Einav Deri - Before and After

I gauge a student's progress based upon the artwork they create when they start with us, and then compare it with what they're doing a short while later. Here's a good example of how an individual can grow as a result of their participation in our program.

Einav Deri came all the way from Israel to take classes at the Academy. She was particularly interested in Character Design. On the left is a drawing she did the very first day of her class in September, 2009. On the right is what she's doing today.


Another example of Einav's creative growth. On the left, a character she drew prior to attending classes. On the right, something recent.


Here's a study of a head design she came up with for Visual Development, rendered tonally in grays and in color.


Currently Einav is attending animation school in her country and is a standout student thanks to her dedication, determination and the time she spent getting her fundamental skills down at The Animation Academy in Burbank. Her peers flock to her to pick her brain as to what she knows about design and drawing. The Academy helped put her on a solid path to professionalism. She's a rising star and there's little doubt as to the success she'll be experiencing in her career.

To see more of what Einav is up to creatively, visit her blog at http://theartofanimationgirl.blogspot.com

Joel Valdez turns it on

It's always a thrill for me to introduce new talent to the animation community. This past semester we welcomed Joel Valdez into our program. Joel came to the Academy from Tucson, Arizona and is wrapping up his work in Character Design I. Here's a class assignment he just completed. Click on the image and you'll get a better view.

At the Academy, we emphasize the important of a good character designer being able to handle a basic five pose rotation for the characters they create. It's a necessary skill, especially in a production situation. I'm happy to showcase one of Joel's attempts at completing something that even professional character designers are challenged by. Joel is among the many exceptional students we have at the Academy at any given time, and a big reason why our legacy looms large in the industry.

Looking forward to more great things from Joel Valdez.

Izzy does it again

One of our most talented teen students, this is her latest from Visual Development. An innovative and delightful composition rendered in markers and color pencils. The Academy's legacy continues to grow with students like Izzy who create magic at every session.

Clicking on the image will give you a better view.

Thursday classes on the way

Hello everyone, especially current and former Academy students, and also to folks out there considering enrolling in our program.

The Animation Academy started in the back room of a local restaurant in Burbank in January, 1998. I launched the business with an investment of $15 that was used for stamps and envelopes to mail out announcements the month before. Since that time, we've had students into the thousands who've taken classes with us. We've literally changed the face of the animation industry with the quality of our training and with the success of a great many of our students.

For years, we were located in a large facility down the street from Disney Studios, NBC and Warner Brothers on Olive Avenue in Burbank, which turned out to be a building that Don Bluth was previously occupying for production purposes. The building was in a redevelopment zone and we were successful in garnering community support and convincing the Burbank City Council to approve the construction of a proposed complex on behalf of our landlord.

We were to be tenants within the complex once it was completed and moved to the Burbank Association of Realtors building on Tuesday evenings, in anticipation of this project. Unfortunately, when the economy tanked a couple of years ago, so did the project.

We've always planned on expanding our program again and I'm happy to announce that as of this coming November, we'll be offering Thursday evening sessions for the first time since we left our building.

Classes will be held in Burbank, close to where we operate on Tuesdays. We have a nice room reserved that is perfectly suited for what we do. My plan is to make Thursday evenings available for students who want to take more than one class with us. The primary focus of the class will be on advanced subjects such as Visual Development and/or Storyboarding. Enrollment will be limited to approximately 6 students in very concerted and specialized sessions.

There'll be 6 sessions over 2 months, and pricing will be consistent with what we already charge, which is pretty darn great considering the excellence of the education that's offered.

This is the first notice about the Thursday evening sessions, and I'll be posting more info through the Academy's venues. Meantime, feel free to contact us if you'd like to get in on it.

Our office number is 818-848-6590 or you can reach us by email through our website.

http://theanimationacademy.com/

Keep Creating!

Robert Negrete's turn

Here's another head rotation that was created at a recent session of the Academy. Robert Negrete, a new student to our program enrolled in Character Design I, came up with this as part of his class assignment. For his first attempt, he did a fine job. Clicking on the image will improve the view.

As I've mentioned before, rotations are a key aspect of our Character Design curriculum. It's an essential skill that anyone who aspires to be a professional character designer should master. Even if you're not going in that direction with your art or career, rotations are an an excellent exercise in further developing your basic draughtsmanship.

Robert Negrete is a promising artist that we'll be seeing more of in days ahead. To view more of his work, follow the link below.

http://robthesentinel.deviantart.com/

Presenting Ernesto Ochoa

It's been awhile since I've featured new artwork coming from students at the Academy. My schedule has precluded me from doing so much of the time, but in spite of that, excellent art continues to be generated through our program I'm very proud to say.

