The Animated Pencil: December 2014

2 Statements about Animation

I am an animator, and hand-draw all of my work. This is also called 2D, or traditional animation. Yes, I use a computer as well; everybody uses computers these days in the animation field. Animation can have any type of artistic input: clay, cut-outs, puppets, pixels (cgi), drawings, or "pixilation", which is animating real people frame-by-frame with photos.

I have been teaching college-level animation for 21 years, beginning through graduate-level classes, at 5 colleges, and universities. Most colleges begin their animation track with drawing 2D animation. It is the simplest, most effective way to teach animation. Drawn animation has a 125 year tradition that has existed since 1892, when Reynaud created his Theatre Optique in Paris.

Hand drawn animation also gets closest to capturing the individual artistic impulse. The computer is merely a tool, just like a pencil, shovel, fork, tooth brush, knitting needle, or a lawn mower. Learning an animation computer program will definitely NOT teach you how to animate. Nor will the computer "do it all for you". People animate using tools. It comes from within our own minds and hearts. We use old school and new school combined. The top animation studios first of all draw, draw, and draw their character designs, storyboards, conceptual art, and they do "pencil tests" of the animation, too.

You still have to start the beginning, and learn the PRINCIPLES of animation first. Otherwise, you will have no idea what you're doing. Oh, yes, people DO start with the computer programs. But it is the HARD way, it takes A LOT longer, and is frustrating, expensive, and usually ineffective.

That's why all the top schools teach drawn animation FIRST.

Using the example of a flip book, which we all drew on binder paper or on post-it notepads in middle school, we'll learn how to put a series of drawings in motion to create believable motion, mood, character, and a story.

So, let's start drawing! End: part 1

Overview of the class & teacher start: part 2

This is a drawing class. It is based on old school, 2D animation and the principles that are its foundation. This is NOT a 3D, cgi class. We will not be animating with computers, but we will USE computers to record our drawings as motion pictures or "movies". It is also not a "masterclass" taught by a "master animator". I studied Walt Disney's lectures and movies as a child that were on Disney's TV show, "Walt Disney Presents". I grew up watching TV cartoons after school, enjoying Loony Tunes, Hanna/Barbera, & U.P.A. My Bachelor Of Arts degree in Animated Cinema was earned at San Francisco State University in the 1970s. I then won a Fulbright Award to do work/study at the Zagreb-Film Animation Studio in former Yugoslavia, with Oscar-nominated directors like Dragic, Grgic, Vukotic (Oscar winner), & Gasparovic.

I am a very experienced professional animator who has worked in Hollywood, at the Zagreb Film Studio in Europe, and all over the San Francisco Bay Area as a freelance animator-for-hire. My birthplace and background is the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I have traveled all over Europe, to Japan, Mexico, & Canada, and now live in Oakland with my wife and our 5 cats.

This animation class teaches how to draw for animation at the beginning levels. We start at the beginning, with the basics of the line, the 4 basic forms, and the line of action, and work our way up from there. Exercises have clear visual guidelines and references for students to follow to learn exactly how to animate by drawing. The principles of animation as taught by Disney greats Frank & Ollie are behind all the movement. We also study and use the Laws of Physics, especially regarding weight, gravity, and momentum. Exercises include moving objects, such as bowling balls and soap bubbles, natural phenomena such as rain, wind, and smoke, plus the movements of human beings.

The Animated Pencil

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014