Calling All Front Row Seaters!

It's now been almost a month since the last time I wrote in this blog. (Sorry.) But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. It's actually been QUITE the opposite. I knew that using Maya would inevitably be a huge learning curve for me.. but WHOA. About a month and a half ago I had not even cracked open the Maya program. (let alone been able to load it onto my computer..ha.. but that's a different story for a different time.) I was a 2D person trying to adjust living in a 3D world. Not an easy task. Though since then, I've had weekly assignments challenging me to exaggerate and push myself in animation. (Granted, we've been working on bouncing balls the entire time, but as far as learning the basics goes, you can and will learn ALL of that with a small little sphere.)

Also, the way Animation Mentor is set up is a VERY front row seater kind of class. Let me explain. I've taken art classes before and so I'm used to showing my artwork to the class. Now, this online program isn't the "normal" class (because only 4 of 15 students are actually from the US and we've never actually "seen" each other in person.. just through webcams) But I applaud the way that this program is set up! ALL students in ALL classes can see ALL of your work. VERY humbling. You can't sit in the back row and hide anything from anyone. haha.. a frightening thought at first, but now I've realized that's the best part of AM. Students will see your first sketches and finished animations as well as the critiques from your mentor. And as I've come to find out those crits are not only helpful to the one being critiqued but also to anyone else checking it out. This website is like a FOUNTAIN of knowledge and I feel like a little kid in a candy store! haha..

It's an exciting time over here, let me tell you.

So let me catch you up to where I am right now. I left you in week 2 with STU in a somewhat cheesed pose. ha.

week 3: I received a ball to make bounce. simple? haha.. oh, and posed STU in "excitement"
week 4: to animate TWO bouncing balls of different weights
week 5: use squash/stretch to animate a ball bouncing through an obstacle course, as well as pose STU in "Devastation".. haha.. that was a fun one! :)

so here's the good stuff!






There you have it. The past month in a nutshell (somewhat). As time goes on, I'm feeling more and more comfortable with the program and that's SO encouraging to me! It's hard being the newbie with no experience, and yet somehow incredibly inspiring . It pushes me to do the best that I can. I'm surrounded by so much talent and just because of that I'm learning leaps and bounds! Thanks for visiting and hopefully I'll update sooner on the next one!

God Bless!