Back on track...
Hello friends, if you had noticed, I skipped last week’s newsletter, if you didn’t notice, well, all good then. 😁
I got some healthy issues slowing me down and affecting most of my off work hours, but, I am here, back on track to bring you more updates.
Although my issue affected the website update, my main goal is still to deliver Spine Basics in January, as promissed. It was the priority before and I will keep as it is.
Some updates…
To not leave you in the dark with this delay, I will share with your a section that is part of the website. It is a map for the courses and it is organized in a way that you can see how the skills and industry fields are distributed along the courses. As you can see below, it all starts from Spine Basics. With it, you will have access to all free content and it acts as a start for all the courses. If you know already the program very well, you can skip Spine Basics, but you still have access to it and all the free content that will be released, and if you never used Spine before, there you will have a good start to keep going to any of the courses ;)
Here you have the most comom industry fields connected to each course, so, if you want to specialize in one kind of production, you will have the chance to do it according to your interest.
You will notice that Spinemation main course has few connections, that is because what I’ve been saying since the very beginning, it is focused in teach you ANIMATION, not Spine only.
The other courses are very specific for each area but they have not a deep focus in animation techniques, but more in building the rigs and using the tools accordingly to each use. The whole structure of Spinemation Project is to get you prepared to any kind of situation and I believe firmly and by my decades of experience that first comes a good foundation and from there, you can master in any field.
Animation knowledge is the link to all the different areas in the industry, you can learn how to setup a great rig, create amazing and complex setups, but if you don’t animate them well, your outputs will continue lacking that smoothness, that beautiful and well crafted detail, you will still have that feeling that something is missing.
As I like to repeat, I see A LOT of great Spine users, but very few really good animators, and that’s what motivates me to invest so much in this endeavour, to make your animation stand out from the rest, make it shine and put a spotlight on your work.
Although we don’t have prices set yet, everyone not subscribed will have the option to pick the courses separated or as a full package with all included at full price, BUT, as one of the benefits of beign part of this early subscription, you will get a BIG discount for Spinemation and all Spinemation students will have access to all other courses also with a minimum fee.
Recommendations
This week lets talk about books! Animation books are very important as a source to research and use as a reference and I always recommend to everyone to have at least the basics. Maybe these recommendations are not new for you, but they are all classics and still, they are the main references for everybody and all the pros will recommend them. I put the Amazon links if you want to buy any of them, but there is also 2 of them that are free and they are also very good.
The Illusion of Life. - I call it the Old Testament of animation. Crafted by 2 of the famous Disney’s Nine Old Men, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, it was released in 1981 and from there it is the main reference in animation insdustry, beside the famous 12 principles of animation the book is beautiful, packed with history and images from Disney classics, a must have!
Link to the stores - US - UK - BRThe animator Survival Kit - If The Illusion of Life is the Old Testament of animation, The Animator Survival Kit is the New Testament. Writen by Richard Williams, master animator, being called by his animator colleagues as the animator of the animators, he carries a lot of knowledge about the animation craft. His book is heavily packed with draws and practice, his ways of teaching are very clear and if you want to go deeper in character animation and techniques, this is the book for you.
Link to the stores - US - UK - BRActing for Animators - Eddie Hooks is one of the kindest human beings around. I had the pleasure to do a 4 days workshop with him couple years ago and I can assure to you, he knows the stuff! He has a sharp eye for acting and he specialized in animation, this book is a classic and he talks about classics as well, going deep in scenes, analyzing performance and coming up with very useful notes about how to craft personality and emotion. Released in 1987, became an instant classic, and Ed has updated the new editions. Ed has a Patreon page also, if you want to support him and have access to exclusive content he is producing.
Link to the stores - US - UK - BRTiming for animation - This is another classic. Small book and with focus only in timming and his twin brother, spacing. Written by a power trio - John Halas, Harold Whitaker and Tom Sito - that has credits and prizes spreaded all over the industry. The book aproaches timing in aniamtion very deep and objective, highlighting how important it is to understand this concept that is the core of animation. Released in 1981, also an instant classic and still remains at the top os recommendation lists.
Link to the stores - US - UK - BRTipsAndTricks by Shawn Kelly - These are FREE .pdfs full of very nice tips and tricks, divided in 2 volumes and together you have almost 170 pages. They are targeted to 3d animation students from Animation Mentor, but they are heavily based on foundations, really cool stuff. Shawn Kelly is one of the founders of Animation Mentor, and nowadays he works as animation supervisor at ILM. He is a rewarded and experienced animator with more than 25 years on the industry. It is free! Go for it!
Volume 1 - Volume 2
Famous Last words
That’s it for today friends, I hope to see you next week with more good news. Thanks for supporting me with this project and if you want to follow my content around, check my other social channels on Instagram, Youtube, Twitter and Twitch. I hope to see you there!
Love you all!🧡
Juliano Castro