Don't let the "tech" get in the way of your dream animation job!
GET THIS LIMITED-TIME TECH BUNDLE to master the tech and GET YOUR DREAM JOB FASTER.
*Offer has expired*
For a limited time, to get 2022 off to a great start, save over 50% off!
Original price $1,794 ===> NOW $750 for SIX WORKSHOPS
+ educational licenses*
*see below in course descriptions for specifics on included software licenses.
(Offer expires 1/17/2022, be sure to get it before it goes away!)
Is software slowing you down?
Have you ever found yourself spending hours/days/weeks trying to figure out “how to use Arnold, Katana, Redshift, Octane?” (all the above??)
Chances are, you are spending most of your time googling and searching through forum after forum, youtube video after video - trying to learn it on your own or finding endless answers to software questions that start with “how do I …?”
What ends up happening is that you spend so much time searching about what a tool/button does that you end up not spending time on your real goal of creating a fantastic image.
+ If you are not aware of all the tools available to you, your work may not be as good as it could be!
These result in you not finishing your project how you would like it and, more importantly, not having work to put on your reel ---> which means no job offers!
Am I right?
Good news! You don’t have to search any longer!!
We make it a point NOT TO FOCUS ON SOFTWARE in our core lighting courses at the Academy of Animated Art. This is because we know that it’s not the software that makes the lighting artist, but the artistic foundations.
That being said, a carpenter is only as good as his tools — and his knowledge of how to use them.
The same can be said for you as an artist. You have spent time honing in your artistic eye and skills, and now it’s time to be sure you are fully equipped with the tools to create it. In this case, the tool is a library of technical courses that give you all the information you need to make your masterpiece!
These technical courses will save you the time and frustration of endlessly searching forums, googling, and watching one-off youtube videos trying to find the answers.
This is like having a full library that you can easily access to find your technical answers so that you can spend your time focusing on CREATING inspiring visuals to put on your reel to get you that job.
Imagine all the time that will save, so you can spend your time creating.
“I go to Mike's Arnold workshop often to find out about stuff, and I find that a video step by step breakdown is so much better than just reading text on their website! It is made even better because the explanation is by a lighting artist's standpoint and not the software engineer's”
- Adrian L., Academy of Animated Art student
Get all the technical knowledge you need in one place to give you the skills and confidence that will allow you to focus your attention on creating great work that will get you that job FAST.
These courses will:
- Save your time so you can focus on what is essential, Lighting!
- Give you confidence by knowing you have all the technical answers you need.
- Give you a toolbelt of resources when working on any project.
- Taught from the point of view of an artist, like you, that speaks your language!
Most importantly, these courses will make you more marketable and confident when you are applying for jobs.
Imagine you are about to go on an interview for a job.
Before the interview, you learn that the studio is using Katana. You don’t know katana.
Your reaction?
OMG, I am not qualified. Should I even go to the interview? Will they test me? What if they say I can only get the job if I know Katana? I should just give up.
At this point, you either:
1. Frantically start googling and searching for Katana tutorials, leading to stress and anxiety - not the right way to go into an interview.
Or?
2. Worse, you give up and don’t even go to the interview
___
Alternatively, with a complete Katana course in your tool belt, you know what to do. Calm and collected, you go through some of the vital Katana videos and quickly become confident in the tools. You head to the interview, head held high, knowing that no software will stop you from creating great work and getting you this job.
Fast forward: you are a successful artist in the industry, living the life you always dreamed of.
(The person in the first “OMG, I am not qualified” scenario didn’t get that job and gave up on the dream...)
Be that successful artist; don’t let tools get in your way of succeeding.
Introducing the Technical Course Bundle
Video course manuals on the Top Five Lighting Softwares for over 50% off the original price.
These courses will enable you to:
Focus on your lighting because you can quickly and easily learn the software (tools) from these one-stop software tutorials.
It will make you more marketable and confident as you go out there to get a job because you can quickly and easily learn multiple software to compliment your skills as a lighting artist.
TAUGHT BY ARTISTS FOR ARTISTS
These courses are all taught by artists currently working in the industry using the programs first-hand. We teach it from the viewpoint of an artist, how you would use it. Opposed to a software engineer teaching who might have created the software but does not use it the way you will use it.
This is what makes these courses stand out from your standard manual. We teach you how to use the way an artist, like yourself, uses it. Not from the engineer who built it.
*This offer is only available for a limited time because we wanted to give you something special to start 2021 running in the right direction to getting you that job.
Get instant access to a wealth of information with the Tech Bundle.
A collection of Maya, Arnold, Redshift, Octane, *Katana, and *UnReal video tutorials explaining everything you need to know and how to use them as an artist at your fingertips.
Maya | Taught by Mike Tanzillo, Co-founder, Academy of Animated Art & Senior Lighting Artist, Blue Sky Studios
Maya is the leading software for 3D artists today. Since 1997, it has been used on every film that has won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects as well as winning three of its own Academy Awards for technical achievement.
The reason for Maya’s success, it’s versatility. If you know how to work in Maya, you will have access to tools that can help you create every aspect of a 3D pipeline. You can build characters and environments, animate them, create materials and shaders, generate fur, cloth, effects, and simulations and ultimately render out a beautiful image.
