It's easy as...

A couple of class demos I've done recently provided a good opportunity to feature this work in an educational context as well as a promotional one for the Academy.

Both of these demonstrations were created in Photoshop, using a Cintiq. The first image was sketched directly in the computer while the second was scanned from a black line drawing on paper.

Clicking on the images will provide a full size view.

In this Visual Development lesson, I went from the concept sketch to color, and followed up with lighting, shadow and additional color highlights.

In this lesson, I established some basic shadows on the initial sketch, went into grayscale tonal rendering, then finished the art with a series of color tints.

Both methods to rendering are effective and can produce nice results. Simple ways of approaching the color enhancement of your art that help create a strong visual impact.

We'll be introducing an online version of Visual Development as a continuation of the Character Design 1 class soon. Our first semester of CD1 is currently underway as we are fielding two sessions per week at the moment, and both are proceeding exceptionally well.

Local students may also study Visual Development as a continuation of Character Design 1 at our classes in Burbank.

For more info please feel free to contact the Academy by calling 818-848-6590 or by emailing us through the contact tab on the school's website.

Click here to contact the Academy via email.

Einav Deri B&A Revisited

A few months ago on November 15, 2010 I featured the Before & After work of Einav Deri. We had the pleasure of hearing from her again as she shared this great new design.

On the left is the very first drawing she ever did as an enrolled student at the Academy. On the right, her latest character oriented work.

Einav's progress is indicative of the advances our students make. In the case of an artist as dedicated and focused as Einav is, that progress becomes even more apparent.

Einav came all the way from Israel to study Character Design with us. Today she's a standout student at the Israeli Animation College in Tel Aviv and gives the Academy credit for big strides she made with her art.

You're welcome to follow her blog.

Click here.

The Academy welcomes students from the world over to join us now that we've launched our Online Program. Live classes and great mentorship through the Academy's Learning Management System.

Contact us for details. Call our office at 818-848-6590 or email us at info([at])theanimationacademy.com and we'll be happy to discuss enrollment with you.

Character Design I Online

If you've been waiting for the opportunity to get involved with The Animation Academy's Online Program, here's your chance to enroll.

We'll be offering our first class to enrolled students this coming Wednesday, June 8, 2011.

We have two sessions set up so far. One at 5 PM Pacific Time (8 PM Eastern USA, 7 PM Central), and a late evening class that starts at 10 PM Pacific Time (morning of June 9) for students who are in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This later session is also open to enrollment for students in the US.

Our first online class will be Character Design I, which I'll be teaching live.

For more info follow this link to the AnimationNation Forums:

http://animationnation.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1655&sid=6052056b66bdabbbb41bd508498cfa2d

You must contact the school in order to enroll.

Looking forward to great things from the online program and from the great creative community that will emerge.

Charles Zembillas
President & Founder
The Animation Academy
Burbank, CA
USA

818-848-6590