Animation
Basics
Pro Animators Mentor You to Be Successful
Our mentors are the heart and soul of Animation Mentor: veteran studio animators from Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony Imageworks, ILM and beyond, who work with you 1:1 every week.
Why Start With Animation Basics at Animation Mentor
Personalized Mentorship
Learn 1:1 from a working studio animator who shares weekly feedback and reviews to grow your craft.
Studio-Level Tools & Assets
Train the way professionals work, with exclusive access to production-quality character rigs and Autodesk Maya.
Live Weekly Q&As
Join weekly 1-hour live sessions with your mentor, on top of on-demand lectures and animation assignments.
Ongoing Rig Access
Keep access to the Ballie, Tailor, Bird Ball, Monster Ball and Squirrel rigs to keep building your reel.
What You'll Be Able to Do
- Understand the fundamental 12 Principles of Animation and how to apply them
- Animate a simple, straightforward “vanilla” walk cycle
- Create a stylized walk cycle that shows personality and emotion
- Block out and refine your shots with efficient, studio-style workflows
- Create clean poses that convey emotion before a character ever speaks
- Build the foundation for animating complex characters and dialogue shots
Skills You'll Gain
Reel Pieces You'll Walk Away With
Animation Basics is built around three hands-on animation exercises, each one a polished, portfolio-ready shot for your demo reel.
Pose & Emotion Study
A set of clean, readable poses that convey emotion and personality before a character ever speaks.
The Vanilla Walk Cycle
A fundamentals-first walk cycle that demonstrates weight, timing, and spacing, the shot every animator is measured by.
The Stylized Walk
A personality-driven walk, refined and polished into a reel-ready shot that shows character and appeal.
The Animation Basics Curriculum
A 12-week, mentor-led course: 12 pre-recorded lectures, weekly 1-hour live Q&As, and 3 animation exercises with weekly 1:1 feedback from your mentor.
Principles & Posing
Get introduced to the 12 Principles of Animation and learn to build clean, readable poses.
- The 12 Principles of Animation
- Clean, readable posing
- Conveying emotion before a character speaks
The Vanilla Walk Cycle
Animate a simple, straightforward walk cycle, the exercise every animation career is built on.
- Blocking the walk
- Weight, timing & spacing
- Studio-style workflow
The Stylized Walk
Push your walk cycle to show personality and emotion, and refine it to a polished shot.
- Personality & appeal
- Refining & polishing
- A reel-ready shot
Ready to Start Animating?
Animation Basics is a 12-week, mentor-led course. Apply at Animation Mentor, choose your mentor, and register for class.
- 12-week mentor-led course
- Weekly live Q&As + 1:1 feedback
- Taught in Autodesk Maya
- $2,499 USD
Frequently Asked Questions
You need a working understanding of Autodesk Maya. If you're brand new to Maya, start with our Maya Workshop: Animation Basics first, then come back for Animation Basics.
12 weeks, mentor-led: 12 pre-recorded lectures, weekly 1-hour live Q&As, and 3 animation exercises with weekly 1:1 feedback from your mentor.
Autodesk Maya, plus a computer that meets the minimum requirements. The course is taught in English and is open to students 18 and older.
Working studio animators from studios like Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Industrial Light & Magic. You choose your mentor after you're accepted.
Animation Basics is application-based. Apply at Animation Mentor, and once you're accepted you choose your mentor and register for class.
