Our workshop consists of two courses: Life Drawing for Animation and Drawing for Animation.
These two courses cover all of the required drawings in an animation portfolio and together make up a typical session of the Animation Portfolio Workshop. One day of classes has a three hour Life Drawing for Animation class, a lunch break and a three hour Drawing for Animation class. Two courses, one workshop.
The end of our course coincides with the due dates for portfolio submissions to top animation schools. Successful entrance portfolios submitted in late February – to early March can receive offers of admission for programs starting in September.
The Life Drawing for Animation course exposes students to a series of drawing exercises that help to develop the skill set needed 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, animal drawings and object drawings required for the observational component of their portfolio. The aim is to produce completed assignments that can be used as portfolio pieces.
At the halfway point of the course, students begin to apply the drawing skills they have been developing to the process of creating drawings for their animation portfolios. By the end of the workshop, students have completed their portfolios and are ready to submit them to prospective animation schools.
The Drawing for Animation course rounds out our animation portfolio preparation program by covering solid, structural object drawing, linear perspective, layout development and design, character body construction, character design, storyboarding and animation. APW students develop each of these areas through focused drawing exercises in class. Learning the fundamentals forms the basis for producing completed assignments to use as portfolio pieces.
After a period of intensive drawing and practise (roughly 3/4’s of the way through the schedule of classes), students apply their drawing skills to the process of creating drawings for their animation portfolios. One-on-one portfolio review sessions with an APW Director offer personalized feedback and guidance through the stages of developing their ideas into finished pieces. By the end of the workshop, students have completed their portfolios and are ready to submit them to prospective animation schools.
