You Are Not Alone

Hello again!

What an amazing month its been. too amazing for my ability to put into words really, one of the most invigorating in recent memory.

So where to start? probably with a disclaimer of sorts, i first started my blog to track week by week my journey through Animation Mentor. but its feels different now im a Student of AM. I cant quite put my finger on why or precisely how but its not something that i think will be dedicated enough too in the long run.

So unfortunately, your probably not going to get a slew of bouncing ball videos just yet. the reason for this is, well, ill fall behind with it. i wont be able to keep up because all of my energy will be focused on Animation Mentor. at this point you are fully entitled to Boo and hiss in a panto style as loudly as you please, but i think this is a good thing (not the booing, the sparse blogging) as it means i will be dedicated to what im doing.


So Then, Animator BOY! How is it?

This school is amazing, absolutely amazing. i was expecting something good based on the quality i have seen come out of the school but i wasn't fully aware of how interconnected everything is, its all open and coalescing, everyone is fair game for feedback, and well, as apple might say, it just works. My mentor is also Superb, T.Dan Hoftsedt. what a dude...totally cool, very insightful and just an all round super nice guy, he also is a ninja animator with a body of work that would turn anyones head. I am very happy to have someone as established and talented as T.Dan go over my work every week and i can see and understand things clearer than i could before with the benefit of his experience.

The People

what has amazed me is the relationships between students, how everyone looks out for their friends, i say the word friend because im beginning to come to a bit of a crossroads in my definition of animators. I should say other animators i know i suppose.
through my time in university much was made of being able to make contacts or getting a contact in the industry. If you had a contact you were very well placed to get your foot in the door somewhere. To me “contact” is a very cold term. Often it comes off sounding like a commodity. once you get your degree nip down to the store and get 25lbs of contact! youll be a shoe in for that job once your contact puts a word in for you.

Now its an odd thing at AM, your contact list is a “buddy” list. and i like the sound of that. your buddies or friends help you, they are interested in the same things you are, and generally have the same goals as you do. I guess this could easily be just semantics here but to me there is a difference that i have only felt whilst being at AM, that people given the chance will help you rather than do a favour to have you indebted to them later.

One thing to come out of these relationships is the feedback, giving feedback, receiving feedback, and giving more feedback. for a start it helps you to improve your eye, before when something didn't seem right but you couldn't put your finger on it now you can start to pinpoint what it actually is that needs changing.

Receiving feedback, i'm learning an important lesson here. you are only as good as the feedback you get. without it you will struggle to progress, without feedback you have no idea what looks better. some peeps might think that they have a good enough eye, but your totally wrong, you need feedback, show it to anyone as well as your peers, because its the feedback and working off of the feedback that makes you a better animator.

Case In point – ME!

Now, im not the best animator at this school, there is a wealth of talent here, from Joe Garhan in class 1 Bruno Monterio in Class 2 all the way to Alexis Memmot in Class 6, people are better than me, and maybe you reading this too.....but lets not sulk! i have the opportunity to speak to, learn from and receive feedback from these people, and many others equally as talented, some have gifts not just in animation, but enthusiasm (see Derek Osborne) and many other qualities, and its all there to inspire and inform me to become a better animator and a better person.


So a big thank you to AM and its students for giving me a brilliant month of April, here's to many many more!