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Animation I - 'Gummy Cat' Project
To find out more about our Animation courses, please take a look at the appropriate video that explains them. It can be found at the top right after clicking LOWER SCHOOL HERE or UPPER SCHOOL HERE .
For students interested in animation, ages 9-adult. In Animation I course, the student first learns to read a very simple, brief screenplay (a fun, original screenplay authored by an Emmy-Award winning writer specifically for this course!), mastering some of the terms used in this art form. The student then works through a series of exercises to create a "storyboard" for a simple, fun and original script. (This one's about a cat who gets into a lot of trouble.)
Storyboards are a series of drawings which act as a visual "outline" for a film, cartoon, commercial, TV show...even a live stage show. To storyboard, the artist must create characters visually, create the locations the characters are in, and artfully, convincingly express through successive drawings the story to be told. This approach forces a new animator to do several things.
- Master the essentials of animation design, including character design and execution, and the ability to read and understand a script;
- Improve their drawing and essential skills.
- Develop many drawings through a highly structured but creative process, which may eventually be used as a part of a portfolio.
Our Animation courses progressively assist the student to accomplish these goals, with projects that continue to grow more challenging. The funny, original script that serves as a part of Animation II , "The Tortoise & The Hare &...", offers several new characters, and more difficult design elements, than our Animation I course, demanding of the student a higher level of design and execution. This trend increases in Animation III . Our Animation IV course specializes in animation techniques and practice, profoundly deepening the student's skill level and understanding of this unique art. Our final course, Animation V, offers the student a full script to break down and develop, with carefully constructed exercises (many!) to help the student truly master the challenges of animation!
Focused on the art of storyboarding and built around a clever, original script authored by an Emmy award-winning writer, the student increasingly develops through carefully structured exercises the skills needed to work in this fun and creative field. The perfect starter step for the student who already draws well, and who wishes to experiment and discover his or her talent in Animation, without critique or criticism!
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Required materials:
Optional: Animation Paper |
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Hello, everyone! I will take a moment to introduce myself... My name is Vicki and I've been homeschooling my son, Brenden, (3rd Grade) since kindergarten. We live in South Florida and the public schools...and most of the private schools, for that matter...are just terrible. It doesn't help that he HATES school — always has. And I've tried everything. I have an entire room full of abandoned curricula at this point! He draws and writes from the moment he wakes up until he passes out in bed at night, but if I give him an assignment to draw or write something he is instantaneously disinterested!
I was so grateful that you had some free courses to try because there was not very much info on your curriculum yet when hunting around for reviews, etc. I was gun-shy to spend a lot of money — again — without knowing if it would be a good fit. He's been using Time4Learning and enjoying it, but I've noticed he wasn't actually learning anything, but instead becoming a fantastic multiple-choice guesser (I'm pretty good at that myself thanks to the public school system!). So when he successfully completed the "How to Do CTT" course without too much complaint I was willing to open my checkbook. And I'm so glad I did! We have been doing all the recommended courses for his age and everyday he seems to enjoy it a bit more. But even more important, he is becoming more independent in his studies and learning how to think for himself! It is truly the perfect curriculum for an artistic/creative type! The animation course, although recommended for older kids, is right up his alley. I hope you don't mind me mentioning it, but Brenden is a finalist this year in the Google4Doodle contest. We are really excited because he won a trip to New York next week for the ceremony and to see his doodle on display at the Whitney Museum, and even more importantly will have the opportunity to meet Jim Davis (Garfield creator) and Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) which is a dream come true for a future cartoonist/animator!
So, Steve....THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for such a great curriculum! It accomplishes everything I hoped for in a curriculum. I homeschool because I want my children to be "think outside the box" people and your curriculum is a perfect match!
| by Victoria | Date Added: 05/11/2011 |
Connect the Thoughts Animation I - Gummy Cat Project is an awesome course! It provides rich experiences for students in many ways. As a home educating parent, I was concerned that I would not be able to provide my daughter with instruction in fields of the arts that I am not familiar with, or comfortable with. As I have no training in animation, I would never have expected that I would be able to provide her with instruction in animation and the art of creating a storyboard. Connect the Thoughts has changed that.
As my daughter has developed a love for drawing animated cartoon characters, I can now provide her with professional instruction in our own home. Connect the Thoughts Animation courses do not teach drawing skills, but provide professional instruction in creating a storyboard. The student is expected to use their own drawing skills and programs. In my opinion, this is of benefit as the students are free to draw their characters without the fear of their art work being judged to a specific level. Their drawing skills can develop and improve as they learn to analyze a script or literature, and create a storyboard using professional techniques.
There are many excellent drawing programs out there and the key to learning to draw is practice, practice, practice! They are free to learn their animation skills, and draw their characters at their own drawing skill levels. Your student’s literature skills can only be improved by the Gummy Cat Animation course. To produce a storyboard, it is necessary to analyze the script (or literature) to determine the physical characteristics of the characters and background settings. To do this, the student must be able to read and understand the script very well, as well as look for hidden details that might not be explicitly stated in the text.
As a professional makeup artist, I was trained to determine the physiognomy of the characters based on analysis of the script or literature. This required the ability to read between the lines and truly understand what was being read. The study of this can only enhance your student’s literature skills.
My daughter is really looking forward to working on Gummy Cat this summer. You can’t put a value on that type of enthusiasm! We are planning to use the more advanced levels of the CTT Animation courses and would highly recommend them to anyone!
| by Donna Gadde | Date Added: 07/02/2008 |
My 12 year old has started on the Gummy Cat project and loves it! She has total control over this project and works independently. It is lovely to see her taking full responsibility and enjoying it. She saves animation time for Fridays, as a treat! Thanks for a great program. We've already purchased the next level...
| by Elsa Raubenheimer | Date Added: 03/09/2009 |
The "Gummy Cat' project animation course was awesome. The kids learned a lot about animation, thoroughly enjoyed the script, and gained an understanding of what it takes to be an animator. Excellent!
| by Kimberly Boone | Date Added: 08/27/2010 |
