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advice, references or a school for a novice

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advice, references or a school for a novice

Hi, I'm 26 and I have little to no artistic talent. I'm very fond of animation especially 2d hand drawn animations. I have no interest in becoming an animator professionally. I just really want to learn how to animate and create something I enjoy. At the moment I have been trying to teach myself how to draw for a year now, it has not been going well. Any type of advice would be greatly appreciated. Trying to teach myself has not been going well. My goal is to be able to create a 2d animation that I will enjoy. I just want to be able to create a cartoon that I enjoyed as a child or something I enjoy now, even if it is just 1 minute long. Maybe a minute is pushing it. Does anyone know of any books or schools for a novice like myself to check out?

Maybe you should check your local colleges, see what courses they offer.

There's a whole canon of animation books to check out, like this one, this one or this one. You'll likely find more than enough information if you look for it. I'd say don't bother with schools if you don't intend to take animation seriously. As a matter of fact, don't even bother with the books unless you can answer yourself the question of whether or not you're prepared to muster the time, effort and will to succeed at expressing yourself artistically in the animation medium. That is really at the bottom of it, not with how much knowledge you can surround yourself.

What I'm saying is, anyone can admire animation or dream about doing it. If you've got what it takes in you, you must try to coax it out - and that, make no mistake, will take a long time and be a frustrating experience which no school or book will make any easier for you. If you just treat it as some sort of pastime, you'll never be able to create animation that pleases you, and subsequently others.
However, if you hit the pencils, fail A LOT and still keep going, you'll arrive at moments of understanding and growth which are the real milestones of the craft.

Seldom do I find good books on animation,maybe find a proper school would be much helpful.

If you don't want to pursue this professionally, then serious schooling is going to be a waste of money for you. To the tune of as much as $100,000 wasted.

If you want to do this as a lark, then pick ANY book on animation to get you started--it will not matter which, as the sum total of books you would need should be about 2-3...and maybe cost you $50 new, if that ( you could probably find the books used for about $10 or less, all told). Look for books that feature a more generalized approach, because the basics are all you'll need.
Since you say you're are trying to learn how to draw at the same time, I also suggest getting just some basic drawing how-to books, that show basic construction for cartoony and/or comic book characters. Only way to tell what will work for you is for you to look at the books themselves and determine for yourself what strikes you.

If you want to learn something that you can translate into a cartoon for yourself, then combine the lessons in these books with a simple exercise:
take a cartoon that you like and stop-frame it. Study the individual frames and see what is done.
Then, if you want, literally copy the drawings and use them as is or adapt them to your needs.
Since you do not intend to go pro, there's no harm in copying stuff for your own needs. You'll still accomplish your goals this way, and it'll save you some additional work.

Just understand one thing: animation is a LOT of work to pursue frivolously, especially of your goal is to make something satisfying for yourself. With extensive fore-knowledge and training, you WILL stumble A LOT, and the results will reflect that. By all means, pursue and enjoy this as a hobby, and explore this to whatever ends that fulfil you.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)