We get asked all the time, “what will I come out of Animation Fundamentals knowing how to do?” And, of course, we could give you the fine-tuned answer we’ve crafted over the years. But we strongly believe in showing not just telling. The best place to see the result of our programs is in Animation Mentor student work. For that reason – we brought student, William Eckbo Avgerinos to the drop by the blog to share his work and experience in Animation Fundamentals.

STUDENT WORK

Class 01:

William: Class 1 was very instructive, and probably one of the most important classes for me. I had heard about the principles of animation before starting Animation Mentor, but I never really quite understood principles like timing/spacing and overlap/follow through, and the difference between them. This class gave me a strong understanding of all the animation principles, which has helped me a lot later on.

Class 02:

William: The coolest thing about class 2 was that we got to apply the principles we learned in class 1 into a full body character. By using principles like squash and stretch and overlap I learned how to give a character weight, which is necessary for creating a believable performance. It was also a lot of fun to play around with different attitudes for the characters in each assignment.

Class 03:

William: Class 3 was challenging, but so much fun. As the exercises became more complex, I learned the importance of having a solid workflow. I realized that without it, things started to get really messy and overwhelming. One of the key things I picked up from this class was to pay a lot attention to the hip/root of the character. When I got that right, I could systematically work my way through the rest of the character.

Class 04:

William: Class 4 was the class I and probably every other student at Animation Mentor, had been waiting for. I learned a lot by watching the video reference of other students and it was fun to see what kind of acting choices my fellow students came up with for their character. I also realized that you can’t be afraid of making a fool out of yourself in front of the camera when making references. A great tip I got from my mentor in class 4 was how important the eyes of a character are when trying to sell a thought process. I also really enjoyed working with lip-sync.

COMMUNITY

William: It has been great to be part of a community where you have so many talented people all gathered at one place. Being an online student do takes a lot of self discipline, but as long as you got the passion for what you do it is possible. The Animation Mentor community keeps me motivated because of all the students who share the same passion, and are there to help each other out. I am really happy to have enrolled in the Animation Mentor program and for all the people I’ve gotten to know through it.

MENTORS

William: I couldn’t be happier about my mentors. They have taught me so much, and they have all made me push my work in ways I didn’t thought was possible. During the whole program they have kept me motivated and I always feel that my mentor really want me to succeed with my assignment.

ADVICE

William: My biggest issue when I started out was that I got too emotionally attached to my work and I was afraid of making changes.

My advice is to be open to making changes and to try new things. During Animation Mentor I learned that you should always ask for a lot of feedback, not only when you are stuck, but also when you are satisfied. This is the way to become better!

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See more of William’s work on Vimeo.

To push yourself and become the animator you are ready to be, apply today. You’ll get access to a 3-year Autodesk Maya license, the Animation Mentor community of over 5,000 alumni, and a diverse list of industry professionals as mentors who are ready to guide you.