How To Easily Learn The Basics Of Animation
From A PRO In 8 Weeks
And set yourself up for an animation Dream Job
Are you struggling like hell to learn animation?
Is overlap, smooth movement, and weight been difficult to get right?
Or maybe you’re not sure where to even begin...
- What kind of animations should you even make?
- How long should they take you?
- And how good do they need to be before you move on?
When I was a student, I asked all these questions and MANY more.
My first bouncing ball felt like Jell-O. My first ball and tail animation was about as flexible as a steel beam. And my first character walk…well…let’s just say if anyone ever sees it – I’ll deny that I was the one who made it.
At the time I made those animations, I was so frustrated I’d quietly YELL at the computer and grab a fist full of my own hair.
WHHAT am I doing wrong?!!?
Especially, when I saw other classmates breezing through without breaking a sweat.
It felt like I’d never figure it out. It felt like I should just give up. It felt like I should wave goodbye to my daring dream of becoming a professional animator.
Fortunately, though, I kept going despite those feelings.
And now that I’ve been a VFX and Game animator for several years on BIG titles at BIG studios – I’m proud to say that I made it. That the basics now are easy.
And more importantly that my rock-solid understanding of the fundamentals is what makes my far more advanced animations far better.
As without solid basics...
- Body mechanics would be agony because I wouldn't know how the hips rotate, how to create weight, arcing steps and fluid drag.
- Acting would be impossible because if I don't know how to move character's around convincingly - how in the hell would I move them around with specific emotions?
- And job offers would never come my way because Id be incapable of great body mechanic shots (let alone acting pieces) for an impressive demo reel.
So all of the struggle was well worth it.
Though, looking back, I do have 1 BIG regret.
I regret that I learned most of it the hard way:
- Through trial and error
- Through extensive studying of books and films
- Through piecing together scraps of wisdom here and there
- And definitely through many, many, many, mistakes.
I wish I could have learned how the bouncing ball and the pendulum really applies to human movement - right from the start.
I wish I could have seen many of my mentors animate to better understand workflow, weight, posing, and force.
I wish I could of had been deeply taught about the basics the way I understand them now, all at once, rather than having to piece it together over years.
- It would have saved me at least $100,000+ in tuition for attending multiple schools
- It would have saved me several years of learning time before reaching my dream job
- And it definitely would have saved me confidence in my animation skills as I had to learn and relearn the basics again and again.
I can’t do much about it now. My past can’t change.
But YOUR future doesn’t have to be that way.
YOU don’t have to learn the hard way.
Imagine if you could learn the basics of animation directly from a pro 24/7:
- You’d have a clear guide as how good your animations should look
- You’d know exactly what and how to animate to improve massively in a few weeks.
- Most importantly, you’d finally start going after your animation dream job, with a rock-solid foundation that will severe you for your entire career
Here’s what learning the easy way looks like:
Introducing...
Animation Fundamentals
It's the most effective way to master the basics and set yourself up for an impressive demo reel
How Animation Fundamentals Makes Your Dream Job Begin
Have a clear game-plan to your dream job
You don't have to figure out where to start, what to animate, or how good your basic should look.
You'll have a clear game plan for learning fast - with accountability that takes you from a normal ball bounce all the way to your first good personality walk.
Eliminate Your Blind-spots and Level Up Fast
After you've watched me animate each lesson frame by frame from planning to polish --
You'll get recorded video critiques and draw overs directly on your animations to discover your blind-spots about the basics.
Confidently Go After An Animation Career
You'll confidently start mastering the basics you'll need before creating impressive body mechanics and acting shots.
Shots that will set you up to make a demo reel that will get you an animation job in movies or game studios - like Disney, Pixar, Weta, or Blizzard
What You Get Inside Animation Fundamentals
10 Step by Step
Video Lessons
Walk you through every frame from planning to polish. You'll get to see how a pro animates it all.
Course Structure and Deadlines
Your kept accountable and progressing every week with action based goals
A Private Community Of Animators at your level
Where you can team up with other animators at the same level as you
24/7 Lifetime access (Free Upgrades for the Future)
Watch and download anywhere, anytime - even as NEW video lessons are added in
Recorded Video Critiques
Discover your animation blind-spots and level up 2x as fast - with professional video critiques.
Video Lesson Details:
Welcome and Setup to Win
How to prepare for massive artistic growth over 8 weeks and guarantee your success.
