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Animation Mentor is an online animation school that teaches students character animation skills. Headquartered in New York, New York, the school offers online programs in 3D Character Animation, Game Animation, Creature Animation, 2D Animation, Storyboarding, and Concept Art. The school also offers supplemental workshops in areas such as Maya, Previsualization, and Cartoony Animation. Students are taught by “mentors,” experienced animators who are professionals working in the animation industry. Animation Mentor is a distance learning school where animation professionals teach animation to students in over 105 countries, with an alumni network exceeding 5,000 students.
| Type | for-profit online education provider |
|---|---|
| Established | 2005 |
| Founders | Bobby Beck, Shawn Kelly, and Carlos Baena |
| President | Rob Kingyens |
Academic staff | 100+ |
| Students | 5,000+ |
| Location | , , |
| Website | www.animationmentor.com |
History
editThe school was founded in 2005 by three working animators: Bobby Beck, who was the original CEO and president of the school, Shawn Kelly, who is a working animator at Industrial Light & Magic, and Carlos Baena, who is a working animator. The school opened on March 27, 2005, with 350 students and 5 employees. In 2021, Animation Mentor was acquired by Yellowbrick Learning, Inc. ("Yellowbrick"), a leading online education company, and Rob Kingyens became the CEO. This partnership aims to inspire the next generation of artists by continuing to foster a community of like-minded creatives.
Academics
editAnimation Mentor offers a comprehensive suite of programs, including:
- 3D Character Animation: A layered curriculum teaching everything from animation principles to advanced character performance.
- Game Animation: Courses focusing on mechanics, interactive gameplay, dynamic action, and cinematic cutscenes.
- Creature Animation: Including courses like Creature Animation: Locomotion and Creature Animation: Fight or Flight.
- 2D Animation: Programs such as 2D Animation for Beginners and advanced courses on walk cycles and character movement.
- Storyboarding: Courses from fundamentals to intermediate levels.
- Concept Art: Including Introduction to Character Design and Digital Painting.
- Supplemental Workshops: These workshops include specific skills like Previsualization Basics, Cartoony Animation for 3D Animators, and Maya Workshops.
Animation Mentor operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The program includes live Q&A sessions with mentors from the animation industry, and mentors provide audio-visual critiques of weekly assignments. Graduates of the program receive a Certificate of Completion in their respective fields and create a demo reel.
Awards
editThe school has won several awards, including the 2006 Best Practices in Programming Award Gold Level, 21st Century Distance Learning Award from the U.S. Distance Learning Association, and was an honoree at the 10th Annual Webby Awards. The school won the 2008 PRSA Bronze Anvil Award for its white paper "Behind the Characters: Job Satisfaction, Career Outlook, and Salary Survey Report" and was again named an official honoree at the 13th Annual Webby Awards. In 2008, Sony Pictures Imageworks awarded its top scholarship to Luis Rodrigo Huerta to earn a Master’s Degree at Texas A&M and participate in online animation courses at Animation Mentor.
Notable Animation Mentor alumni and productions
editStudents [who?] who have graduated from Animation Mentor have worked on box office features, including Frozen, Inside Out, How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Peanuts, Horton Hears a Who!, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bee Movie, Monsters vs. Aliens, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Kung Fu Panda, Bolt, Garfield: The Movie, Transformers, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and others.