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#9222

Dangerous stuff mate, once I woke up in a strangers house 30 min away from my place, makes for an interesting story though!

That aside, I can really relate to people when they get into the meat of there first film. You have multiple stages. Miyazaki once put it similar to this…and it has stuck ever since

The birth of happiness

1.the grand idea
2.inspirational sketches

The comes the struggle

  1. story boarding and layout (a very vital part, this is a super duper important part. Story comes first, you will be trimming a plentiful amount of fat as you start shooting your animatics and of course questioning and getting response to the overall appeal. I find it’s the most exciting part.
    4.animating
    5.polishing and editing(which unfortunately takes almost as long as animating if you ever done this before)

Honestly though if you as an artist can create something meaningful,charming, and powerful in the given time of 30seconds - 1minute it’s super rewarding and quite a noble feat if you can pull it off.

I really appreciate how they separated the film class as optional, as it really is a huge time consuming process. My first film took me about 4 months of solid work for 1min of footage. During this period of time I had hardly any time to focus on my previous reel and review and polish(aka adding oodles more in between drawings since 2D is always hungry for that…)It was all about the process, and getting past that “first film barrier” and finished.

Class 6 seems to be a nice way of really sprucing up your reel and making those past assignments much more klutch then they were before. As im still clueless to 3D techniques, Learning any kind of polishing knowledge will be so amazing in the end. Having the ability to smake studio quality shots.

-max

#9223

I too am very happy with the new class schedule! I think it’s a great idea to have the last class spent on polishing…polishing until it gleams, baby! Plus, we get an extra class of body mechanics, which I think will be very helpful.

Oy! I’m so excited for school to start!! I know it’ll be here before we know it, but man, it seems like it’s taking forever! And it’s only been maybe two weeks since I applied! Ha ha…time is a funny thing. How’s everyone spending these last few weeks prepping? The last few weeks of free time and (relative) sanity before animation madness hits 24/7!

#9224

Hah yeah, I think you could say were all drooling in eagerness to start up school. It feels like summer is just dragging on and on. Recently I’ve been just getting my studio all set up and ready to roll. Got myself a logitech quickcam pro 9000, new i7 quad core setup and ofcourse talking woody and buzz lightyear dolls to keep me company for those long evenings.

Also if you guys want to get your feet wet with a lil Maya before starting, Digital tutors has an amazing Maya 2009 training dvd out for a very reasonable price.

-max

#9225

Hey guys! I finished my application to this school and sent it on Sunday, then got the Wonderlic test and finished that the following Monday morning. Just to be sure, I won’t be getting any word on whether I’m accepted or not until a few weeks from then, right? That’s the end of August. Plus I believe I was a couple days too late for the deadline of the 2009 year to apply, and the only other option was Winter 2010. What do you think are the chances I would still be able to fit in for this year?

Either way, I’ll be able to wait, but I’m just SO excited to go to Animation Mentor!

#9226

I’m working out doing a ton of cardio before my butt finds a permanent home 24/7 in this chair!!!

That and playing a lot of games because I don’t plan on doing that either come September 28th.

As for preparing for school, I’m brushing up on my maya since I haven’t really animated in it since a few years now and practicing thumbnailing. Oh and reading through some new books I got, “Simplified drawing for planning animation” and the “Drawn to Life” Stanchfield series. Hmmm I should probably skim through my butchered copies of the illusion of life and the animators survival kit. You know I tried to take care of these books too but it was inevitable… they got horribly worn out BUT they have survived!!!

Oooh and I will be watching lots of movies starting with an all out Pixar marathon before hitting the vfx films like LOTR and my all time favorite, Terminator 2.

#9227

Yeah it’s safe to say we’ll be slaves to the chair for awhile hah, some cardio does indeed sound like a nice idea.

I have been flipping through the Stanchfield books as well. I really dig the approach they have, it’s almost like Walt is sitting right in front of you. Such a social read, you can virtually pick it up at any point and roll on.

Quick question guys, how many of you are in the process of getting a blog going for school?

#9228

Oh man… working out is good… I need to get on a good sleeping schedule too. I think staying up late at night is not as productive as if I get up early each day. Digital Tutors seems like it has pretty good Maya training… Anyone have any other recommendations for learning Maya?

