Www.animationmentor.com

#9802

How was the Coffee Talk? I was planning to participate till I saw the “doesn’t work on a Mac” note, going to download and watch.

#9803

Hey Fig,
it was nice, general questions has been answered :slight_smile: Victoria is very energetic ^^

#9804

Hi guys,
Nice to meet you all and i will be starting in the spring term :).you guys is in the spring term as well?

#9805

Good to know, thanks, she seems really helpful.

And I’ll be taking the Maya Jumpstart course in the Spring then starting the full AM program this summer.

#9806

Hey Guys,

I’ve been gearing up for the summer term (very excited!) and I just got the book How to Cheat at Maya 2010 by Eric Luhta. He is an Animation Mentor grad that has worked on some pretty cool films.

It’s a great book for beginner/intermediate level aspiring animators and I recommend it for those of you that are about to start in the spring and summer. It’s cheap too - $30.

Check it out here
How to Cheat at Maya 2010

#9807

RE: How to Cheat in Maya 2010

I was worried, going into AM, that, even though I have a solid background in Maya, that it’d be difficult for me to master the animation tools and workflow quick in enough in order to keep up. I thought that the video lectures would cover those sorts of things, showing you stuff like how the graph editor works (from what people have said about the Maya Springboard, it sounded like ti was REALLY basic. Like, for people who have never even touched a 3D package before. I wasn’t sure it covered too much about things like the graph editor). But, at the recent Coffee Talk with Victoria, she hinted that the lectures don’t have anything in them about the technical aspects. This would have really worried me had I not already bought How to Cheat in Maya 2010 a few days before.

Honestly, my biggest fear going into AM was that I’d get bogged down in the technical aspects and that would hinder my work. If you feel like me, stop reading this immediately and buy the book, seriously. It’s almost like it was written as a primer for AM, at least that’s how I feel. ANd, according to the reviews, it also has a lot of little nuggets of information that even advanced users wouldn’t have known about. I’m really, really glad I didn’t put off buying it.

#9808

Ibeechu, I’m a current student there, and while they don’t cover technical aspects in the lectures, they do have specifically tailored technical Maya tutorials in the training section (all about the graph editor and anything else you’ll be required to handle for the assignments). Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. I wish I didn’t worry so much about that aspect before I got in. They’ve got you covered.

#9809

In the sign-up page for the Workshop, they do say in the last eight weeks there’s graph editor techniques. Still, I have a gift card at Amazon, so I think I’ll check out that Maya book to have some good reference at hand. Also, the last 8 weeks they have two Q&As a week with your mentor, so I hope that means if you are having trouble with a Maya feature, you can get help there too.

But here’s a list I pulled from the sign-up page:

Four weeks focusing on learning your way around the Animation Mentor online campus tools with a focus on:

[ul]
[li] Live Q&A (video conferencing) tools[/li][li] Giving and receiving feedback[/li][li] Important time management techniques to maximize your effectiveness[/li][li] Important community etiquette: dos and don’ts[/li][li] Techniques for how to get the most out of your experience[/li][/ul]Eight weeks focusing on dedicated Maya training including:

[ul]
[li]Important and efficient workflow habits[/li][li] Hierarchy basics and how to set them up[/li][li] Basic modeling, shading and lighting concepts that all animators need to know[/li][li] File referencing[/li][li] Animation tools and an introduction to important animation concepts[/li][li]Graph editor techniques, IK/FK, timeline editing, constraints and more[/li][li] Important tips on how to work in the Animation Mentor “production” style using the tools and skills the professionals use within the animation industry[/li][/ul]

#9810

Hey, I’ve been in two minds for a while now about weather or not to apply to AM. My other option is to try get onto a masters degree at uni in the uk, which is a lot cheaper and teaches you to be an all rounder and not just an animator.

I really want to animate but my main concern is the level of excellence coming out of AM. I’ve read that certain people who do the course have worked in the industry for years, and thats making me think I wont be able to keep up.

Has anyone else had these concerns and then been proven wrong?

Cheers
Jonny

#9811

@Romanthony: Thanks a lot; that’s really reassuring!

@stjons: I’ve talked to a few people in the industry who went to AM either as a refresher course, or whatever. They’ve all said (along with people here) that it’s the BEST place to learn character animation for this price range. A few have even said so regardless of price. Really, if you have the money, the time, and the drive, go for AM. Big studios will not hire one animator over another just because he knows how to rig. They have riggers for that. They will, in every case, hire the best animator. Period. Small studios, maybe. But still, if you spread yourself too thin, trying to become a jack of all trades, you’ll be an expert at none.

