Blender makes 3D animation training more accessible in South Africa

If you only want to find out about the more about the animation course, which is starting in Somerset West in the Western Cape, South Africa, jump to the second half of the article. But you risk losing out on the interesting beginnings of the school :-)

Beginnings

It all started when Allan’s son wanted to enter the 3D animation industry. They researched the local industry and found it 1) exorbitantly expensive for what you get and 2) a logistic nightmare due to the distance and traffic to the nearest animation school. So they decided to do it from home…

As an artist who has sold some paintings, Allan appreciated the value of a solid art foundation in 3D animation, so he sent his son on a 1-year art course during daytime. Working as an Engineer in daytime, Allan had started training himself in Blender after-hours, initially form the Blender 2.3 on-line manual, but later from the now-renown Blender 2.3 book. In the evenings and over weekends, he then taught his son Blender. His son created a demo reel using Blender.

Allan reckons there is no compromise for methodically working through a structured training course. When he taught himself, he initially wanted to skip parts of the book, but he disciplined himself to cover and understand every subject. That later paid off when his first-ever TV production after completing the book became a top-10 finalist in South Africa’s VUKA! awards, which was featured on BlenderNation.

In the mean time, his son got into the South African 3D animation film industry… using his Blender-based showreel!

Allan did not sit idle: he resigned as engineer and went into full-time 3D modeling and animation, using Blender of course! In between, he also started giving short courses in Cape Town, Johannesburg and even Nigeria. He also went on to become a Blender Foundation Certified Trainer and has recently completed an animation lecturing stint at a local University.

2-year course starting in 2009

South Africa’s animation industry is taking off, with the first 3D animated movies rolling off the production line – especially in the Western Cape! The good news is that even more movies are in the pipeline and that the local animation industry is experiencing a huge shortage of animators! The bad news is that 3D animation training tends to be quite expensive, but Allan wants to change that…

Allan now wants to make his “lessons learnt” available to more people: he uses Blender to make animation training accessible by providing top quality, but more affordable courses. He has proven that Blender does not have to stand back for any software to gain entry into the animation industry, and once there, understanding animation principles is more important than the software anyway, because you will be changing animation software regularly. And Blender is standing there with the best nowadays too!

But it won’t stop there. Over the course of two years:

• They will start off by laying a proper art foundation, as Allan believes that – although you may be able to animate – you will never excel at animation if you can’t draw properly.
• Using Blender, they will teach you the animation principles thoroughly. This is where Allan will guide you with the discipline he used to train himself 3D animation and the insight his engineering studies at university gave him into modeling, materials, lighting, water simulation, SSS, etc.
• Once you understand and can apply the animation principles, they will provide you with a conversion course if you want to learn other software too
• They will assist you to create a proper show reel, which is really the only way you gain entrance into the animation industry – a certificate or diploma guarantees nothing.

He will be providing training in Somerset West, situated in the Helderberg Basin, but next to the ocean and also very close to the winelands of Stellenbosch… far away from the city traffic.

Allan’s company, DNA Pixels, will give a presentation on Thursday evening at 19:00, 9 October 2008 at Designguru, situated at Unit 9, Fairview Centre, Caledon Street, Somerset West. Please call to reserve a seat.

To find out more or have a look at the curriculum, go to DNA Pixels’ web site at www.dnapixels.com (under learning) or contact Allan at [email protected] or 082 901 8014 (in South Africa).