Anyone searching for a career in Animation and Visual Effects knows the value of learning Maya. Almost every job requirement in this industry lists knowledge of Maya as a requirement to getting a job, both within the United States and Internationally.
In many ways, Maya is the bedrock all other software and tools are based upon. So don’t think of Maya as learning another software package. Think of it as learning how to work in 3D as a whole. Even if you land at a studio with another software package, a solid understanding of Maya will enable you to easily pick up other software and start your dream career in no time.
- 76 videos
- + Practical Hands-on walkthrough! Leave this class with a finished product. This guy right here!
Maya Software: INCLUDED! Free Student License available for enrolled students (<-- That by itself is a huge savings!)
Redshift | Taught by Shane Sternstein, Lighting Artist, Dreamworks Animation.
This workshop outlines all the important information, techniques, and tricks to maximize the Redshift renderer to its fullest. In this online course, Shane Sternstein covers everything from the fundamentals of Redshift and basic controls to the technical AOVs, system settings, and Global Illumination.
Apart from demos and lectures, you will also receive a modeled and shaded set by Shane, which is based on the concept art of Mike Redman. This workshop can be combined with other AAA lighting courses for a better understanding of using Redshift for any creative production quickly and efficiently.
- 54 videos
- Practical Hands-on walkthrough
Redshift Software: Free download version with watermark available to learn. Full license not included.
Octane | Taught by Matt Wilson, Lead Lighting Artist, Blue Sky Studios
Matt Wilson is currently a lead lighter at Blue Sky Studios with over 20 years of experience in the industry.His past work includes projects with Netflix, Nike, Mike snow, Florence and the machine, Verizon, Clairol, hp and Cinnamon Toast Crunch and many more. He’s been working with and loving octane professionally for almost half a decade.
Matt will not only show you the ins and outs of the Octane Renderer, but he will also show you how a top-level artist in our industry uses it to create stunning images. The Octane Render is the world’s first and fastest unbiased, spectrally correct GPU render engine, delivering quality and speed unrivaled by any production renderer on the market.
Empower yourself to unleash the power of Octane to create your next beautiful image.
- 20 videos
- 2 Lighting Walkthroughs
Octane Software: Free download version with watermark available to learn. Full license not included.
Arnold | Taught by Mike Tanzillo, Co-founder, Academy of Animated Art & Senior Lighting Artist, Blue Sky Studios
Arnold is one of the leading renderers available on the market today. This software, originally co-developed with Sony Pictures Imageworks, has been used by over 300 studios worldwide on films like Blade Runner 2049, Thor: Ragnarok, Gravity, Guardians of the Galaxy, and many more. Arnold functions as a standalone renderer or can be used with almost any 3D software package like Autodesk's Maya, 3D Studio Max, Houdini, and Cinema 4D.
This technical workshop covers everything you need to know about using Arnold in Maya. Every button, every slider, every adjustment will be analyzed so you can take full advantage of all that Arnold has to offer. This workshop was designed to be combined with our other lighting courses to provide you with both the artistic and technical knowledge to create the incredible images you have always dreamed of!
- 40 videos
- Asset files provided
Arnold Software: Free with Maya (and you get Maya for FREE as an enrolled student!)
KATANA | Taught by Abel Vargas, Lighting Artist and Katana Software Pioneer.
Katana is a Lighting and LookDev tool from The Foundry (makers of Nuke, Mari, and more) that drastically simplifies the management of assets, materials, shaders, and output files like AOVs using a node-based workflow. Katana is designed to make an artist’s life easier. It processes large files easily and even allows you to simultaneously work with multiple shots, frames, assets, other variations from within one Katana project file.
If you want to be on the cutting edge of lighting, THIS IS FOR YOU!
Katana Software: Free 90-day trial keys of Katana for enrolled students. Discounted educational license available with course.
UnReal Engine | Taught by Jordan Jenkins, Lighting Artist.
Discover Unreal, the Real-Time Render Engine gives you immediate results and makes experimenting in 3D rewarding and fun. Real-time render engines have taken enormous leaps forward in recent years, and the resulting images are astounding. And the best part? The results are immediate!
Unreal Engine Software: FREE!
All of our instructors are artists actively working in the industry.
What makes these courses stand out from the standard tutorials and (boring) software manuals is that ARTISTS teaches them.
PLUS, You get instant and LIFETIME access to all of these courses!
Courses Included with Purchase
Original Price:
You might be wondering ...
Is the software included in the course enrollment?
Maya: Yes! Free Student License Eligible as an Enrolled AAA student.
Katana: Free 90-day trial keys of Katana for enrolled students. Discounted educational license available with course.
This course is closed for enrollment.
Are you ready to overcome the technical software obstacle that might be standing in your way to getting you your first job, a promotion, or from finishing your project?
This bundle will allow you to get there much quicker than you expect because you will no longer get stuck on the “technical” obstacles.
Hear what our students have to say about the technical courses and how they use them:
“What makes the Academy for Animated Art unique is its focus on making you a better lighting artist through a software agnostic approach. At the same time, AAA is aware that software competency is important to allowing the artistic process of be unencumbered. To this effect, AAA provides incredible technical workshops designed to quickly bring students up to speed in industry-leading software. