About Us
Animation Portfolio Workshop has been North America’s premier animation portfolio preparation program since 1999. Founded by former Sheridan Animation instructors Gerard Sternik and Vincent Peets, APW is the first and only animation portfolio preparation program of its kind to offer a curriculum that features extensive training in drawing for animation and life drawing for animation as an integral part of the process of building a top tier animation school portfolio.
The combination of a carefully crafted drawing curriculum with personalized portfolio preparation mentoring sessions, has given APW students the competitive edge they require to obtain spots in the best animation schools in the world.
We share our comprehensive curriculum with students worldwide by delivering our program successfully in both online and in-person modalities. Our online and in-person classes provide our students with a quality synchronous learning experience featuring live, realtime instruction, immediate interaction and feedback with plenty of demonstrations. Our program prioritizes experiential learning.
A successful animation portfolio requires a demonstration of skill in observational drawing and illustrative drawing systems, or what is referred to in the APW curriculum as Life Drawing for Animation and Drawing for Animation.
The APW curriculum is derived wholly from these two core components of an animation school portfolio.
LIFE DRAWING FOR ANIMATION
The APW Life Drawing for Animation course is made up of a series of drawing exercises that help to develop the skill set required to create all the observational drawings that comprise an animation portfolio. Gesture drawing, contour drawing, constructive drawing, basic shape and mass analysis, as well as basic anatomical drawing are all practiced relentlessly by our students to enable them to complete the life drawings, hand drawings, and object drawings required for the observational drawing component of their portfolio.
DRAWING FOR ANIMATION
The Drawing for Animation course introduces and covers solid, structural object drawing, perspective and layout basics, character body construction, character design, storyboarding and animation basics. APW Students focus on and develop each of these areas through carefully designed drawing exercises. The goal is to learn the fundamentals and then produce completed assignments to use as portfolio pieces. After the halfway point of the workshop, students apply the drawing skills they have been developing to the process of creating drawings for their animation portfolios with the help of a skilled mentor. By the end of the workshop, students have completed their portfolios and are ready to submit them to prospective animation schools.
- Sheridan College (Computer Animation, Bachelor of Animation, Bachelor of Illustration)
- CALArts (Animation)
- SVA – School of Visual Arts (Animation)
- Algonquin College (Animation)
- Capilano University (Animation)
- Vancouver Film School (Animation)
- Concordia University (Film Animation)
- Gobelins Paris (Animation)
- Ringling College of Art and Design (Animation)
- Seneca Polytechnic ( 3D Animation, Animation, Game Art and Animation, Visual Effects, Illustration)
- Gnomon School of VFX and Animation (Animation)
- OCAD University (Undergraduate, Advanced Standing, Faculty of Art)
- Toronto Metropolitan University (Architecture, Fashion)
- University of Toronto (Biomedical Communications)
- University of Waterloo (Urban Planning)
- The Animation Workshop (Animation)
- Emily Carr University of Art+Design (2D and 3D Animation)
- SCAD ( BFA Animation)