My Journey in Choosing an Animation Program
I had taken some animation courses and learned many things except how to animate a character with a personality so people believe that it's a real character with real emotions and not just a 3D character. I always learned more about the software because most of the teachers I had were not professional animators. I taught myself many things about animation by reading books and studying movements frame by frame from life action movies and animation movies.

The first time I heard about Animation Mentor was when I was doing my master's degree in animation. The fact that you can learn from professional animators who work on all these big productions was a big reason I wanted to attend the school. I could not afford it at that time so subscribed to the monthly newsletter and followed the school that way. When a friend of mine started the animation courses, it made me want to do the courses even more. So I worked and saved some money and here I am finally a student of Animation Mentor!

What I've Learned in My Animation Classes
While I have some experience, I learned many new things in Class 1. I really liked the exercise of posing the Stu character. It was something I never thought of and it made me think about the emotion a character has when he is in a certain pose. It was also a great exercise because you had to work on the body and had to express a pose without using facials. I really learned how to push my poses!

Another thing I learned is to plan your shot really well before you start animating. But I still have to learn and find a good workflow. I try to work on my assignments as early in the week as possible so I can post them and receive feedback.

What It's Like to Attend an Online Animation School
I love the way Animation Mentor teaches! It's unique that I can take animation courses without moving to the U.S. The animation courses are open to everybody on the planet and it makes this the best learning experience in animation you can have in the world.

I get feedback from mentors who are still working in the animation industry – this is the only animation school that does that. We can contact our mentors by email and ask questions. They are always very helpful and every week we get a personal eCritique® about our work and our progress. Because it's a video critique, it's possible to watch it a few times.

It's also great that even if you are from the other side of the world like I am, you still have opportunities to meet the people from Animation Mentor in real life at the BBQ and other events.

Learning from Professional Animators
You have a deadline every week that you have to combine with work so it can be really hard. You need to be very dedicated to finish everything on time. Also, you really want to do the best you can when you show your work to your mentor. Because they are working as professional animators, you don't want to show things you aren't happy with.

I also try to do the exercises and put in some personal things and try to tell a story even when it's simple exercises. It's not easy to find a funny or interesting idea every week and that makes it challenging!

My Favorite Superhero
It's Po from Kung Fu Panda! I love him! He is so adorable and he never quits no matter what he is facing to realize his dream. No one believed in him because he did not have the looks for a Kung Fu hero. But he kept believing in himself no matter what others told him. He has a lot of courage and as most important a great heart! He is my hero!

My Most Proud Animation Moment
This was when I just finished my presentation at Cartoon Forum presenting the concept for the children series Uki. I developed this concept during two years, and when I finished my presentation, all the important TV channel people where very enthusiastic about the concept and the looks of the characters. That moment was a real moment of happiness and pride! And I am sure when I will finish Animation Mentor I will have this moment of pride again!

A Typical Day
I am also working as a freelancer and mostly start at 9 in the morning. When I take a break, I surf on the Animation Mentor website and give people feedback on their work and answer emails. Then I continue working on my freelance job until around 4 p.m. Then I start working on my Animation Mentor assignments until my boyfriend comes home from work around 8 in the evening. During the weekends, I spend Saturday on my assignment, and on Sunday I try to take a day off to spend with my boyfriend and my horse.