of overlapping
action.
Get the rig here.
Simple Bot
It allows you to focus on the pelvis and legs without
being distracted with the rest of the body parts.
Since the pelvis is the main instrument that leads the
entire body motion, it’s good to be able to figure it out
separately.
Get the rig here.
Moom
Moom in my opinion is the first human rig you’d
want to try out.
It’s simple, easy to figure out, and doesn’t have too
many controls to confuse you with when you’re first
starting out.
As a humanoid it has weird proportions, a bit
cartoony, but it’s great for beginners.
After you’ve mastered the bouncing ball, animating a
walk cycle with the Simple Bot is a great learning
Get the rig here.
experience.
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Morpheus
Morpheus is my free rig of choice for serious body
Mery
If you’re animating a scene with a female character
animation. It’s full of advanced controls, but doesn’t
the Mery rig is another awesome detailed human rig,
overwhelm you.
but in female form.
When you feel comfortable working with rigs you
should try this one, and you’ll be surprised by the
results you can get with it.
Get the rig here.
Norman
An alternative to the Morpheus rig, the Norman rig
has great controls as well and is almost as complex.
Get the rig here.
Fish Boy
Fish boy is kind of an awkward rig but I like it a lot.
It’s great for facial animation exercises since half of its
body is a huge head. It’s kind of a fun rig to play with
since it is very expressive and cartoony.
Get the rig here.
Not a favorite of mine but I’ve seen it used many
times by animators for their reels so I thought it should
be included in this list.
Get the rig here.
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Section 7
LINKS AND RESOURCES
Learning
http://bloopanimation.com
http://www.11secondclub.com
http://www.lynda.com
http://www.digitaltutors.com
Inspiration
http://onanimation.com
http://www.cgsociety.org
http://motionographer.com
News
http://www.cartoonbrew.com
http://www.awn.com
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Chapter 5
LAST THOUGHTS
We’ve reached the end of this ebook, but your journey
has just begun.
In this book I’ve tried to show you that there’s nothing
stopping you from becoming an animator. Technology today
enables everyone with a computer and a cool idea to animate.
You don’t need to be a skillful draftsman or a technical
genius. No excuses left.
Now, go and make something awesome.
- Morr
THANK YOU FOR READING.
I invite you to stay in touch:
cxvi