Adrian Lim:
Watching cartoons was my favorite form of entertainment when I was growing up. I was always attracted by the rich colors and the fantastic characters who could make me laugh and cry. I especially loved the Disney movies for their characters and the comic book superheroes on TV for the action.

I was mesmerized by how these characters could move on screen and they were not even real! However, because of the environment I grew up in and the fact that the animation industry in Singapore was non-existent at the time, I never really took the idea of making a career out of animation seriously. Some years later, after I'd completed a degree in Industrial Design, I took a 1 year course in animation when I was in Australia and was hooked on it. I'd seen TOY STORY which had come out sometime before that and my Industrial Design course had also introduced me to (very basic) object animation and 3D graphics. I found the process of making animation - of giving life to characters with your personal touch - even more fun than watching it. The possibilities of entertaining an audience are endless. It’s very satisfying to have a hobby as a job.

Adrian Lim:
Animation Mentor has been an amazing experience.

I remember being overwhelmed by the endless avenues of animation, 3D imagery, multimedia for the internet and all that when I was first introduced to the world of 3D animation. It took me some time to digest the different aspects of everything connected to animation production. It is so easy to get side-tracked in 3D and I eventually found that whilst I was getting better technically, I wasn’t improving my animation skills fast enough. Animation Mentor is perfect for me because it focuses on in-depth character animation which is exactly my goal. Everything it teaches right from the basics is all geared towards creating better character animation.

It is so inspiring and motivating to feel the buzz of energy within the school - an online one at that. And where else can you have top class animators mentoring your work frame by frame??!!

Adrian Lim:
I guess it'd have to be to always accept criticism of your work however good you think it is - and the willingness to try making those changes even if you think it's “already perfect.” There have been countless times, even in the simplest assignments, when I was so sure that nothing else could have been done to make them better. I could not have been more wrong! My mentors and classmates made positive suggestions that I had not thought of which ultimately made the result so much better. So always seek criticism. It can always be better.

Adrian Lim:
I would love to work on an animated movie with a solid story and appealing, memorable characters. I know that sounds very clichéd, especially amongst aspiring animators but it would be so great to bring a character to life for the whole world to see. Ultimately, I would like to supervise animation for a character in a movie.

Adrian Lim:
I have quite a few, and the top favorite changes from time to time. The one that has stuck for awhile and has been motivating me with its style most recently is the Scrat opening sequence of the first Ice Age movie.

Another one is Edna talking to Helen after coming down the stairs before entering her lab in The Incredibles. The character animation and facials on Edna is so spot-on it's so funny. Such attitude!