our school

Get the Animation Mentor
Online School Advantage

18 Month Curriculum

Animation Mentor was created by three professional animators who were working at Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). They founded the school on the principle of teaching only the pure essence of character animation and doing it in a production-style learning environment taught by professional working animators. Students get an intensely focused program of structured assignments that teach students workflow, planning, and the principles of animation, and prepares them to succeed as a working animator in just 18 months.

Critiques from professional animators

The program lectures feature famous animators from leading studios who illustrate key principles of animation and provide content, demonstration and assignments. Each student gets assigned to a mentor for each course who gives them individual critiques and feedback on how to improve their work. In addition, they host weekly Q&A sessions, so students can ask questions and get help with completing their assignments.

Complete your demo reel

The program is specifically structured so that each class builds on the one before. Each assignment gets more complex and creative as students master more difficult skills. These assignments are then used as the basis for creating the students demo reel that they can use as their resume to land their first job when they complete the program. Mentors work closely with students to help them find their creative voice and develop work that expresses their unique strengths and creativity.

Learn from home

Our online campus gives you all the interactivity and social networking of a "bricks and mortar" campus without ever having to leave the comfort of your home. Whether you live in Iceland, Texas, or France, you can still learn from top animators working at leading studios in the U.S. without having to relocate. Another benefit of not having to attend lectures at a specific physical address is that if you have to miss one for any reason, you can download and view the lecture as many times as you want. You can watch it until the concepts really sink in and not have to worry about missing anything. In addition, at most universities, large class sizes mean you may rarely, if ever, get individual critiques and instruction on your assignments as most professors use examples to teach to the entire class. At AnimationMentor.com, each and every student gets individual attention and feedback each and every week.

In addition, our online campus offers tons of interactivity, networking and socializing opportunities. You'll be able to "cruise the campus" to view other students' work and comment on it. You'll be able to post your own work and solicit feedback and advice from your peers. Peer buddies and mentors are available for consultation. And you'll be making life-long friends with the other people in your class. In addition, you'll find a resource-filled library, tutoring opportunities, and regular guest lectures from some of the leading talents in the animation industry.

Get results

When our graduates leave our program, they are ready to go to work. They have built a solid network of connections with their mentors and fellow students. In addition, our annual Career Fair and lectures from recruiters and hiring agencies have prepared them for how to market themselves. Lastly, our Career Services department actively works to develop new relationships with studios and companies worldwide to help open doors for our alumni.

Some of the places our graduates work include: