Academy of Animated Art

About School

The Academy Of Animated Art was co-founded by Jasmine Katatikarn and Michael Tanzillo. We were two senior light artists at Blue Sky Studios with a combined 20+ years of working on VFX and Animated Films (Ice Age Films, Rio, Ferdinand, Peanuts, etc…). We’ve been in this game for a long time and we know what it takes to get a job in this industry. The problem? We weren’t seeing the skills necessary from people applying for jobs. We would travel on recruiting trips to colleges and universities and students would continuously show us reels that didn’t have the type of work or quality of work to get a job. We set out to change that. We developed a full range of artist-focused 3D animation courses that are geared for everyone who wants to jumpstart their animation career. And we crafted it in a way that will allow you to master all the necessary skills in a fraction of the time and pennies on the dollar compared to traditional schools.

General Info

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Facilities

Our school is 100% online and accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Staff

Our school is in regular contact with recruiters from around the industry and regularly has lighting artists from Pixar, Dreamworks, Disney, and more to provide lighting critiques.

Employment Rates

Students have received jobs at Walt Disney Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Dreamworks Animation, Naughty Dog, Icon Creative Studio, and many more!

Technology

Software

We have workshops that focus on Maya, Katana, Nuke, Octane, Redshift, Arnold, and more. That being said, we do not focus on software in our program. Instead, we aspire for something much more valuable. We focus on making you a better artist. We will train your eye to see the world differently and give you the skills to create beautiful images regardless of software. Pushing yourself artistically will ultimately lead to learning new software techniques while creating images that will get you that job.

Hardware

Free access to Maya and Substance Products Discounted Rates on Foundry Products like Nuke, Katana, Mari, and Modo

Student Showcase

Take a look at some of the traditional and digital artwork Academy of Animated Art students produce during their education.

Hana Schonegger

I've known I wanted to work in Animated Film since I was 16. The road to get there, however, has not been quick or easy, and here I am, still walking.

Jordan Osborne

It started when I was watching youtube and I came across these animated short films that were made by single people, they were actually done in the video-game universe and they would create entire fil...

Andre Schneider

Since always

View more student portfolios

•Anuar Figueroa - Senior Lighting TD at Sony Pictures Imageworks

“This course was so beneficial in my career because now I no longer doubt the decisions I make regarding my work. Also, I didn’t have money to afford college so I did not want to spend time just doing some boring tutorials I would just forget. I use what I learned from Academy Of Animated Art everyday!”

Networking & Careers

Students

On any given day of the week, our students can learn and grow in so many ways. They can watch our prerecorded lessons, light one of our many shaded characters and environments, and submit their work for daily live critiques from industry professionals.

Studios Hiring

Following studios hire our graduates: Lighting Apprenticeship at Walt Disney Animation

Courses

Hi, We’re Jasmine & Mike. Both of us were in completely different industries before deciding that we wanted a better, more fun career lighting on animated films. And trust us...we’ve made all the mistakes and we know what you’re going through. The good news for you is that we’ve overcome all the obstacles and now we know all the secrets... After over a decade of lighting animated films for Blue Sky Studios, we developed our system of training lighting artists. We knew this system would be effective, but the results have blown us away. In the past couple of years, we have trained over 300 artists from around the world and they have completely transformed their lives by getting jobs at Walt Disney Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Naughty Dog, Blue Sky Studios, Reel FX, Giant Animation, and many more!

The Lighting For Animation Bundle

This proven system has been used to help train over 300 students get their dream job as a Lighting Artist and change their lives forever. The Lighting For Animation Bundle System is specifically designed to work for anyone regardless of their background.

Even if you are the most talented, gifted artist in the world, that is not enough to land a job at one of the top animation companies. Lighting is a skill that must be learned and practiced like anything else. How does our program gives you the skills to succeed?

Phase 1. The Courses

We’ve built seven step-by-step lighting courses that will guide you from Lighting Newbie to a Master Artist! These courses will also show you the techniques that professional artists use every day to start making incredible images beginning today!

Phase 2. The Assets

The hardest part of lighting...finding something good to light! And we get it...you’re busy. You don’t have time to design and model assets if you are trying to learn lighting. That’s why we have hired artists and worked with companies like TurboSquid and KitBash3d to create an entire library specifically designed to look great on a demo reel. Currently, we have over 30 characters, environments, and animated scenes for you to light today and we have dedicated professional modelers creating more and more for you every single month.

Step 3. The Support

While our content is best-in-class, this is NOT just another self-study course. The secret ingredient to making this system thrive is our support. IMAGINE WORKING WITH THE INDUSTRY’S BEST ARTISTS EVERY SINGLE DAY. Have a question or need a critique? Our professionals will usually respond within 24 hours allowing you to keep you moving forward.

And we will be there for you every step of the way. We will help you critique every project on your demo reel. We will provide mentorship when you look for your first job. We will be there for you when you to guide you through that first job and put you in the best position to have a successful career!

DON’T GO THROUGH THE STRESSFUL PROCESS OF FINDING A JOB ALONE. COME GET YOUR SUPER TEAM.

Ready to apply to this school?

You’re one step away from starting something amazing! The best part is that Academy of Animated Art is a Rookies Certified School which is a formal accreditation only awarded to the very best schools that provide the most up-to-date and relevant industry training and education. Trust us, you will be in good hands when you apply to this school.

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