(Cheaper) Alternatives to Animation Mentor
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Hey guys,
I've been looking for some animation training recently and have come up short with my searches and wondered if you guys know of any and/or can recommend some.
I'm currently self-learning animation and primarily doing it through a heap of books for the fundamentals (Animators Survival Kit, some of the Walt Stanchfield stuff, old disney papers etc) as well as Digital Tutors stuff which is actually really good.
However, I still feel like I could really benefit from some more personal training, or at least some kind of feedback based course. Tutorials are great but I'm having a real problem translating what I learn into my own stuff... like I'll do a walk cycle tutorial, and then I can make a walk cycle, but when it comes to working on my own scenes, I kinda get a bit lost and don't really know what I'm doing.
The annoying thing is that it's mainly the workflow part that I struggle with. I'm getting a good handle on the fundamentals and principles, and I know my way around the software just fine, but it's the workflow and approach to animating certain scenes or cycles that I'm having difficulty with. Hard to explain I suppose, but hopefully you get the idea.
I did enrol on Animation Mentor last year but had to pull out due to the lack of student funding here in the UK, and I'm really not in a position to pay anywhere near that sort of money for the AM tuition out of my own pocket.
The problem is I genuinely want to skill up to a level where I can look for work in the field. Now, I'm a long way off for sure, but right now it feels like pissing around on my own with no proper training is either not gonna get me to where I want to be, or it's going to take far longer than it would if I had some guidance.
I've been looking for some animation training recently and have come up short with my searches and wondered if you guys know of any and/or can recommend some.
I'm currently self-learning animation and primarily doing it through a heap of books for the fundamentals (Animators Survival Kit, some of the Walt Stanchfield stuff, old disney papers etc) as well as Digital Tutors stuff which is actually really good.
However, I still feel like I could really benefit from some more personal training, or at least some kind of feedback based course. Tutorials are great but I'm having a real problem translating what I learn into my own stuff... like I'll do a walk cycle tutorial, and then I can make a walk cycle, but when it comes to working on my own scenes, I kinda get a bit lost and don't really know what I'm doing.
The annoying thing is that it's mainly the workflow part that I struggle with. I'm getting a good handle on the fundamentals and principles, and I know my way around the software just fine, but it's the workflow and approach to animating certain scenes or cycles that I'm having difficulty with. Hard to explain I suppose, but hopefully you get the idea.
I did enrol on Animation Mentor last year but had to pull out due to the lack of student funding here in the UK, and I'm really not in a position to pay anywhere near that sort of money for the AM tuition out of my own pocket.
The problem is I genuinely want to skill up to a level where I can look for work in the field. Now, I'm a long way off for sure, but right now it feels like pissing around on my own with no proper training is either not gonna get me to where I want to be, or it's going to take far longer than it would if I had some guidance.
Replies
http://ianimate.net/
I suppose I'm asking too much to find decent tuition for much less. If only I was young enough to go back to school!
IMO both iAnimation and animSchool students reels blow Animation Mentors out of the water.
Yeah both Animschool and iAnimate have some great alumni reels but Animschool is still $12,500.
I just wonder where people get the money for that. I mean, for validated universities you can obviously get student loans, but these places aren't recognised as 'real' colleges/uni's so you basically have to pay out of your own pocket.
The closest thing to funding I've found (at least here in the UK) is a 'Career Development Loan', which I actually signed up for when I first enrolled on the AM course but after a bit of digging, it's basically just a deferred bank loan with a fairly large interest rate and could leave you in a dodgy position after the course is finished unless you can land a job straight after graduating.
I've just noticed Keith Lango has his entire back catalogue up for $99 which seems like a bargain and will probably help but it's still not quite the 'personal' training I'm looking for.
Daddy.
Yeah... I've watched a good few of those. Keith's a nice guy, and his VTC's are certainly food for thought, but no, I couldn't compare them to the tuition you would receive with either iAnimate or animSchool. Sounds like iAnimate is the path for you; you can pay by module, so you can work and save for the next one while you are completing the current one. Plus they are a very very good school based on the quality of the reels I'm seeing.
Yeah good call, I mean $1000 isn't too much to get together from saving a bit of my 'luxury' budget for a couple of months and I guess there's the benefit of taking my own pace with starting the classes.
(read: Apple devices) ;P
Ahahah oh dear, it's that obvious.
*continues looking for best place to line up for iPad 3*
iAnimate does cost much BUT you can still do just one workshop which costs 1000$ and save up again and do then next and so on and so forth.. Something you cannot do at Animation Mentor. At AM you can pay every three months if you want to, which is about 800$ a month, but you cant do the first workshop and wait for X months and then do the next at some point in the future.
Thats what im doing, im saving up for the first workshop.
EDIT: oh it was mentioned before, i should really look into buying reading glasses or something