The Home Stretch!

I'm almost finished with Class 1! Today is the start of Week 10 out of 12, I can't believe it! This week and next week's assignment is focusing on a character walk, I'm excited! I'm planning to do a ZOMBIE walk, and I'm going out on a mission today to locate Shawn of the Dead for reference material. :)

SCHOOL SO FAR

Awesome! I'm still so thrilled to be in AM, it's an AMAZING place to be. The resources there are incredible. The school is founded and taught by animators, so you are learning things about 3D animation that are being applied to movies in theaters today, and movies you've been hearing about and can't wait to see! To have that reference is mind blowing, to learn about Squash and Stretch, and have your mentor use "Open Season" as an example, as in, "In this shot of Boog I animated..." Which really leads into...

MENTORS

Mentors are current animators, and a lot of them are in production on films, which means they are already working 6 days a week, for long hours! Question and Answer Sessions are scheduled based on their availability, usually at night. This does NOT mean they don't give 100%, or that their availability limits your learning in ANY way. When you turn in your work on Sunday, you get a thorough critique by Wednesday morning.

My mentor Nicole Herr works for Sony Imageworks, most recently on "I Am Legend,"
and previously "Open Season." She has a looong and varied list of credits! I was intimidated to be taught by someone in my first class with so much experience, but she's a really comfortable and like-able person. I really admire how professional and honest she is, and her enthusiasm is contagious! Her critiques are helpful and encouraging, and her grading is always fair.

The other Class 1 mentors are great too! AM lets you look at every student's critiques, so I like to check out other mentors' critiques too. They're full of good information, and it's cool to see the other mentors, see where they do their critiques from, and get a sense of their personality.

Aside from your class mentor, there are other CAMPUS MENTORS. They're working animators too, and they give great advice on shots while they're in progress. If you ever need advice, you can drop by the forum and post a request, and a mentor will comment on your shot within 24 hours. This is just the beginning of...

THE COMMUNITY

Something new to AM is their PEER BUDDY program. Peer buddies are at least 1 class ahead of you, and each Peer Buddy has a group of students whose work he or she keeps an eye on. If you post something for review, your Peer Buddy gives suggestions, and you can ask for their help if you run into trouble.

Yesterday I sent an AMIM to my Peer Buddy Chris, and when I told him I had a cold and so everything was more difficult, his first response was, "Oh no! How can I help?" I asked him a question about our Stu rig, and he jumped right into Maya and started offering suggestions. :) That reminds me, one thing worth mentioning about AM is...

THE DEADLINE

Sunday at noon PST. No bull. No doctor's note. No vacation. No technical problems. No. Just turn your work in. On time, every week. Or get a late penalty on the WHOLE week's work.

Does this scare you? Maybe it should. :) No, it's not that bad. What it really means is, don't fall behind. You won't get feedback, everyone will see that you don't turn your work in, and it doesn't look good. Your learning is affected, and your mentor is inconvenienced at having to a separate critique. Deadlines exist in studios, and they exist at AM.

If you get sick and fall too far behind, or an emergency arises, you can take a Leave of Absence. This isn't the end of the world, as classes are only 12 weeks, and you won't have to pay the whole cost again if you have a valid excuse.

Animating while you're sick is no fun, I had my first experience with it this week. I ended up with more of a floppy walk than a vanilla walk! :) Buuut... who's to say my walk wouldn't have been floppy if I was feeling perfect? This animation thing is TOUGH! I keep saying it, and it keeps being true.