iA: Why did you decide to enroll into iAnimate?
Back in 2010 I was out of work and struggling to break into the animation industry. I attended CTN-X thinking that I might somehow land a job. It turned out everyone who reviewed my reel thought I needed more training. I was pretty disheartened after hearing that, as I had already spent a year going to a school in Vancouver, BC, had worked a 3D job for almost 3 years, and I didn’t have the time or money to attend a brick and mortar school again. That’s when I stumbled across iAnimate’s booth, and met Jason Ryan in person. He told me about the school and the fact that I could take a break between workshops if I needed, and he seemed so genuine that I was sold. I first started out with the feature programs, then after a year’s break decided to pursue gaming animation. I completed the gaming program in August, 2014.

What is EffectsMTL you ask? EffectsMLT is an international business convention for the visual effects (VFX) and animation industry, positioning itself to be THE leader in North America by offering top-level professional conferences and serving as a platform for business development. The event is a must-attend industry event where project broadcasts and showings, professional networking, job fair, exhibition spaces and more exciting features will take place in Montréal (Canada). So mark your calendars for June 10th & 11th, visit effectsmtl.com for more information, and use promo code iAnimate15 to receive an exclusive iAnimate 15% discount.

When I heard a few years ago that Jason Ryan was about to start iAnimate, I was instantly excited about the idea and wanted to be part of the first group of students. I had taken online classes before, but I felt I needed to refine my skill set. You can imagine that I was really excited about the iAnimate concept to prepare animators for feature productions by working closely together with top notch feature animation instructors and mimic a production environment during the classes. I was blown away by the quality of the classes and the knowledge of the mentors during the one-on-one weekly reviews. It’s a very special feeling when you can discuss your work directly with your mentor in person when you are at the other side of the ocean.

Also the rigs that iAnimate provides are top quality fast rigs that are a joy to work with. They have so much appeal that I felt at times that we were spoiled a bit with these new toys that were given to us every workshop.

Visual Effects and Animation studio Cinesite has joined forces with leading online training company iAnimate to offer a new animation apprenticeship. “iAnimate at Cinesite” will foster new talent entering into the thriving Canadian visual effects and animation industry. Read more from CineSite's announcement & visit the apprenticeship page.

We have a new Game Animation instructor, Jamie Titera, starting this April 6th in our Spring session. He will be teaching our Workshop 1: Animation and Game Principles. As you can see by the Disney Infinity Combat Animation reel, he will have a lot to share with our students. Advance in your skills today by joining this amazing workshop.

Our Modeling & Maya Introduction workshop is a great way to learn how to build unique and specific props and sets for your animation shots. It's also a great way to get familiar with Maya, particularly if you're new to animation and want to enroll in one of our animation workshops (i.e. Feature, Game, & Creature). We have some spots available for our Spring session starting April 6th. Visit the Modeling & Maya Intro. Page for more information or see the Apply page for pricing & to apply.

iAnimate feature student, Simon Taylor, recently finished up a wonderful & cute short animated film titled 'Taking Pictures'. We wanted to know a bit more about him and the project. Watch the short, a 'making of', as well as a quick interview with Simon. Be sure to leave him some feedback on his shorts' Vimeo page.

iA: Please tell us little about yourself?
My name is Simon and I’ve lived in London for 4 years. I’ve worked at a few different studios as an animator, mostly on pre-school shows such as Sarah & Duck and Tree Fu Tom, as well as some feature work on John Carter and some commercials. In my free time, I like making both live action and animated films and dabble in photography and the occasional magic trick.

A very big congratulations to iAnimate student, Kevin Nguyen, on his recent employment at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Good luck there & we look forward to seeing your name in the credits!