Animation Mentor, the online animation school, unveiled its first student showcase reel today, Aug. 16, 2006. Visitors to the site can view the inaugural online exhibition of student work from foundation classes one through four (previous site guests need to empty their cache). From Aug. 16-18, the reel can be seen all day and night, except 7:00-10:00 pm, PST. Beginning Aug.18, it will be accessible 24/7.
The Summer 2006 reel contains assignments created by 24 students, many of whom came to Animation Mentor with no prior experience. It demonstrates their strong grasp not only of the basic principles of animation, but also their ability to infuse their work with feelings and personality.
“Animation Mentor is poised to graduate its first class next month and we wanted to take this opportunity to show the community the extraordinary quality of our student work," said Bobby S. Beck, president/co-founder, Animation Mentor. “It is authentic, personal and accomplished, and we are proud of each and every one of our student's contributions.”
The showcase demonstrates Animation Mentor students' solid understanding of body mechanics, weight, squash and stretch, arcs, anticipation, acting and other animation fundamentals, and is the first in what will be a bi-annual event. The school’s Winter 2006/2007 reel will feature short films from Animation Mentor’s first two graduating classes, along with other assignments created by Animation Mentor students.
Based in Berkeley, California, AnimationMentor.com (
www.animationmentor.com ) is an e-learning school at which top working professionals teach the art of character animation to students worldwide. Opened March 2005, the school offers an 18-month program built from the ground up by its founders, Bobby Beck, Shawn Kelly and Carlos Baena whose combined credits include CARS, FINDING NEMO and STAR WARS: EPISODE 3. AnimationMentor.com_s California-certified curriculum includes student mentoring; expert audio/video lectures; live, realtime Q&A sessions (web classes); eCritiques and 24/7 creative community.