Animation Principles
Discover and deeply grasp all 12 principles of animation to always improve the illusion of life.
Basic Animation Workflow
Develop a fundamental playbook for creating any animation effectively and with little hassle.
Emotional Poses
Learn how to convey emotions through body language, strengthen line of action, and how to create appeal.
Ball Bounce Animation
Discover the basics of timing, spacing, momentum, and settling.
And how it will always be key to all of your animations.
Light and Heavy Ball Bounce
Expand your understanding of weight as you push your timing and spacing to each ball feel completely different.
Pendulum
Grow your skill set with Overlap, Follow through, and Successive breaking of joints.
Ball w/ Tail
Make the tail on a bouncing ball flick, swish, and flow. Your skills with overlap will soar to new heights.
Normal Walk
Apply all the skills you've been developing into a normal human walk. It opens the door to advanced animations.
Personality Walk
Use all that you've learned to animate a full body character walk oozing with attitude.
Recorded Video Critiques from a Pro
If you want to improve on the fundamentals and reach your dream job even faster...
...Nothing will help you grow as an artist faster than a professional mentor.
- By getting experienced eyes to look at your art and catch your blind-spots.
- By seeing draw overs on top of your animation that show you clear solutions
- By receiving direct answers and feedback to your specific questions with each video critique
Hi, I'm Rusty Gray, Owner of Rusty Animator.
And I've been a VFX and Game Animator for several years at some of the biggest studios.
Looking back on my success, there's no doubt that nothing allowed me to succeed faster than a few key mentors.
So, inside Animation Fundamentals you also have the option of being directly mentored by me.
I'll have your back every step of the way with detailed draw overs and notes on top of each animation. And you won't have to seek out "good quality" feedback every time you need it.
Together, we'll team up to double your animation progress in 8 weeks and rocket launch you towards advanced animations in record time. Just select the video critique option below.
Experience
- Steamroller Studios
- Digital Domain
- MPC
- One Animation
Credits
- X-men
- Cinderella
- Pixels
- Night at the Museum 3
- Into the Woods
- Oddbods
- Rend
How does it work?
What Students have said about Fundamentals:
I totally recommend you to do A.F.
AF totally was a good choice! I really like the way Rusty explains the concepts because he loves Animation and he loves to teach. You can feel his passion through his YouTube videos and AF lessons too, so basically this makes this course so helpful!
In addition to Rusty's skill level, he has a lot of will to help people become animators. I was also a bit lost and I really wanted to understand what my level was without enrolling in any school.
Now I feel more self confident about my level. I know at which point I'm at, I know what I can/ can't do and now I feel a little less lost about what I will have to do.
The first lessons I totally underrated the importance of some fundamentals.
Basically you'll not became a professional animator in 8 weeks, but you'll have the basics to go forward to the advanced mechanics. If you feel insecure about your animation skills and you're a beginner or a mid-low level animator like me I totally recommend you to do AF.
I would say if you have the time and you want to improve this is the course to do it.
I think the fundamentals class was an excellent fit and it has really helped my improve my skills
All the lessons over all helped me grow from where i was.
I would say if you have the time and you want to improve this is the course to do it.
Animation Fundamentals has been a great class. I really enjoy how concise Rusty’s lessons are.
Animation Fundamentals has been a great class. I really enjoy how concise Rusty’s lessons are and how easy going his explanations are. It all makes sense and is very easy to follow.
I have been a freelance animator for about 3 years, and I’ve been struggling to land myself frequent jobs. I wanted to revisit the basics and make sure I have a strong foundation to help move my career forward and make sure that I am not missing anything.
I feel like I have a much stronger understanding of the basics, and I have learned some neat tricks and tools that I didn’t know before.
Watching Rusty’s project structure and process was really helpful for me. I learned a lot on the first lesson.
Animation Fundamentals is a great alternative to expensive online schools. Rusty is a great instructor who is enthusiastic about animation and seeing your self growth. I highly recommend this class to people who are starting out or if you’re a veteran who wants to go over the basics again.
The teaching quality was better than on my masters that was 7000 pounds.
It was a very good course. Very detailed. I really feel my skills improved after this course.
I decided to join because I was preparing for a masters in 3d animation and I wanted to brush up on my basics
It's definitively worth it. Definitively a very thorough introduction to the basic animation principles. The teaching quality was better than on my masters and the tuition for that was 7000 pounds.
