What is the best order in which to watch my courses? Some should be watched regardless of what software or method you choose: the universals, which are timeless. To keep up with my other tutorials subscribe to my youtube channel! Also, check out my patreon, there’s going to be a lot of animation resources…
I’ve finally gotten around to creating a poster of my Foundations of Animation image! You can purchase it at REDBUBBLE, in vertical and horizontal formats. My bonkers map of ‘Fantastical Ireland’ is also available there. This map was based on a physical original that took 4 weeks to create (in a cold Portland alley), 4…
My first job in animation was for Don Bluth. I was hired at his Dublin studio in 1988 and worked there until 1993. Liam Geraghty has made an excellent podcast about the history of Bluth’s Dublin studio from 1986 through its demise in the early to mid 90s, and the transition / exodus to Phoenix…
Occasionally I find a site that’s so well written that I read the entire catalog of posts. David Apatoff’s ‘Illustration Art’ is one of that very select club! Strongly recommended, it’s a great resource into the under-appreciated field of commercial art.
In addition to this site I also collaborate with my wife on her James Joyce / Ulysses blog & podcast ‘Blooms & Barnacles’. Kelly does the hard work, reading and writing about ‘Ulysses’, famed as one of the most challenging books in the English language. I draw the purdy pitchers that accompany each article. You…
A personal hobby-horse is the UI design fad (and it is a fad) of monochrome icons / UI design. It’s got to stop. I know this article has close-to-zero chance of influencing anyone, but hey, misery loves company. Though the plague infects almost all software now, it wasn’t always the case. Take Flash (the program…
Much of this content was covered in one of my movies in the weekly ‘Tips & Tricks’ course I create for Linkedin-Learning (formerly Lynda.com). Back in the late 80s / early 90s when I was working at the Don Bluth studio in Dublin, one of the animators told me something curious. When you get into…
A student recently asked me about alternatives to the Adobe CC suite, given the current economic crisis. A good question! I recently canceled my CC subscription, as $600 is too much while things are so unstable. The main Adobe CC software I lost access to: Photoshop (for drawing and design) After Effects / Premiere (for…
My youtube video and essay ‘the 21 foundations of animation’ has been expanded into a 2-hour course on LinkedIn Learning (Sign up via the link and I get a commission). I’ve tried a few times over the years to organise my courses/classes into the old ’12 principles’ structure by Disney’s Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston….
I recently finished the animation on Alan Parsons’ music video ‘As Lights Fall’ from his new album ‘The Secret’ (the song was written by Dan Tracey). In the video below, Alan turns the pages of his diary, revealing drawings which come to life. They were drawn and animated by me. The producer/director Patrick Read Johnson…
This movie took the best part of two months (the animation and art content was created for my Lynda/Linkedin Learning courses over the previous four or five years. I know there a lot of popular enthusiast videos on youtube explaining Disney’s ’12 Principles of Animation’, so the creation of yet another movie with a different…
I finally updated my reel (a necessary chore). The new reel includes many samples from my Lynda/Linkedin courses. The wizard animation at the start was created to demonstrate my ’21 foundations of animation’ articles, as it embodies all 21 foundations in one scene. The animation was done in Photoshop! For those interested, I’ll be posting…
If you want to follow my full courses and don’t already have a subscription to linkedin learning, the link below will give you a free 30 day trial, more than enough time to watch the course (I get a small commission if you sign up here:) LinkedIn Learning: Start your 30 day free trial I’ve…
I was inspired to do this course after working on a project that was animated in Flash/AnimateCC. Unfortunately, the board artists drew the boards on paper, instead of natively in Flash/AnimateCC. This was a major factor in the failure of the production. If the board artists had known the procedures demonstrated in this course, things…
Hair and clothing can be tricky to get right; it’s easy to make them move, not so easy to make them move believably, or in a way that doesn’t distract from the primary action. This course is designed to show you some techniques to help you with this secondary animation. LYNDA: Hair & Clothing LINKEDIN:…
Beginning animators and students often wonder how the more experienced artists can create so much footage. What’s the secret? Well, two of the main techniques that might help you break through BOTH the quality and quantity barriers is the use of thumbnails and breakdowns. Thumbnails are, as the name suggests, a preliminary sketch of the scene,…