If you want to animate, do it, and focus everything you have on it. You can’t expect to get a job at a big studio (or even a medium, like, game company) if you go into this half-assedly. And you CERTAINLY can’t expect to graduate from AM if you go in half-assedly. Here’s a great, great blog post form Aaron Hartline about the importance of drive: http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/2010/02/its-all-about-drive-if-you-really-want.html

If you’re passionate about animation and you give AM everything you’ve got, there’s no reason you’ll fail.

#9812

Hi Jonny,

yeah, I had those concerns too.
I am currently in class 5 at AM, and prior to starting there I had no professional experience as an animator, no experience at all actually, apart from a couple of months trying to get up to speed on my own.
In every class I have been in, I have worked alongside people who are pros already, I do understand your concerns. Thing is, even starting from where I did, I have managed to keep my head above water, even surprised myself! :slight_smile:
I am not going to lie to you, I did feel daunted, particularly in class 1 before I really found my feet… It will be a lot of work.
But here is the thing… it is an absolute privilige to be studying with these guys, and you will learn almost as much from seeing how they tackle things as everything else here. We each learn at our own pace, and we are not in competition with each other. We are all here to make the best that we can of ourselves, and its great to be able to get advice from a pro peer, as well as a pro mentor.

Good luck with your decision mate. AM is the best choice I have made for a long time.

#9813

Thanks for the replies, they have been really good to read.
I would love to goto AM as character animation is what I want to do. I just need to have a serious think about the money. Also look into what loans are available over here in the uk.

I’m now graduating with a degree in animation so I already have a fair ammount of debt to my name. Its just a shame I didn’t look to AM before I started my degree

Cheers
Jonny

#9814

14 days or so until workshop orientation. Which I hear is when you get your login to the campus and a ton of information. Such as how to purchase Maya, which I’ve been worried about so close to the start. I guess there’s plenty of time since the first 4 weeks are about the campus and not Maya. I’ll see you there Fig :slight_smile:

I can’t wait for it to all start, going to be so exciting. Just checking out 11secondclub I get so amped up viewing all the entries, thinking about what I would of done, listening to the new clips and imagining the possibilities. Not sure if I’d be creative to come up with some twist or joke in the scene, but I love trying to picture what the characters would do. The new sound clip for march had me cracking up: http://www.11secondclub.com/competitions/march10/

#9815

Well, I’m officially signed up for the Maya Jumpstart starting at the end of the month. I’ve already talked to DreamThinkLive a bit, how are the rest of y’all liking it so far?

#9816

Hi, everyone my name is Moises. I’m just waiting for orientation so we can get our education started at AM. Does anyone have any recommendations for a web cam for Macs. (I heard that a vision pro is a good one) Well, I can’t wait to start and meet all you spring termers.

#9817

Hi, everyone, my name is Moises. I’m just waiting to get my education started at AM. Does anyone have any recommendations for web cams for Macs. ( I heard that vision pro is a good one) Well, I can’t wait for orientation and a chance to meet all you spring termers.

#9818

I am a prospective student from Sydney, Australia and have been following the AM website and blogs for about 3 years now - tossing up the decision whether I should apply or not. I have already graduated from college with a BA in Creative Technology in Sydney but was disappointed with how broad and unfocused the course was and how little time it spent on my passion: character animation. I am also currently paying off a hefty student loan as a result of this course.

Since completing that degree I have found it difficult to land a job here in Australia as an animator. I think this is because (as well as the global financial crisis) the course I attended did not provide me with the specific and focused animation skills really required to work professionally as an animator. Because of this I have been working other jobs while doing personal animation excersises and working on a short animated film.

After recently coming back to the AM website and going through all the material (again!) I have decided that studying with AM is the one and only path I wish to take and I am extremely excited about my future studies in the program.

I just wanted to get some perspective from any Australian students/alumni that may read this. There are a few questions I would like to ask:

  1. With no financial institution support provided for Australian students of the AM program, how did you go about paying the course fees?
  2. Have Australian students found much success regarding employment rates after finishing the course?

I’d basically just like to hear the perspective of an Australian student/alumni, so that I know I am making informed decisions. Any information you guys can provide is so appreciated.

Cheers,
Dan.

#9819

The web Cam on your mac works just fine.

#9820

Thanks Derrick, are you using a MacBook Pro, because I was looking to get one to do the Live Q & As, maybe on the go. Thanks for the response.

#9821

No Problem, Yes i am using a MBP and i have used it in coffe shops and at home and at family homes. So the built in Cam on the macs are fine. They even tell u that you dont need to buy a cam if your computer already has one.

But i guess if you would like to buy other thats fine as well.