What Alumni Have Said About Our Other Courses:
“
I’ve learned from you more than I have from any other individual instructor, I’m sure.
Rusty is here to see you through it, he honestly cares whether we get better or not, and I think he comes across that way immediately…..I can’t think of another reason why he wouldn’t be into this, if he weren’t trying to do this for other people, helping them grow, building a better community, and honestly I think that comes across without me even having to say it. Yeah, that’s how I felt from day one, you know…
Theron C. , Memorable Animator and 2 time Augmented Animator Student
“
[your feedback] in terms of animation definitely opened my animation eye.
I'm more clued in to looking for things. Searching for what is the ideal spacing? What is the best arc? Or can we find a new arc in this motion? Or whats the next possible push that we can make for this animation? Even just in the planning stage - It definitely opened my animation eye.
Joe T. , Game Animator - 2 time Augmented Animator Student
“
Your feedback was super helpful. I can literally sit down now and get results, it made me better. A lot of times you pointed things out that were nagging in the back of my head and then you addressed it, so I knew I had to work on it.
The fact that there were no grades was really great. That for me wasn't the... I really didn't care about that, I just wanted to learn and get better. Its about turning in your work in every week and getting helpful feedback, so it doesn't matter if I gets grades.
Jorge G. , Memorable Animator Student
“
Animators always want professionals to give you feedback. My friend is a programmer, he doesn't understand, why I always need to pay for a class, I can't just practice at home, close the door, close the window and start.
If you're not an animator you don't understand. You need someone professional. I like your style, and your feedback really make me think that you really care about each student. I was a mentor for a Chinese online animation school for a little while so I understand it's not easy. Your notes were really good, you really spent time.
Casey L. , 2k Games Cinematic Animator - Memorable Animator Student
“
For me the feedback which you delivered was great, I had everything I needed. I knew exactly what to do.
Maxim K. , Studio Sooi Animator -Memorable Animator Student
“
I just wanted to let you know that I actually was impressed by your feedback. There were a lot of us, how many? like 50?
...you took the time to answer us in that much detail, and giving us more ideas and suggestions, and all that, I think it was really amazing. I didn't expect that much feedback you know?...I loved the feedback that you gave.
Laura L. , Animator at Ilion Studios - Memorable Animator Student
30 Day "Care FREE" 100% Money-Back Guarantee
Give Animation Fundamentals a shot for 30 days and if you don't LOVE IT - you get 100% of your money back
Why?
Animation Fundamentals isn’t just about starting your animation journey. It's about building the right habits, the right foundation.
So I’m confident that if you put in the work, you’ll be thrilled with your growth.
And if you don’t feel like you're improving - your protected with the 30 day 100% carefree guarantee.
Just shoot over an email and you’ll get a full refund.
Yes, you actually have to put in the work. You have to prove you made an effort to do the animations. The reason for this is simple.
Animation Fundamentals is only for the dedicated artists out to make their dream jobs happen. The consistent do-ers. Not the consumers.
That’s ok though because you’re totally up for improving right?
Can’t wait to see you on the inside.
Join Animation Fundamentals Now
The chance to join with Recorded Critiques Disappears in:
Most Animators Never Feel Ready To Finally
Start Going After Their Dream Job
- Most new animators DESPERATELY want to start learning and become a pro – though they don't feel like "its the right time, right now"
- Most new animators fantasize about seeing their NAMES IN LIGHTS ON THE BIG SCREEN – though they don't feel talented enough to make it.
- Most student animators DROOL AT THE IDEA of getting a paycheck to work on projects like Incredibles 2, Infinity War, or Overwatch – though they feel like it's impossible because they've got so much to learn.
Most never feel ready.
So most NEVER reach their dream job.
What's worse - most aspiring animators NEVER even get started.
But YOU have no need to worry.
Here’s the BIG secret they're all missing - that YOU wont.
Nobody EVER feels ready.
The animators who reached their dream jobs, are the animators who just decided to make the leap.
They just decided to get started, despite their doubt, despite their talent, despite their excuses - despite their feelings.
Now its you’re turn to decide.
- Will you take the leap?
- Will you choose to start becoming a pro – despite how you feel?
The choice to begin won't get any easier than it is right now.