How to Network in Animation (Without Feeling Fake)
Once you’ve developed your skills and chosen the role you want to pursue, the next step toward your first animation job is networking.
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How To Get a Job in Animation 101: Learning the Tools You’ll Use
Continuing our series on how to find a job in animation, we’re covering the software studios actually use in production.
How to Choose the Right Animation Mentor
Have you ever tried to animate something that just didn’t come out the way you imagined? Maybe the timing felt off, or the character didn’t quite move like you hoped. That’s when a kind and knowledgeable mentor comes in. In the magical, sometimes messy world of animation, a mentor is like a lighthouse. They don’t […]
How To Get a Job in Animation 101: Understanding the Pipeline
In our last post, we discussed why choosing a clear direction is essential when you’re planning to start a career in animation. The industry has a wealth of opportunities, but trying to master everything at once can slow your progress and cost you opportunities that might be the perfect fit.
How To Get a Job in Animation 101: Pick a Path
Animation is a large, collaborative industry. From pre-production to production to post-production, each stage has its own set of roles, skills, and creative challenges. It’s easy to feel like you need to learn everything to be competitive.
Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to Be a Magical Girl: How an Indie Pilot Took Off
Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to Be a Magical Girl flips the classic magical girl trope on its head. Instead of sparkles and destiny-fueled enthusiasm, this story leans into reluctance, frustration, and the absurdity of being chosen without consent. It’s funny and awkward, and it explores burnout and the pressure to perform a role you never auditioned for.
Animator vs. Animation — How a Simple Stickman Became an Internet Classic
In independent animation, sometimes a single creative experiment is enough to redefine what animation can be.
Atlas and the Stars: How One Creator Built an Entire Indie Animated Universe
At Animation Club School, we’re always drawn to projects that prove one simple thing: a person's creative vision can outshine limited resources. Atlas and the Stars is one of the best recent examples that we can think of.
When Animation Collabs Catch Fire: A Look at Everything Is Fine (Remix) Music Video
If you’ve spent any time online, you’ve seen KC Green’s iconic “This is Fine,” where a dog with a cute hat is calmly sipping coffee while the room burns around him.
Learning with a Mentor: Why It’s the Key to Success in Animation | Animation 101
Animation feels like magic on the screen, but behind that magic lies a craft that cannot be mastered alone through tutorials and random YouTube videos.
Must Know Hot Keys Accross the Top 5 Animation Programs Cheatsheet
5 Programs, Similar Features Switching between animation software shouldn’t mean relearning everything from scratch. In the animation industry, it’s common to move between programs depending on the studio pipeline. Students, on the other hand, often start with more accessible tools like Clip Studio Paint or Krita before they even think about working in a studio […]
15 ways for Animators to Stay Focused, Fired-Up, and Finish Things
Animating takes time. A lot of time. Sometimes more than you expect, and definitely more than most people realize. If you’ve ever sat down at your desk buzzing with inspiration, only to get stuck in perfectionism, distraction, or total overwhelm… you’re not alone.
Looping Animation: A Complete Beginner’s Guide
Looping animation is everywhere! Once you start noticing it, you can’t unsee it. From a character’s idle animation in a video game, to hypnotic background elements in music videos, to the funny GIF your friend just sent you in the group chat, and even cleverly timed TikTok videos that have tricked you into watching the […]
Learning Animation? Let’s Take a Tour of Your New Digital Neighborhood
So… you’re ready to start animating? That’s wonderful. Whether you’re doodling your dreams in Flipaclip or diving deep into Toon Boom Harmony, each animation program is a little like moving into a new house.
From Indie Dream to Mythic Screen: How GODs’ School: The Olympian gods Came to be a Legend
Most animation journeys begin with a simple question: “How do I bring this story to life?. But French animator Gaylord Cuvillier Libessart asked a deeper one: “What makes this story worth animating in the first place?”
Woolie Reitherman: From Pilot to the Most Action-Packed Director at Disney
Woolie Reitherman’s path into animation wasn’t typical. He was flying fighter planes in World War II before he ever picked up a pencil at Disney.
Les Clark: How a Cafe Waiter Became the First of Disney’s Legendary «Nine Old Men»
Learning animation starts with how to make drawings move, but grows into the why does (x) move like that. Les Clark began by learning how to make drawings move, but what set him apart was his curiosity about why they moved the way they did
How Long Gone Gulch Was Made: Five Years of Passion-Driven Animation
The story of Long Gone Gulch began in 2010, but the world didn’t learn about the project until 2016, when Tara Billinger and Zach Bellissimo launched a Kickstarter campaign.
