Lopez went over the basics of the animation program “Krita” and he also went over the basics of animation in general. The term “Squash & Stretch” is commonly used by not just beginner animators but veterans of the industry as well. Lopez later split the students into 2 groups for a friendly contest. 3 young men who are very good at the animation program we were using and 2 students that are familiarizing themselves with the program. Lopez stepped in and helped both groups. They are tasked with coming up with something “creative” now that they’ve learned the animation program. One team made a comet, flying in the background & the other drew a round bird with an upset face. In the end, everyone was a winner. The groups had positive interactions with each other from start to finish. That was the real victory in the end.
Springboard’s first animation Pilot was a success. But that’s not the end of it. We plan to hold more open houses very soon and we will have a paid sessions in October for the animation workshop. The open house we had was free and anyone could walk in to learn but the paid sessions in October will be slots only. You must sign up if you wish to join. There we will have lectures on the animation industry, learn how to apply for a job and of course more intermediate animation techniques for the students to learn. The animation industry is an ever-growing industry and we want our students to be prepared for what’s to come of it.
Our main goal for the animation workshop is simple. Students will prepare themselves for careers in the animation industry. Careers such as Key Animation, Story Boarding, directing/producing projects from various publishing companies. Students will learn about these careers in the paid session classes. I’ve written a few blog posts about the lack of animation studios on Long Island and while I do hope studios will eventually open in our communities specifically in Nassau County, we at Springboard Incubators plan to open an actual animation studio within the workshop itself. Not only will the students take on projects but they will learn what an actual environment in the studio is like.
I believe our art students can express their creativity in this very exciting field. We at Springboard Incubators will lay a path for our students to learn with confidence when they choose to pursue a career in Animation.