APW's new website

Come on over to the Animation Portfolio Workshop website for portfolio drawings and course info.  You're welcome to follow us on facebook, twitter too!

http://www.animationportfolioworkshop.com/

2nd Prize - Cynthia Brenes!

Congratulations to Clarkson Secondary School student, Cynthia Brenes for her tall, thin funky character design.  Cynthia wins an Animation Starter Package, a $50 gift certificate from Above Ground Art Supplies and a copy of Skullkickers comic signed by creator Jim Zub.  More APW Character Design Contest winners to come!  Click here to see all of Cynthia's drawings on the APW website.

And the 1st Prize goes to...Maisie Li!

The entire APW team congratulates Maisie Li whose character design wins 1st Prize_free tuition for the 2013/2014 session of classes. Click here to have a look at all of Maisie's drawings on the APW website.

Character Design Session - Variation

APW's Vince Peets gives a brief talk on how the idea of variation can be used in an effort to discover design options when designing an animation character.  Try to not settle on your first idea - first create then look at a number variations before evaluating a character design. Play around with your design.  Read more about the APW Character Design Contest on the APW website.

Sonia Furier and Zen Rankin

APW's team is a group of professionals whose experience covers areas that our students look to grow into.  As members of the APW team, Sonia Furier and Zen Rankin have recently completed working with students in the 2012/2013 sessions of the workshop.  

APW was fortunate to have had these two artists as students some short years ago.  Sonia is a Toronto story artist with a background in classical animation from Sheridan College's Animation Program and Zen brings together rich experience in comics and sequential art, animation and illustration as well as his initial experience studying Illustration at Sheridan College.

Barak  Obama parody by Zen Rankin

Click here for Sonia's website.

Click here for Zen's website.

Pro-Tip #6 Line Quality

Animator Chang Dai ads Pro-Tip #6.  Line Quality.  Click here for Pro-Tips #1 - #9 on the APW website.  

Pro-Tip #5 "Contrast is Key"

Talented Toronto story artist Myke Bakich contributes pro-tip #5.  Myke talks about using the idea of contrast when designing animation characters.

The APW is proud to have worked with Myke as a Drawing for Animation and Life Drawing for Animation instructor. Click here for more Pro-Tips on the APW website.

Pro-Tip #4 Shape-Curves

More tips straight from the pros to any and all aspiring character designers.  Hong Kong animation artist Justice Wong's tip is all about using gesture drawing as a design tool.  Justice begins his character design process with an energetic gesture drawing and adds forms that grow organically out of the gesture to arrive at a rough design for a charcter.  Click here for the Pro-Tip.

Click here for APW Character Design Contest details.

Pro-Tip #3 Volumetric Shapes

Animation artist/illustrator/designer Saud Boksmati has contributed to APW's Pro-Tips series.  Saud emphasizes the volumetric shapes that make up the inner construction of an animation character.  Read more...

For the full Pro-Tip click here.

The Pro-Tips feature is meant to give some guidance from the pros to young aspiring character designers who are entering the Animation Portfolio Workshop's Character Design Contest.

For more info on the Character Design Contest, click here

For Contest Rules, click here

Animation Portfolio Workshop Life Drawing class

In addition to character design, storyboarding, object drawing and perspective, APW students learn fundamentals of Life Drawing.  Here's a look inside a recent class in session with instructor Jose Rivas and TA Sonia Furier.

  

APW Character Design Contest

Enter our contest - design a character and you could win free tuition for the 2013/2014 session of classes of the Animation Portfolio Workshop.  Competition is fierce to get into top animation schools such as Sheridan, Seneca, CalArts and Ringling.  Good animation portfolios do not make it.  Outstanding ones have a chance.  This contest offers an opportunity to win tuition to take the Animation Portfolio Workshop and learn from animation professionals all about Life Drawing for Animation and Drawing for Animation.  We cover Gesture drawing, mass analysis, basic anatomy, perspective, object drawing, character design, storyboarding and many other areas of drawing that every student of animation needs to know.  

• Read more about the contest.  
• Read the contest rules and regulations.    

Pro-Tip #2 Use Reference

Design your own animation character and you can win free tuition for our 2013/2014 Session of classes.  Toronto Character Designer Nate Gaul has contributed Pro-Tip #2.  Nate suggests that you use reference in designing your animation character.

For an example let's pretend I have been tasked with designing an elderly reptilian merchant who loves to eat mice. I would want to make sure I am familiar with the necessary visual language. What do merchants look like? What makes someone look old? What makes a reptile look like a reptile? What do mice look like?  Read more...

Click here for Pro-Tip #2

Click here for Contest Info, Rules and Guidelines

Pro-Tip #1 - Start with a Shape

APW's Character Design Contest has officially launched.  Stay tuned for tips from the pros.  In our "Pro-Tips" feature we present a bit of advice on how to approach designing an animation character for your submission to our contest or for your animation portfolio.  We basically want to help you to win the contest.  First prize is free tuition in our 2013/2014 Session of classes.

Click here for Pro-Tip #1

Click Here for Info about the APW Character Design Contest

APW Character Design Contest

If you want to be an animator you need to go to animation school.  If you want to go to animation school you need to know how to draw. 

At the Animation Portfolio Workshop, all we do is draw.  We’re all about helping you make the best animation portfolio you can.  And right now, if you enter the APW CharacterDesign Contest you could win free tuition for the 2013/2014 session of classes.   

Here’s how it works…design your own animation character - draw 4 standing poses, 3 action poses and 4 facial expressions.  Your drawings will be judged by our team of animation professionals.  The best design wins first prize - free tuition for the 2013/2014 Session of the Animation Portfolio Workshop.  And… there are other great prizes – art supplies and animation art books.  Visit our website for contest rules and details.  In the meantime -   

Happy drawing!

14 Days - 14 Characters! Week 1!

From Monday, November 19 to Monday, December 3, everyday at 9am a new daily gesture drawing will be posted on the APW website.  Your task, should you accept it, is to design a new animation character everyday for 14 days.  Think of it as an intensive 14 day design work-out.  The idea is simple - you observe the daily gesture drawing and look for movement, shape, direction to inspire a new character design each day for two weeks.  

Feel free to share your drawings by posting them on our APW facebook page.  Like the page and post your drawings.  We look forward to seeing all kinds of crazy, goofy, dark weird character designs!  For anyone who will be putting together an animation portfolio, this is perfect practice for the character design component.  Whether you're interested in drawing or animation or film - everyone's input is welcome!