Aaron Blaise - Complete Animation Course ($)

[Rodney]

We live in a wonderful time where we have access to great information about the process of animation.

 

I'm not trying to sell you anything but.. if you've got a spare $50 laying around... do yourself a favor and buy this.

At regular price of $129 this'd still be a good deal but at $49... the only reason not to buy is if you've got a dial-up internet phone connection.

 

 

Aaron Blaise is someone I've posted links to before (see his 'Aaron's Art Tips) and he's recently released a 'complete course' in animation.

He takes his experience as a Disney animator and outlines the principles of animation and walks through the process step by step.

 

I've just now purchased this and started watching the gigabytes of videos in the course (high quality I might add).

 

We live in a wonderful time where we have access to great information about the process of animation.

 

If you've got a lot of tutorials on animation already some of the lessons will be familiar but the approach (hand drawn animation) is something that computer animators need.

 

Included in the course:

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Fundamentals of Animation Course

In this comprehensive course, master animator Aaron Blaise ("The Lion King", "Brother Bear", "Mulan") takes you through the key principles of animation. This course covers the "12 Principles of Animation" as originally pioneered by the original "9 Old Men" who worked directly under Walt Disney. This course includes 13 HD Video Tutorials covering:

• Squash & Stretch
• Timing
• Solid Drawing
• Anticipation
• Follow Through + Overlapping Action
• Arcs
• "Slow Ins" & "Slow Outs"
• Straight Ahead Animation
• Pose to Pose Animation
• Secondary Action
• Staging
• Exaggeration
• Appeal
• PLUS A full lesson on Biped (Two Legged) Walk cycle animation
• PLUS A full tutorial on Bipedal Run animation

Whether you are a traditional animator or work in computer animation this course is for you! We know you'll learn something new!

Animation "Scene Approach" Course

In this comprehensive course, animator and director Aaron Blaise ("The Lion King", "Aladdin", "Beauty and the Beast") takes you through his approach to animating a scene. Watch as Aaron creates new original animation right in front of you and explains his process for tackling an animated scene. You'll get6 HD Tutorial Videos and learn from his insights on:

• Scene Approach
• Thumbnailing & Sketching
• Character Design
• Pose Tests
• Animating Dialogue
• Mouth Shapes
• How the "Fundamentals of Animation" apply to an actual scene
• Breakdowns, In-betweens and Arcs
• A Complete Animation Demonstration

This is a truly unique and original opportunity to learn from a great animator as he teaches you the techniques that were directly passed to him by master Disney animators. We hope you enjoy it. Whether you are a traditional animator or work in CGI we know you'll learn something new!

 

Bonus & Supplemental Lessons

As a BONUS for purchasing the Complete Animation Course we have included a variety of bonus and supplemental files. ENJOY!

List of Bonus Files:

• Baseball Pitch Animation VIDEO
• Baseball Throw “Physics of Animation” PDF Handout
• Bear Expression Drawings
• Bear Animation JPEGS (For you to print out and “flip” if you wish to)
• Bouncing Ball JPEGS
• Mouth Shapes Jpegs - Breaking down several key sound/mouth shapes to help you
• Squash and Stretch PDF Handout
• Animation "Glossary" & FAQ Access
• TV Paint Source Files:
  • Bounching Ball
  • Character Squash and Stretch
  • “Breakdowns, In-betweens and Arcs” Demo
  • Bear Animation - Fully In-betweened
  • Baseball Throw/Pitch

NOTE: This bonus material is NOT available for individual purchase and may only be acquired with the "COMPLETE ANIMATION COURSE"

 

 

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The price is said to return to $129 tomorrow.

 

You can find out more here:

 

https://creatureartteacher.com/product/complete-animation-course/

[Rodney]

No spare cash or just not in the mood to buy stuff?

Don't dispair! Aaron has lots of free tutorials online as well.

 

Here's a recent one of him exploring TV Paint (but the lessons apply to stopmotion and digital animation in A:M too):

 

Dialog animation 'Stop it!'

