Fri, September 4, 2009
Back to School—5:06 PM
No, I will not be wooing Sally Kellerman or performing a triple lindy off the high dive. (This is actually something much more exciting, if you can imagine such a thing!) After three and a half years "teaching myself" computer animation, I've decided to let the professionals have a crack at it. I have been accepted into the fall term at Animation Mentor, the world's premier online animation school, where I'll be learning from the best of the best – mentors from Pixar, DreamWorks, Industrial Light & Magic, and everywhere.
The school was founded four years ago by three working animators (two Pixar guys and an ILMer), and offers direct learning from the masters, with one-on-one critiques of students' work each week, and tons of great resources. Plus, their career counselors and industry contacts have so far placed 78% of graduates in new jobs as animators. With class sizes of 10-12 students, I only have to outshine two or three people to be guaranteed my dream job! (I've outshone at least a half dozen people in my life so far – what's two or three more?)
Needless to say, I am endlessly excited about this. Ever since I decided a few years ago that I should become an animator, I've believed in my abilities and talents – but a lot of that time, believing is about all I've been doing. Now, I'll have some deadlines, feedback, and milestones for success. (Not to mention: mentors!) Classes start at the end of the month, and I'll be posting progress reports and sample animation as often as I can. (Updates will show up on the onebee home page, but you can also bookmark onebee.com/animation if you'd rather follow just the animation posts and ignore all the whining about reality TV and Jay Leno.)
Thanks to everyone for your support. (Especially Mom, Dad, and MaryBeth!) (But really all of you!) I can't wait to show you what I can do.
"Mike" — Tue, 9/8/09 2:46pm
Wooooo! Also, please make an animated me for your final project, the project that shows your crusty ol Dean a thing or two about life and a thing or two about love.