Awww it's wonderful! Thank you so much!

Also, forgive the lateness of my reply. I've been so busy working that I haven't checked DA in days XD

I am! I've just been in the process of moving these last few weeks, but once I'm settled in, I'll get back into it!

Hi! And thank you!

I studied at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, a great art school right in the heart of New York City. And while I learned a great deal from my professors and my friends/classmates while studying there, much of what I do and study was also self-taught.

I knew a lot of people who expected their teachers and their schools to teach them EVERYTHING about drawing or animating, and were disappointed by the end of their education because they never got it. The sad fact is that colleges and schools CAN'T teach you everything, even if you pay them and attend schools for the rest of your life. It's impossible. If you really want to learn something, you have to explore and seek the answers for yourself. For example, instead of sitting around, hoping and waiting for a teacher to teach you how to draw a tree, you should go find a tree, sit in front of it and draw it, and practice like hell until you got it down pat. Don't get me wrong though, it's a wonderful and insightful experience to go to school and learn, especially for somebody not too sure on where they stand and need help finding out what to do next. It's like a springboard, kinda jumpstarting you into moving ahead. But like I said, they can give you only so much... just a small taste of what you can do. The rest is all up to you.

What I got most out of my college experience was that I was in an environment filled with fellow artists and animators just as passionate (if not more so) as myself, who were just as willing to learn the craft as I was. Just being around other artists, creative people like yourself, is enough to really get your creative juices flowing. It's like drinking from a perpetually-flowing fountain of inspiration and creativity that gives you the energy you need to create with. That's one of the reasons why I'm moving out to California (almost done, too ). You get inspiration from so many things, and most of them you don't expect. It's almost subconscious, as if you're absorbing it through the skin. And at the same time you do the same for others, like cross-pollination. You learn new techniques, discover things you never would have found on your own, are introduced to different styles and artists, and your understanding grows more and more. It's a wonderful feeling!

Animation is all about observation. Animators study and pay close attention to things people do every day but normally never really notice (in fact, I think we're the only people who do that... well... besides stalkers), and adapt what they see and understand graphically. Everything around you, even down to the smallest, barely-noticable detail is up for grabs really. EVERYTHING in art is about observation. Caricature, life drawing, still life, animation... it's life. Of course, I don't have "scrutiny-goggles" on every second of my life, it would be taxing on your brain, and probably a bit too weird to do in social situations. But there's a lot of things you pick up just by casually talking or interacting with someone. Gestures, facial expressions, little nuances that make each person either similar to others or unique. So you take those things, the raw energy, and put that down on the paper/tablet.

When I study animation, I think about a few things as I watch a scene. I notice not only the movement, but I make a character study of it too. Sure, I study the strictly-locomotive aspects of a scene, like squash and stretch, timing, follow through etc., but I also like to see how the characters perform as personalities. These are not just drawings, THEY'RE LIVING THINGS! They have feelings, feel pain and emote just like in real life, and it's just as interesting to know WHY a character operates as well as HOW they operate.

For example, in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Tigger bursts into Pooh's house late at night and causes mischief. Of course, the animation (done by Milt Kahl) is practically flawless. Beautiful drawings and wonderful movement. But it's great seeing how these two characters, both completely different in personality and build, interact with each other. Tigger is filled with boundless energy, constantly moving about, has a bit of an ego ("I'm the only one!") and gets himself into little predicaments in Pooh's house, including bouncing Pooh to the ground, scaring himself in the mirror and tasting honey for the first time. Compared to Tigger, Pooh is very restrained in his movement, talks and moves slower, and while he is a "bear of very little brain", he's at least calm and collected when faced with a problem than the easily-excitable Tigger is... in other words, VERY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS.

Now think of how Tigger looks himself over in the mirror. He doesn't even realize that it's his own reflection, he thinks it's a completely separate person. He even makes fun of his outlandish appearance. And when he tries to scare his doppelägnger away, he in turn scares himself and cowers under Pooh's table. These actions are unique to Tigger, and it's how he approaches this problem that defines what kind of personality he has. Now in comparison, how would another character act when faced with the same situation? Jiminy Cricket? Stitch? Bugs Bunny? Scooby-Doo? It's these "character moments" that really express how unique the character is, and I take note of that just as much, if not more so, than the animation itself.

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Something I benefit doing is saving films, artwork and references for myself. I have a 1TB harddrive nearly 100% filled with all kinds of things that inspire me: Films, shorts, pencil tests, demo reels, commercials, books, storyboards, illustrations, model sheets, photographs... it's like an inspiration library. I have all the videos saved as .mp4s, so I can open them in Quicktime, jump to any scene I want and study them frame by frame. I also save a lot of live-action films and nature documentaries, which is great for learning about how animals move and act and for learning about cinematography and pacing and other cinematic things from classic movies.

I also have a folder filled only with other people's artwork, from famous painters to personal friends, all labelled and organized. If there's an artist you admire out there, make a folder on your computer, search google, their blog or website, save those images and just look at them from time to time. Find out more about that artist. Why do they draw the way they do? Where did they start from? How have they grown as an artist over time? Find out who THEIR influences are, and study THOSE artists too! Compare and contrast them to other artists to see how their approaches are similar or different from each other. Whenever you're in an art block, it's a great way to get you back into the creative mindset.

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I kinda went a little long there, so I apologize for the ramble, but you asked for it!

I hope that helps!




And yes, Ward Kimball does indeed rule.