[robcat2075]

I'm not familiar with him but for $50... how could you go wrong?

Probably more info than you'd get from a masterclass that would cost much more to go to.

[Dpendleton77]

Oh boy just when I am trying to save for a 3D printer.

[Dpendleton77]

I missed it because my dang computer went nuts on me.

[Rodney]

I missed it because my dang computer went nuts on me.

 

 

Yeah, I see he's raised it to $79 for today. Says it'll rise again (toward the full price of $129 I assume) tomorrow.... maybe $99 tomorrow?

 

Those that don't get access to resources like this often still benefit though... through osmosis.

There have been a lot of shared resources over the years and we (collectively) gain knowledge from those.

 

Aside: Quite awhile back I was postulating about an A:M Foundation of sorts.

This is somewhat what I'm talking about in that esteemed body could release grants and such that would 'gift' resources like these to talented folks in the community like yourself. It's a tall order and no small matter to run such a foundation but one could dream of a day where a majority of (mostly financial) obstacles to learning animation are removed. Money is an important thing... I don't want to downplay it... and it's got its proper place in the exchange of goods and services. But the idea is for the entire community to benefit from limited resources. One of those 'take a weakness and turn it into a strength' approaches.

 

Now as to computers going nuts and not letting folks in on deals that should not be missed...

I see that as a sign the deal was worth passing up at that moment.

Not all good things are expedient nor fit for every purpose.

 

No hard sells from me folks.

There are lots of resources out there!

[Dpendleton77]

True indeed.

[Rodney]

Rather than start a new topic I'll add to this one...

 

Aaron Blaise isn't standing around and letting his skills atrophy. He's already got another set of videos out.

This time he is focusing on large cats; lions, tigers, cheetahs cougars etc.

 

While this series s primarily one for drawing and anatomy, I believe the benefit to this series for all animators will be Aaron's insight into how anatomy makes animated movement possible.

Think of it in roughly the same way as you viewed that 'Model a giraffe' tutorial in the TaoA:M manual. You said, "Heck, I don' wanna model no giraffe!' and yet those who take on that challenge inevitably gain experience in the process of modeling that giraffe. Similarly, studying with Aaron whose experience includes animating on Disney's 'Lion King' is going to be beneficial for those that want to thoroughly explore animation.

 

The going rate appears to be $35 (reg. $75) and includes the following:

 

How to Draw Animals Course – Big Cats

 

In this comprehensive 11+ Hour video course, animator, director and wildlife artist Aaron Blaise (“The Lion King”, “Aladdin”, “Beauty and the Beast”) takes you through the fundamentals of drawing, illustrating and painting the top predators of the animal kingdom. Watch as Aaron creates new original images right in front of you and explains his process for drawing these awesome creature. You’ll get 12 HD Tutorial Videos covering:

• Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Cheetahs, Cougars & more.
• Skulls, Skeletons and bone structure
• Muscles & Anatomy
• Proportions & scale
• Hair & Fur
• Drawing & Painting Tips & Techniques
• Animal Locomotion and movement.
• PLUS you’ll also get a HUGE bundle of bonus material including:
  • Original wildlife reference photography shot by Aaron and yours to use in your reference library.
  • Original animation of Tiger & Cougar run cycles with frame by frame breakdowns.
  • High-Res Copies of every image that Aaron creates in the videos.
  • Layered Photoshop files so you can delve deep into his process

 

*emphasis on areas specifically focusing on animation added

 

I've enjoyed Aaron's past offerings and will very likely grab this one as well. (serious car repairs have me strapped so I may have to pass for now!)

For those with the extra cash to spare it may be worth a look so check it out at:

 

https://creatureartteacher.com/product/how-to-draw-animals-course-big-cats/

 

Note that the site says: sale ends soon.

[fae_alba]

I just ponied up for the Animation Scene Approach tuts. We'll see if my trend of learning new tricks continues!