Meet Your Instructor
Hi I’m Chris Fazio the owner and Instructor of Animation Career Pro. My career highlights include Animation Director on the TV series “Will and Dewitt” which won a Gemini Award in 2008, Supervising Animator on Disney’s “Handy Manny” and 3D Character Animator on “The Backyardigans”, “Bubble Guppies” and “Little Charmers”. I’m currently a 3D Character Animator on “Kody Kapow” an NBC Spark TV series. I have also worked on 2D animated series such as “Grossology” and “Franny’s Feet” See my demo reel here, and visit my LinkedIn page to review more of my production credentials and teaching experience.
This Animation School
Welcome to Animation Career Pro! This school is intended to help anyone train in 2D character animation (using Adobe Animate) or 3D character animation (using Autodesk Maya) or Cross train between 2D and 3D. The classes and assignments here are presented in a step by step fashion for easy progressive learning…each class builds on the previous class and sets you up for the next.
You’ll learn workflow techniques based on my experience as a professional animator and educator to speed up you work flow, increase the quality of your work, receive industry tips and much more. The image at the top of this page was actually from a second year 2D animation class I was conducting in 2015 at St Clair College. It was meant as a reminder to students how to go about a 2D character animation project.
I am offering both 2D and 3D training so that you will have a diverse skill set which makes you more employable as an animator. With the ability to animate in both 2D and 3D you are more likely to be able to start a career in animation. If your already in the industry, you’ll be less likely to be without work.
Feel free to take 2D or 3D. But I need to let you know that most animators know only 2D animation or 3D animation. When you Cross train and come out with a 2D/3D demo reel potential employers will find you more valuable because you will be more qualified to work on any project that may come through the door, and even train new or existing employees to work on new 2D or 3D projects.
If your new to animation I suggest you start at the beginning of the 2d and/or 3d classes and work through them in sequence. With all the free animation classes you do have the freedom to go as far as you want with 2D or 3D and get some of both on your first demo reel. But I do advise all students to complete the courses for maximum success.
If you are already an experienced animator you may only need to take some of the classes to upgrade.
I’m excited to take this journey with you! Become an animation professional and a pro at managing a sustainable animation career – Animation Career Pro!
Learning Animation
Learning animation requires a tone of dedication and self-motivation. Many people who decide to train in animation feel like they need education credentials such as a diploma or BA/University degree from a brick and mortar school. The truth is, animation studios ultimately hire animators based on the quality of their demo reel (very similar to how an actor/actress is hired based on the outcome of their audition). There are many great brick and mortar schools that offer animation training, and a diploma/BA may come in handy later in life. However, online animation training has become completely acceptable in the industry, it’s a good way to specialize without having to take other classes you don’t particularly need and is usually more cost effective. A great demo reel will always win the job over education credentials with a poor demo reel.
The Outcome
Upon completion of my 2D or 3D courses you will successfully be able to use Animate and/or Maya to execute high quality character animation. Students will have a strong understanding of the animation principles and how to combine and use them appropriately and creatively for advanced character acting and locomotion. Because of the workflow techniques that I teach, students will be able to maintain a level of speed and quality in their work which makes them suitable to work in a time sensitive production environment.
The Job
Most animation jobs are contract positions. Typically contracts can be 3 months up to 2 years in length depending on what your working on, this is very similar to how live action actors work. Having said that there are also many permanent full time positions in many studios out there as well. Often you will start on contract and later receive full time status, but of course it all depends on the entertainment/production company you end up working for. And it depends on you, you’ll need to have a great work ethic with a desire to collaborate with other departments, be focused on completing projects on time and at the highest level of quality possible, and meet client demands – usually in the form of retakes or revisions to the work.
The Industry
Generally the animation industry has always been considered a small industry. Of course it has grown over the years but it’s still small in comparison to other industries and professions as it is highly specialized. Animation work usually exists in larger metropolitan areas where there’s an entertainment industry. To list just a few – New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago in the US, and Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal in Canada. There are many throughout Europe and South America as well. Africa is currently undergoing a surge in VFX and animation. In any city where there is an industry it’s common to work with the same people in different studios – you just tend to bump into one another, and that’s probably where the “small industry” feeling comes from and that still happens today.
