Creatures in Motion

Animation Mentor launches new Animals & Creatures: Master Class program

By Dustin Driver

Creatures abound in cinema. They run, crawl, leap, flutter, and smash across the silver screen, perfectly rendered by skilled 3D animators. But those artists weren't born with an innate ability to bring lifelike movement to animals and creatures. They learned the hard way, through careful study and lots of trial and error.

"You really learn how to animate creatures on your own," says Jim Brown, animation supervisor at Tippett Studio, a leading creature shop that has crafted creatures for films with other studios ranging from Robocop to Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore to The Twilight Saga: New Moon for more than 25 years. "You look at reference material and you match your animation to that. It's how a lot of us learned, and it's not easy or fast."

Brown wants to change that. That's why he helped Animation Mentor with its new 24-week Animals & Creatures: Master Class program for animators. "There are a lot of little tips and tricks that I've learned over the years that can help animators getting into the field," he says. "If I can pass on that knowledge, animation in general will be better for it."

Animals & Creatures: Master Class is an advanced course on animating quadrupeds, flying animals and fantasy creatures in a realistic animation style. The curriculum is grounded in sound principles of animation theory and workflow principles, equipping students to work anywhere and grow with the technology, not just learn software. Students get workflow tips and tricks, industry best practices and production stories to help them with animal and creature animation.

"The idea of animating a four-legged creature can be daunting for new animators, but animating a four-legged dragon that has a neck and wings and a tail and breathes fire can be overwhelming," says Animation Mentor cofounder Shawn Kelly. As a senior animator at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Kelly has animated many animals and creatures with credits that include Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Rango and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But like Brown, he learned quadruped motion by trial and error and by working with other animators. "When I started at ILM 13 years ago, there really wasn't anything like Animation Mentor, and there was no way to learn about animating creatures except for working on the job. When I cofounded Animation Mentor, I dreamed of adding a creatures animation program based on what I learned at ILM and what other animators learned in their studios. Now that dream is a reality."

To create the Animals & Creatures: Master Class, Kelly and Animation Mentor cofounder and CEO Bobby Beck asked major creature shops across the country, including ILM, Tippett Studio, Sony Picture Imageworks and Weta Digital, what they look for in new hires. Then they spoke with animators in the film, video and game industries to craft a curriculum that would give Animation Mentor graduates and animators a leg up on the competition.

The course includes the basic techniques of quadruped locomotion, as well as working with match-move plates to place 3D creatures in film footage.

"The key to animating a quadruped is weight," says Brown. "Four-legged animals carry weight differently than bipedal subjects, and different animals carry weight differently as well. We'll try to give students a sense of how to look at and work with weight in animals."

The program covers basic locomotion for familiar animals like cats and dogs, then focuses on how to observe and recreate the motion of other animals. "I study a lot of anatomy and look at a lot of reference material," says Brown. "We recently did the wolves for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. I had a poster of a wolf skeleton and photos of wolves everywhere. I watched wolves on YouTube, on TV, anywhere I could. A wolf moves differently than a dog, and being able to see those differences is key to creating believable movement."

The program fills a gap in training for Animation Mentor graduates and animators who want to get into creature animation, says Kelly. Other contributors of the program say that the program fulfills a need in animation education,

"I am really excited about this amazing new course," said Jean-Denis Haas, Animation Mentor Campus Mentor and ILM senior animator. "Animation Mentor is doing a great job of providing what animators really need to grow while keeping it fun and useful in the real world."

"Animals & Creatures: Master Class is a super exciting offering for us and one that will help our students and other animators grow," said Beck. "The most rewarding part about this new program is seeing animators learn this style of animation that has never been taught before."

Recent Animation Mentor graduate Daniel Harman is excited about the program and looks forward to learning about animal locomotion. "At Animation Mentor, I learned how to move a human, to make a biped perform and do anything I want. But I didn't learn how to move anything with four legs," he says. "There's a strong need for people who can animate animals and creatures effectively. Studios, visual effects houses, video game companies all need skilled creature animators. Having that training will open up more opportunities and ultimately lead to a better career."

Animation Mentor graduate Miurika Valery agrees. "I've never had the chance to animate animals or creatures," she says. "This is an excellent opportunity to make my reel shine, to be different and to explore new styles of animation. It'll make me more flexible as an animator and help me in my career tremendously."

For Kelly, the animals and creatures program is the realization of a long-time aspiration. "I have a personal passion for animating creatures and it's exciting for me to see the school exploring the type of work I do," he says. "It's something that we've been working on for a very long time I'm very proud of this program."

Enrollment for the Animals & Creatures: Master Class began January 11, 2011, for alumni of Animation Mentor's Character Animation program. The first class begins March 28, 2011 and will be taught over two 12-week classes. The program will begin accepting new applications from professional animators and non-alumni on April 11, 2011. For more information visit www.animationmentor.com.

Dustin Driver is a freelance writer who resides in Bend, Oregon.