Ask me anything
Recent Responses
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VFX is an abbreviation for "Visual Effects."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_effects -
Awesome! Shoot me an email at work, and introduce yourself. Would love to talk with you more!
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It depends on my diet. One time it was glowing green, but I think that may have just been a dream. I remember thinking, "WOW! I could make a ton of glow-in-the-dark watches out of this stuff!"
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You really can't go wrong with either, Sandeep! Animation Mentor was a fantastic experience, and I would say it was worth every penny I paid to attend. iAnimate has also been a great experience, and would be well worth your money as well.
I will say that Animation Mentor has a better overall infrastructure, simply because they have been around longer, but iAnimate is catching up with each quarter.
You'll have a blast at either one, and it all comes down to the amount of work you're willing to put in while attending.
Good luck! -
Hi Adam!
I've been asked this a few times, and I answer by simply saying you won't be let down by attending either school.
Both schools have fantastic curriculums, and a staff of some of the best animators in the world. The other amazing thing is that Bobby Beck (head of AM) and Jason Ryan (head of iAnimate) both care a great deal about their students and while attending either of the schools you never feel like you're just another tuition check. I've had Bobby sit down with me (via webcam) and go over my portfolio frame by frame. On the flipside, at iA, Jason takes the time to comment on each and every video that is posted, providing key feedback along the way.
I graduated from a "mill" art school some years back, and it was no fun. I poured a ton of effort in, and walked out with a portfolio that probably couldn't have landed me a job at Burger King. With AM and iA you don't have to worry about that at all, and if you're willing to put in the time, you the tools are provided by both schools to make you a great Animator.
Hope that helps, and good luck! -
You can, but I wouldn't. It's always best to hunt out your own dialogue, especially if you're going to be submitting your reel for job placement, because Recruiters are always looking for fresh things and not something they may have heard before.
I used to take part in The 11 Second Club, and while I still find it to be fantastic exercise (and site), I would probably shy away from having those pieces on your reel, because they are going to be the most common sound files that Recruiters hear.
Instead, go find a film you really like and take some audio from it. It's super easy to use a program like Audacity (free) to capture audio from a DVD, and then you can feel confident that the clip is most likely going to be unique and fresh to the person reviewing your reel. Plus you won't run as much of a risk of someone having already animated that same chunk of dialogue better than you have! ;)
Good luck! -
I'm sorry, but I'm not a Rigger. The Rigs I use are from Animation Mentor and/or iAnimate respectively, and I can't share those out. I'd suggest hitting up a site like creativecrash.net for Rigs, as they've got some really nice (and free) ones.
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Well I'm sorry you ever saw that debate at all. ;) As mentioned, that was 4 years ago, and I guess I was roughly 12 years old back then. Reading back through it, I wished time travel was a reality, so that I could travel back to five minutes before I had the debate and smash my own keyboard over my head to prevent it from ever taking place.
In any case, you might want to hit up the thread again. Believe it or not Mike and I are good friends (we even were back then), and he couldn't resist replying to your comment.
He's harmless (and a dumbhead). -
Oh yeah... Animation Mentor, or "The Ment" as I like to call it, rocks! You don't need to be able to model characters at all, but having experience with a 3D package, such as Maya or Max, will help a great deal. Doesn't mean you must know a package before entering the school, but they also don't teach you about the packages directly there either. Lots of people attend without Maya knowledge, and they do just fine.
As for whether it is worth the money or not, that's totally up to you. I will say that, before attending The Ment, I had one animation under my belt that was laughable at best, and I walked out with a job at Microsoft Game Studios as an Animator/Artist. So for me it 100% worth it! ;)
My advice is to watch all of the videos on the AM website, including the student reel, and then decide if it seems like something you'd be up for. It's a TON of hard work, but can be totally rewarding if you really dedicate yourself to the craft.
Best of luck! -
Why yes I did, person who wasn't me! (Just testing it to make sure this sucker works!)
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I'd rather be a great Artist. I think all 3 can leave lasting impressions on society, but athletes have to keep themselves in great shape and musicians have to ride in stinky tour buses. So for me... art.
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Oh that's easy... "101 Dalmatians." No matter how many times I watch that movie, I just can't help but cheer for Cruella De Vil!
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I have, and I was shocked (as I'm sure many are) to find that not only do they not clean well, but they also leave your skin a bit dry. For my bath needs these days, I actually prefer using a combination of ground up elephant tusks with just a few drops of baby seal urine mixed in. I then apply it to my skin using fresh puppy ears.
Please note: The puppy ears MUST be fresh, otherwise it can result in mild chafing. -
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I actually don't remember dreaming at all last night. Must have been the muscle relaxers.
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The day I joined Formsping.
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Yeah... like I'm going to answer this and then have either pirates or ninjas pissed off at me for not choosing them.
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Yes, because I've been to Aneheim, which is also the same reason I believe in Ducks.
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Dave Johnson’s Bio
Washington State
I am a professional Animator, Storyboard Artist, and Illustrator, employed with Microsoft Games Studios in Redmond, WA. I'm also a bit of a moron.
