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theTam · Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 4:39 am Post subject: Animation at CalArts

There may have been another thread about this before, but I was wondering if we could bring this topic up again about how animation is taught at CalArts.
I remember reading in previous posts about how CalArts doesn't really teach you how to animate.
Can someone explain how animation is taught within the character animation program?
I'm not sure I understand... :/
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Kevin · Joined: 14 Dec 2008 Posts: 830 Location: Vancouver

obviously im not a student there but ive heard some stuff on this matter so ill weigh in.

from what I've heard, 1st year is really big on expressive animation, acting, timing and such and during 2nd and 3rd years they focus more on tightening up your animation by teaching you to draw on model and with more solidity. this is just what ive heard though and its probably not fully right. it also depends on the teacher im sure.

i know that you get assigned mentors though and you can go to them for help and such. but they just started counting your film for course credit this year and i remember hearing that the mentor systems changed a bit to accomodate that.

i kno thats vague but thats wut ive heard on it and it seems that ppl benefit a lot by coming in right off the bat with strong technical skills .

cuttlefish · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 956 Location: Santa Clarita

I also heard what Kevin said.

AmourFonce · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 392

Kevin is pretty spot on

I will say you really need to try to learn before you get here because the first nd even second year will not teach you.
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RJM · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 34

Can you expand on what you're saying ArmourFonce? If not animation, what do they teach you?

AmourFonce · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 392

Well see me, I've been trying to get into cal arts since I was in the 5th grade. I was told drawing realism would get me into cal arts. So I focused ONLY on that, and not animation. I didn't even touch animation til after I got in and took a summer course which really didn't help that much.

Going to cal arts and knowing nothing bout animation will prove to be frustrating. People will be taling abotu things you dont understand. The first year is VERY non-technical. You watch nature videos and you talk about the "spirit" of the animation. Which is great but the teacher dosesn't really tell you anything about anything technical.

Second year, if you guys still get Sue, youll be fine. She's great.

BUT OVERALL. animate animate animate before you get here. You'll have such an easier time just relating to your peers that way.
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RJM · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 34

I'm having difficulty understanding what you're trying to say. At first you say that going to CalArts without any knowledge of animation will make it difficult to understand the instructors. Then you say the first year is "non-technical", and that you discuss the empirical value of animation. Could you be a bit clearer? What do you learn in Animation 1 class?

AmourFonce · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 392

Think of it this way

One of the assingments is to animate a fish swimming

Now, if you haven't animated, you're going to have more trouble actually animating than you are thinking about how a fish swims. If you know how to animate, you can focus on how it swims. But i you dont, you'll focus on how ot animate.

First year you get prompts. Animate this. Animate that. You don't get technical based assigments. It's just animate this animate that.

I felt like I didn't learn a THING first year.
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RJM · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 34

Can you elaborate on what you mean by technical based assignments?

cuttlefish · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 956 Location: Santa Clarita

I think he means stuff like bouncing balls and rotating objects.

RJM · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 34

But wouldn't assignments like animating a fish swimming include basic technical skills such as timing and turning?

Kevin · Joined: 14 Dec 2008 Posts: 830 Location: Vancouver

By technical animation skills I'm pretty sure he means things like solidity and the basic principles of animation. It's not hard to move things around on paper but to do it well takes someone to hold your hand through it. Animating a fish without much guidance isn't the best way to learn. Why do you think it took YEARS for animators to establish what are the 'basic principles' nowadays. They're hard to discover on your own.

RJM · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 34

Yeah, that seems to make sense.