Feature Animation Acting & Polish

Complete Your Character Animation Journey

Create a Feature-Level Demo Reel

Combine all the skills you’ve acquired and apply the concepts to a new animated shot in Feature Animation Acting & Polish course. Learn valuable techniques to refine and polish your animation and create work that stands out.

In this course, you’ll learn the best practices for what to include (and what not to include) on your demo reel, and gain valuable insights into the hiring process at top animation studios.

12-WEEK COURSE

$2,499 USD

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Pro Animators Mentor You to Be Successful

Our mentors are the heart and soul of Animation Mentor. They are professional, working animators from studios like Pixar, DreamWorks, and Industrial Light & Magic, who will teach you the ins and outs of production-level animation. Complete your character animation journey in Feature Animation Acting & Polish course, the last of our Core Character Animation Courses.

Sean Sexton

Head of Character Animation
DreamWorks Animation

Sean Sexton has been a professional animator since 1999 and is currently the head of character animation at DreamWorks Animation. He started as a classically trained 2D animator working on Futurama before moving on to DreamWorks Animation.

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Sidney Kombo

Senior Animation Supervisor
Weta FX

Sidney Kombo-Kintombo is currently a senior animation supervisor at Wētā FX . He has won two Annie Awards for his work in War for the Planet of the Apes and Avengers: Endgame. He also won a Visual Effect Society (VES) Award for Outstanding Character Animation in Avengers: Infinity War.

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Greg Whittaker

Senior Animator
DreamWorks Animation

Greg Whittaker has been a professional animator since 1994 and is a senior animator at DreamWorks Animation. Greg has worked on almost all of the most popular DreamWorks films, including the How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda franchises.

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See More Mentors

Choose Your Mentor

Once you've applied and been accepted into Animation Mentor, you can choose your mentor and register for class.

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Studios that Hire Our Character Animation Students

On-Going Rig Access

AIA

JULES

MOYA

VIKTOR

QUINN

ARISTOTLE

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Personalized Mentorship

Our mentors are working professionals with years of experience under their belts, and they’re passionate about training the next generation of animators. In this course, you will learn from your mentor in live sessions as they share insights about what studios are working on and what qualities they look for in an animator. Your mentor will work directly with you to grow your skills, sharing weekly 1:1 feedback and reviews to help you improve your animation.

Studio-Level Animation Tools and Assets

We teach our students how to work in a studio environment so they are ready for jobs when they graduate. This training starts from day one, with exclusive access to professionally designed assets and character rigs. We ensure that they learn using the same tools and animation workflows that professionals use in their day-to-day work.

Course Requirements for Feature Animation Acting & Polish

Course Details

LIVE Q&As | Weekly 1-Hour Q&As

LECTURES | 12 Pre-recorded Lectures

ASSIGNMENTS | 2 Animation Exercises

ACCESS |Over 150 hours of additional content

SOFTWARE | Autodesk Maya

HARDWARE | Meet Minimum Requirements

AGE | 18 Years or Older

LANGUAGE | Taught in English

Skills You Need Before You Start

This character animation course requires you to have a working understanding of, and experience with, Autodesk Maya software. If you don’t you can take our Maya Basics Workshop.

What You’ll Learn

You’ve mastered animation fundamentals, body mechanics, and essential acting skills. Now it’s time to add a final level of polish and subtlety to your shots and your demo reel. In this course you will:

Give your characters distinct personalities, making them recognizable, memorable, and appealing
Use advanced spacing techniques to sell the physicality and believability of your characters’ actions and gestures
Utilize advanced polishing skills to fine-tune each shot to a high-quality finish
Incorporate subtle acting skills to create stand out, studio-ready performances
Understand what it takes to create an awesome demo reel, including key mistakes to avoid
Learn to develop your critical eye so that when you leave Animation Mentor you can continue improving your work into your career

Animation Mentor Interest-Free Payment Plans

Animation Mentor offers interest-free payment plans. Payment Plans allow students to distribute the $2,499 USD tuition into flexible payments throughout the school term.

^$333
Per Month

$500 to save your seat and
6 monthly installments of $333.

^$500
Per Month

$500 to save your seat and
4 monthly installments of $500.

^$625
Per Month

$624 to save your seat and
3 monthly installments of $625.

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FAQ for Feature Animation Acting & Polish

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What does an animation portfolio look like?

A 3D animation portfolio is a short (30sec – 3min) collection of animated shots you’ve created. It’s best to keep it simple with a title card that has your contact information and 2-3 of your strongest shots, starting with the strongest one. Recruiters would rather see your best work than an overview of everything you’ve ever done. You can see examples of shots used in our students’ demo reels here.

What is the difference between an Аrt portfolio, a 3D animation portfolio and a 2D animation portfolio?

A 2D animation portfolio should represent your skills in the animation of 2D objects, characters, and environments while a 3D animation portfolio should show your skills in the 3D space. An art portfolio features your best artwork, illustration, photography, or graphic design, depending on the niche you’ve chosen. Remember to tailor your portfolio to the job description.

Can I use one portfolio to apply to every studio?

While you can use one portfolio to apply to every animation studio, it’s a good idea to tailor the work you show to the animation style of the studio to which you’re applying. And remember that once you create a portfolio, your job isn’t done. It’s important to continue growing your skills and updating your portfolio with new work.

What Feature Animation Students are Saying

AM Changed My Life

These past 18 months have changed my life and I know that I am prepared to enter the work world and to continue learning! Thank you!!!

Most Important Phase of My Journey So Far

Going into class 6, I didn’t have any idea how to approach polish on a professional level. I felt like my animations were “good” but not quite there yet. The lectures really hit home for me and it’s like my eyes were opened. I know a lot of people questioned whether or not taking a portfolio building class is worth it. I was so relieved to discover that this might have been the most quintessential phase of my animation journey so far!

Pursuing my Dreams

Thank you to AM for changing my life for the better! You made it possible for me to take this leap of faith into a whole new and exciting world! The training from the mentors from all different studios was so helpful for me to get a full scope of the working world. Thank you for leading me down this path and sending me off with the courage to pursue my dreams!

It's Been Incredible

This is my last class with AM and it’s been incredible. A year and a half ago I could barely animate a bouncing ball and now I can animate full scenes with character interaction. It’s a great feeling and I can’t wait to see where I am in another year and a half with help from the awesome AM community.

My Mentor Went Above and Beyond

My mentor went above and beyond in every aspect of the class. He made this class one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had and the lecture videos this term were phenomenally helpful!

A Demo Reel Ready for the Real World

I loved how this course not only gave you another chance to create an animation worthy of your demo reel, but that the mentor focused on making sure that your reel was ready for the real world.

Fantastic Advice and Encouragement

My mentor guided us well to take what we’ve learned throughout our previous courses and apply it not only to one final shot but to our reels as a whole. He gave us fantastic advice, wisdom, and encouragement to set us off on the right foot as we graduate from AM.