#9229

I was thinking about doing a blog actually but i’m not sure though how much work that entails. We’ll see! First things first, running on the beach! ugh I can’t believe I get up at 5 am to do this :banghead: haha anyways I think a blog would be pretty cool, just as long as it doesn’t distract me from the important stuff. Generally, I get carried away with stuff like that and I’d hate to waste even a day trouble shooting my HTML… then again I think blog tech is much more user friendly.

:bounce:

#9230

I too am very much looking forward to starting this program. Sept 28th can’t come soon enough for me. The next 18 months (or 21 months), though, will seem like forever I’m sure.

I’m preparing myself (and my wife) for a very hectic schedule, as I will be working full time as well. I’m sure many of y’all are also working or have other commitments.

The first class doesn’t seem like it’ll be that bad, so that’s good.

#9231

Yeah, I run a digital creative agency so my time is sucked up in 60+ workweeks…will be fun to come up with the time each week to really dedicate towards the program…where there’s a will there’s a way right :wink:

#9232

Make it easy on yourself and setup a freebie blogspot.com account. Or, if you want, I can hook you up with some free hosting on one of our servers for a wordpress account.

#9233

Cool thanks for the offer! I’ll look into the freebie stuff first though… Will be less work for you :slight_smile: I know if I have time to write here, I should have time to write on my blog so I think I’ll fiddle around on that site you mentioned later this weekend.

Cheers!!!

#9234

amen. best of luck to you and everyone else on time management skills.

#9235

I’m working full-time too and concerned about the time-management issue. I’ve heard from past students that while it’s doable, it’s difficult to do both. And since I’m a newbie, I really feel like I need to invest even more time than the average student. But I’m thankful my job hours are pretty consistent. I can’t imagine doing school with a 60+ hour job!!! My hats off to you guys with jobs like that. What a luxury it would be to go to school full-time!! I would love to be able to do AM and also concurrently take classes in drawing, painting, etc. Dream life! Ok, back to reality.

I’ve been working on my sketching, since I haven’t drawn anything for many, many moons. I started last month, and I’m encouraged since I’m already seeing progress! I also just got my student version of Maya last week and have been going through tutorials to learn the software. Have also been reading through Animator Survival Kit and Illusion of Life. And watching animated movies!

Exercise is a good idea! Maybe I’ll try that sometime. Ha ha. I also need to get myself on a regular sleeping schedule, especially since I need more than the average bear. I have the bad habit of staying up too late every night!

The being-stuck-in-a-chair thing is interesting. I think it was Victor Navone who said that a lot of the animators have special desks that can be adjusted so you can stand up while working. Has anyone tried animating while standing up? Seems strange, but also seems like a cool idea. It would be a challenge to find a flexible enough working desk for home use, though.

I’ve thought about blogging, but I don’t know. First, I have a feeling I wouldn’t be able to keep it up. Second, I feel weird putting up student work for all to see. What if a recruiter meanders to my site and sees my student work? I’d rather wait to put up a site when I have an actual demo reel. Or am I just being paranoid?

#9236

Hello, there? Anyone? :surprised

#9237

Heya Roman,

I’m pretty sure you’ve missed the cut off for Fall but you never know. For winter, I guess you probably won’t hear anything for a couple of weeks. I know the admissions team is swamped right now dealing with all the last minute applications and payments. Other than that, give it a week or so before getting in contact with AM.

Good luck!!!

#9238

Thanks! I know I missed the deadline for Fall, but I missed it so recently that I’m hoping that maybe, just maybe, the classes for this fall aren’t totally booked and filled up and that I may just have a last minute spot. Who knows. I think I’ll wait until about the last day of August to see if I get a response, or to contact them. crosses fingers

#9239

Hello all!

My Name is Nick, i’m from London. I thought I should introduce myself as I use these boards a fair bit for information and advice.

I am starting the Maya springboard workshop in September. So if anyone here is doing the same it’d be great to get in contact (especially if, like me you have no formal training/experience in art and animation).

Anyway, hello again and look forward to hearing from you.

#9240

Hey N1. I to am starting the Maya springboard program in September and starting AM in January. I don’t have any formal training but have been a hobbyist for a few years. Most of my experiance was with Lightwave, so that’s why I’ll be in the Springboard course. I think it will be a good way to meet new people and learn some stuff. If you ever what to talk animation or whatever just post up here or PM me. Looking forward to learning with you in a couple weeks.

#9241

Yeah, i’ve been debating about doing the springboard coarse…just wondering if it’s worth the extra $$$. i’ve done the gnoman intro vids, read the sybex books, etc…just wondering if there’s something in there that I haven’t already learned.