Enjoy a minute long video of assorted demonstration based art in multiple mediums presented in a thematic fashion. This is something we'll be doing more often as we organize the vast archive or educational content that's been created over the years at the Academy. Video of Some Girls - Video Art Show ..read more

This video features a class demonstration from a Visual Development session at the Academy completed in October 2019.   After each phase I would scan the painting in progress. You can see how it develops from a pencil drawing on illustration board to the final image. This was done in acrylics. The character is Spyro the Dragon which I created. The palette I used was unusual and as such I wound up with colors that are slightly off model from Spyro. So I figure he could be Dark Spyro instead.   I encourage students to work with traditional mediums as often as they can as I believe i ..read more

I'm thrilled and delighted to present a wonderful animated pilot video produced by our long time student Molly Heady-Carroll. She created "Zenibeasts" as a class project and now it's taking off with online viewers on YouTube. Molly has been developing her Zenibeasts franchise along with a comic and a board game. This is the debut of Zenibeasts in animation. Congratulations on this fantastic accomplishment Molly! Video of Zenibeasts: Kaiju Cutie ..read more

Cheers !! It was 26 years ago on January 19 1998 in the back room of a local restaurant in Burbank California that The Animation Academy held its first class. And the rest is history! We're heading in a new and exciting direction in 2024. Stay tuned, stay productive and Keep Creating ..read more

In 1994 I was fortnate enough to be invited by my friend and professional colleague Joe Pearson to participate in the creation and development of a video game project for a new technloigy called PlayStation by Sony. Now 30 years later Crash Bandicoot has once again been featured on McDonald's Happy Meals for kids for December 2023. Here's a commercial that is running in a nationwide campaign. Animation is an exciting and dynamic industry. Keep Creating !! Video of McDonald's Happy Meal | Crash Team Rumble Commercial (2023 ..read more

Today is Walt Disney's birthday! He was born on December 5 1901 in Chicago. Here is a video I created on behalf of our community to honor him. Video of Walt Disney - A Great Man ..read more

New students looking to get started with their vocational training in animation can begin with Chance Raspberry's Character Design 101. This is a fundamentals oriented class that Chance is offering independently. The class is ideal for beginners and is open to a wide range of ages. Also his Character Design 101 Art Camp is dedicated to children from 7 to 11 years old. Chance is a former instructor with the Academy as well as an accomplished alumni and has had many years animating on The Simspons. He is an excellent instructor and highly knowledgable in marketing and promoting one's work as we ..read more

It's a blockbuster movie. Super Mario Bros has grossed $782,452,239 worldwide as of this writing. After 21 days in release it has remained king of the box office with 3 consecutive weekends at number 1. The film has nearly 60% of total box office revenues. And our very own Aaron Horvath directed the movie! Click on this link to see samples of his student work when he was enrolled with us 20 years ago. Great things happen over time when you Keep Creating ..read more

I am very happy and beyond enthusiastic about the success of the Super Mario Bros Movie from Universal / Illumination. It's the biggest motion picture in the world. As of this writing it has grossed $585,474,381 in less than 2 weeks. It has broken the record for a 5 day opening for an animated feature previously held by Disney in 2019. And to top if off it has a 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The reason for my excitement is that the Academy's Aaron Horvath is the director of this blockbuster movie. Aaron was with us as a student in 2002 and as an instructor in 2003 up until he broke ..read more

On this day in the evening of January 19 in 1998 we had our first session in the back room of the Coral Cafe in Burbank California with 20 students. It was the flagship class of The Animation Academy. I started the school with a small mailing list and $15 for stamps and envelopes to send flyers and enrollment forms. All available seating sold out. Today after a quarter of a century I'm happy to say that the Academy is still going strong. Thank you to everyone who has ever been a part of this great experience. My affectionate gratitude for these past 25 years and what they have meant. KEEP ..read more