2D Animation: Hobby vs. Career Track

Track 1: Creative Animation Projects 
Track 2: Animation Portfolio 

Class time: Class time may change. Please contact our admin to confirm the available class for you. 
  Tue, Wed, or Thur
  Hobby Track: T, W, or TH  1:30PM - 3PM PST (=4:30PM - 6PM EST), or 
                          T or W         4:00PM-5:30PM PST (=7PM-8:30PM EST) 
  Career Track: TH 4:00PM-6PM PST (=7PM-9PM EST)

Teacher: Mr. Sean 

• Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Digital Media Academy
• Game designer and art project manager (with various collaborations with game design companies) 
• B.S. in Media Arts and Animation, Art Institute of California, San Francisco, CA 
• Mr. Sean is teaching both Creative Animation Projects for those students who love to express their stories through animation as a hobby, and Animation Portfolio Class for those who are passionate about animation as their future career. 
  
  
  

Track 1: Creative Animation Projects (as a fun hobby) 

Have fun, express yourself, and use your creativity to create positivity!  We would like to create your own creative portfolio, which will show and tell who you are. 

This is the standard animation class we did last year (e.g., the units of climate change, COVID-19, summer sports, etc). We can call them "Animation Projects" since it focuses on a theme for their story and the projects students will make. Each unit is 8 90-min sessions with different unit themes. 

Please contact QUESTABOX Admin for available class times or groups.  

Project Unit 1: Back to School - Let's tell a story through animation about what you're excited for in the new school year.

Project Unit 2: Anti-Bullying - Animation can allow us to give insight as to why bullying is so bad and what we can do to prevent and help those who get bullied.

Project Unit 3: Movement and Physical Health - Movement and fitness is important for the body, what kind of movements do you like to do? Show it through animation!

Project Unit 4: Your Feelings - Emotions and how we feel are so important to us. We need to know how to express ourselves and we can do that through animation.

Learning Objective of all projects will guide you the creative and logical steps to develop, manage, and complete your own animation project. 

• Choose your own topic
• Explore the foundational concepts of Animation
• Discover and experiment the tools to create animations
• Explore and learn from various animators

Special Note for Students: 

Animation Portfolio is a much more focused program for students who want to pursue a career in animation, or creative media in general. Animation Portfolio does not teach basic tools or how to use programs. Instead we focus on time tested techniques to build you animation portfolio and deep critical review of work being presented. There will be an understanding that students must be self motivated and able to work independently outside of formal instruction time to get the maximum benefit from this class. Also students will be required to share and talk about their work for critical review, even unfinished work must be shared in order to provide feedback for ongoing projects.

Who is this Program for?

• Older and/or more mature students who want to pursue creative media as a possible career.
• Students who are already proficient with the tools and programs used to create digital animation.
• Students who are deeply passionate about the subject matter of animation and drawing.
• Students who are looking to meaningfully improve their drawing and animation skills.
• Students who are looking for a community of like minded creators and can build a group of individuals who can share work with each other and inspire each other.
• Students who want to engage in critical review of animation and techniques through sharing their work.
• Students who are not only comfortable exposing their strengths, but also their weaknesses.
• Students who are self-motivated and are able to keep a sketch book for daily drawing and work on projects independently outside of formal instructional time.

FAQ about Animation Portfolio Program 

What do we need to take this class? - You will need a computer tablet with a first party digitizer stylus. We strongly recommend an iPad w/ an Apple Pencil. A Samsung Galaxy Tablet with an S-Pen is acceptable too. A digitizing stylus is essential. An inexpensive capacitive stylus will not work for this class since it is not a digitizer stylus.

My child is very interested in animation and drawing, but is not familiar with the tools and programs. This this program good for them? - For students who need to learn the tools and program, we highly recommend a trial class and then followed with our regular animation projects courses.

We don't have the technological or logistical requirements. Can my child still join this course? This course heavily relies on having the proper tools to effectively navigate this program. Much like trying to fix a car, you can't get the projects done without the proper tools.

How old does the student need to be to join this course? - While there is no hard age limit, but we recommend at-least middle school aged at minimum. However we can accept younger students who are very self motivated and can display great responsibility, passion and can have enough technical knowledge of the program. This can be determined through a trial class and review.

Curriculum: Each program will be an 8-Week Program like the standard class. However class length will be a little longer at 120 minutes and a rate of $50 an hour. The trial class for this class is going to be different for the trial classes for the Animation project. 

Animation Portfolio 1: The 12 Principles of Animation - We learn the principles of animation and proper animation techniques through time proven exercises and projects.

Animation Portfolio 2: Drawing from Life and Reference. - Not every great drawer becomes an animator, but every animator is a great drawer. Drawing comes from understanding the real world and what we see with our eyes and it's key to making engaging animation.

Animation Portfolio 3: Characterization and Film Study - Characters are essential to telling great stories and we learn about how to make our own characters by studying characters of films that already exist.

Animation Portfolio 4: The Production Pipeline - Learn the ins and outs of the production pipeline for animation and all the pre-production that is needed before the pencil even hits the paper.

[MORE INFORMATION]

• You can join or drop out your classroom anytime. If you join in the middle, the tuition will be prorated for the first month. It's for the first month only.  

• After signing up the class, your will be receiving a confirmation email about your class. 

• Each class has up to 5 spots available. 1:1 class is available. 

• Absence & Make-up Policy: No make up for the absent online group classes. No refund for the absent online group classes. 

• Cancellation & Refund Policy: If you cancel before the first class, you will get a full refund. The registration fee (non-refundable $50 for new members) is excluded. If you cancel in the middle, the 50% of the remaining classes will be refunded. Cancellation should be requested in writing.