How to Learn Animation – 3 Tips for the Self-Taught Animator
Learn animation with the NOT back to school approach
I didn’t study animation in college. I don’t have a degree in computers, design, or visual effects. But I had 2 months to learn everything I could about animation to get my foot in the door here at Sparksight.
Not 2 years. 2 Months.I took every tutorial I could and watched every beginner’s video for AfterEffects there was. I scrambled to make a couple freelance videos for them and against all odds, at the end of two months, I was hired.
I still knew very little about animation though and had a lot to learn. The first few years felt like laying down track as the train was right behind me. Every project came with a completely new technique, plug in or application to learn. But I was able to face every single challenge and so can you.
Animation is very overwhelming but it can be learned and you don’t have to take 4 years to do it. You can get your start in two months. Maybe even less!
How? Here are three tips to get started in animation in record time without going back to college.
TUTORIALS
There are countless videos on YouTube and websites with helpful content that can teach you everything you need to know . Pick any one of them and just follow along. No need to start with a beginner’s intro or AfterEffects 101 to learn animation. Jump right in. You won’t understand a lot of what you’re doing at first but as you take more tutorials you’ll find yourself picking up on the common skills and techniques.
(I started with videocopilot.net. Though they’re geared more towards visual effects, I still use many of the techniques learned from their tutorials and gained a solid understanding of AfterEffects)
Also worth checking out:
DO PROJECTS
You only get better with practice, so start practicing. One of the best ways to learn animation is to agree to do a project for someone and put yourself under a deadline. You’ll have no choice but to deliver SOMETHING. It won’t be perfect or even as good as you’d like, but you’ve got to go for it. The first project I did seemed so far beyond me that I knew I couldn’t deliver, but I did it anyway. Everything worked out and I learned a little more about animation in a short time frame. Go for it!
FAIL
This is a key component in people who have great success. They fail, A LOT. And they keep going. They never give up and never let failure make them believe they can’t achieve something. You can’t guarantee success by trying but you can guarantee you won’t have success by never trying. Take your failures in stride and remember it’s part of the process, a necessary step and a badge of honor. Failure is just proof you took a risk, so keep proving to yourself that you’re taking big risks and going after your goals.
These tips will help you learn animation in record time. You won’t be perfect, you won’t even be very good, but only at first. If you keep learning and keep making projects, you just might end up working with us one day 😉
Got any other great tips for beginners? Leave a comment below to share your advice!