Here's a couple of samples of what's been happening this semester. This is the art of Ernesto Ochoa. These are class assignments from our basic introductory class, Character Design I. The first example of his work is a classic representation of character development through fundamental design. Ernesto is taking the time to build out the look of his character in many ways. He establishes the anatomy, fully constructs the head, even takes the time to explore the hands. Clicking on the image will give you an enhanced view.

In addition to design exploration in the concept phase of development, we have our students immerse themselves in rotations as soon as they have an image that's ready to go to models. Head rotations of their characters prepares them for full body rotations which follow in the course of their assignments.

Here's Ernesto's head rotation for one of the characters he developed for his project. It's absolutely professional in every aspect. Again, clicking on the image will enhance the view.

Notice in these samples, how he takes his time and gives his drawings all the attention they need. As with much of the work that our students create, it can be just as good or better than similar work being generated at many animation studios, with all due respect of course.

Ernesto's art is a great example of why The Animation Academy enjoys the excellent reputation that it has, and why many in the industry routinely recommend our school for appropriate training in design and related subjects. Our legacy continues to grow thanks to outstanding artists like Ernesto Ochoa and many more of our students as well.

To see more of Ernesto's work, follow the link to his blog:

http://ernieochoa.blogspot.com/

Monthly enrollment at the Academy

Hello everyone, I hope this entry to the Academy's blog finds you well.

This year, we've experimented with mid-semester, or monthly enrollment. For many years the Academy offered six semesters per calendar year, with the opportunity to enter the program every other month. A few months ago, we decided to try something different by allowing students to enroll at the begining of each month.

I'm happy to report that this has been a very successful change. By overlapping our semesters, we've been able to welcome both new and returning students sooner, without having to wait an additional month for the chance to join us. This system has also been beneficial in better managing the new students that enter our program. Monthly enrollment has helped solved a periodic problem we've faced. That is, the volume of new students we would normally get as a result of bi-monthly enrollment. We've been able to spread new student enrollment more evenly throughout the year, thus enabling us to better facilitate new student groups.

The next window for enrolling at the Academy will be September 7, 2010.

The Animation Academy continues to enhance its legacy through the great creative success of our students. If you're looking to improve upon your basic skills as they apply to animation, you're welcome to contact us and discuss how the Academy can help you to grow.

Our office line is 818-848-6590.

William Ruzicka's storyboard

Last fall, William Ruzicka enrolled in the Storyboarding class I conduct. I knew him from Cal State University Northridge where we was a standout student in the Animation Drawing class I teach there.

The storyboard he created at the Academy is one of the best ever done by a student at the school. I've been waiting for him to get me copy of it so I could feature his work on the Academy's blog. In this case, through a link to the Gallery section of the new forums at AnimationNation.com

The method I use for teaching storyboards is different than what most may experience, and I get great results as a result. In the case of Will's work, I used a live action script from a Clint Eastwood move "In the Line of Fire" and had him board the first couple of pages. Thanks to the technology of AN's new forums, I was able to easily upload his work. Click on the first image, and a bigger window will appear that will allow you to go through all 25 pages of his storyboard. A link to William's blog is at the end of the images on the actual topic. By the way, he's currently working as a professional storyboard artist thanks in large part to the storyboard he created in class.

Enjoy William's board...

http://www.animationnation.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=104

Here's a link to his blog...

http://neondoodles.blogspot.com/

Evan Cooper before and after

This is the 200th post on the Academy's blog, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by showcasing Evan Cooper once again. He was featured in my entry of December 28, 2009.

Follow this link to the Gallery of AnimationNation.com and you'll see the remarkable improvement in Evan's work since he enrolled with us.

http://www.animationnation.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002564

Evan's progress is indicative of how much our students grow as a result of our program. This can happen to you as well if you're dedicated, focused, and creatively productive.

The Animation Academy trains great artists.

The Academy has a new website

It's been a long time coming and I'm more than happy to announce that The Animation Academy finally has a new site.

http://theanimationacademy.com/

Thanks a thousand times over to Adrian Foster for all of the work he's put into it as the site's webmaster, and to Snakebite for the design.

We're showcasing the artwork and galleries that were there from before. Now you can see some of the art when you go to the homepage, and we're also able to feature video. On the right is an interview with Chance Raspberry, below that is a trailer for a 12 minute movie we did in Flash from the time the Academy was located on Olive Ave. in Burbank. It was a production we were commissioned for. Below that is a video montage of student work. There's two more videos featuring animation that we'll be adding soon. You can see the additional videos by going to the Gallery section of the site.

We'll be creatively expanding the site now that we have this new resource. Meanwhile, we hope you'll enjoy the many things there are to see and be inspired by.

Keep Creating!

Charles Zembillas