This 7-week course delves into how to create an animation throughout the many stages of its production for any skill-level.
The course is intended to be suitable for age 9 – 90 and includes, learning how to sketch the storyboard, create your own character designs, create a looping animation, animate a character, animate a creature and create a themed roughly 15 second animation.
This will be done by focusing on hand-drawn animations and designs on paper that are either compiled digitally or can be taken home as a flip book. It will be a friendly space that hopes to welcome anyone interested in animation and help them learn more about how it’s done. Encouraging experimenting with the techniques being taught and providing a space to get stuck in with a creative task.
It is suitable for any skill-level or age as course-leader, Sproutt, will explain animation principles in a way that is accessible no matter how much you already know. By receiving feedback during the practical learning, those attending will also learn how to improve on their skills while they create.
Sproutt is a passionate storyboard artist, illustrator and 2D animator. She was a self-taught artist for 3 years, and now has 4 years of animation education under her belt from college and university, with her final year to complete. With experience being mentored by outstanding animators, such as, Seb Burnett (co-founder of Double Cat Productions and previous co-founder of Rumpus Animation in Bristol) and Bryan Panks (creator of the Max Bear tv series). She has also worked on paid projects for clients looking for illustrations, storyboards, comics and 2D animations.
Hoping to inspire others to start animation, she’s created this summer course so that folks of any age can learn the wonders of hand-drawn motion and storytelling.
Examples of her work can be found on instagram at @sproutt_art or through her portfolio website.
There will be equipment provided, but attendees are also welcome to bring their own stationery.
It will take place on Tuesdays after lunch, from the 21st July – 1st Sept on. Sessions are £10 each or the entire 7 for £60 (automatic discount applied). Each session is 1.5 hours long (apart from the last session which is 2.5 Horus) and will have its own topic as outlined below; accessibly explained in detail by sproutt, followed by a practical.
If you would have any problem affording this but would love to attend the course we have a small number of reduced options, please email petra.mansour@curzon.org.uk if you need assistance.
Week 1 – Storyboarding and Sketching
Learning about gesture drawing/sketching and then explaining how to apply that to a storyboard. Discussing tone and shape. Practical – Creating an idea for a short story sequence and storyboarding it.
Week 2 – Character Design and Visual Appeal
Understanding how to create an appealing character by looking at shapes and colours. Discussing shape language and colour theory’s affect on how we see things. Practical – Creating a character design sheet.
Week 3 – Looping Animations
Learning about how animation often includes cycles of motion like walking or rain. Discussing how to create cycling motions through drawings that move. Practical – Drawing frames of a cycling animation on pieces of paper using lightboxes. Attendees will receive a GIF video of their animation.
Week 4 – The 12 Principles of Animation
Understanding the meaning of each principle and how to apply it to last weeks looping animations. Discussing why these principles help make motion appear more natural and fluid to the viewer. Practical – To pick one of the 12 principles and animate an action using it to enhance the movement.
Week 5 – Animating Characters
Understanding how to simplify the previously designed characters so they can be suitable for animation. Discussing how to use shapes to understand the movement of a character and to keep consistency. Practical – Using a flipbook to draw a character enacting an action or movement expressively.
Week 6 – Animating Creatures
Learning how to make an interesting monster/creature design. Discussing how to animate things that don’t exist e.g. if it looks a little bit like a bunny but isn’t how do you imagine it would move? Practical – Using a flipbook to draw a creature moving differently to how you may expect or that has an interesting quirk as it moves.
Week 7 – Final Project
Using everything you’ve learned throughout the club, attendees will create a short animated sequence using your preferred method based on a shared theme. Discussion on what the theme should be and a vote to start the session. Practical – Using the chosen method and learned skills to create the equivalent of a roughly 15 second animation of relating to the theme.
Running time:
Each workshop is 90 minutes, apart from the final week which is 2.5 hours