When Bobby Beck, Shawn Kelly, and Carlos Baena founded Animation Mentor back in 2005, they were inspired by the question, “If we were to start over again, how would we want to learn?” They realized the importance of mentorship in learning the art and craft of animation. From their own experiences learning the ropes from the veterans of the industry, they founded the school with curriculum focused on feedback from mentors. Today, Animation Mentor hosts industry professionals from all over the world as teachers for all levels of animation. We recently analyzed the credentials of the 13 mentors teaching Animation Basics (Class 1 in our Classic Animation Track) this Fall and were blown away by the caliber of our teaching staff.

Here’s what we found out:

Our Mentors Have An Amazingly Diverse Roster of Credits

The average Class 1 mentors has worked on 12 films, two video games, and two TV programs. Having worked on films like Monsters University and the Transformers franchise, video games like Star Wars: Rebel Assault, and TV programs like Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, they have the experience to mentor you on a wide variety of projects. If your passion is video games, you should check out Dave Vallone – he’s above average with 8 video games to his credit!

Longevity In The Industry

With an average of 14 years of professional animation experience, our mentors are more than qualified to teach you the fundamental animation skills you need to get started. In Animation Basics, your mentor will draw on their years of experience in the industry to give you the feedback you need to grow your animation skills from a simple bouncing ball to a full walk cycle in just 12 short weeks.

Variety Of Studio Experiences

Part of being successful in the animation industry is your ability to adapt and work well in a studio pipeline. Every studio works differently and will have different expectations of you as an animator. Our Animation Basics mentors have worked in several studios, with the average mentor checking in at 4 studios over the course of their career thus far. They’ve worked at a range of studios, from the ones we’ve all heard of, to small, creative shops producing awesome games, TV shows, commercials and more. Take Anthony Wong and Steve Cady as examples. Anthony Wong is a long-time mentor for Animation Basics and has been at Pixar Animation Studios since 2006. Steve Cady is also a long-time mentor for Animation Basics, but has a roster of 14 studios on his portfolio, including his current position at Hybride in Canada. He recently told us that what he is working on now is top-secret, but last year he worked on Pacific Rim, Smurfs 2, and White House Down.

Follow Your Dream And Learn From The Pros

Students at Animation Mentor develop a one-to-one relationship with these experienced professionals, allowing Bobby, Shawn, and Carlos’ vision for teaching animation through mentorship to come to life every day. Can’t wait to get started learning with your mentor in Animation Basics? Apply today!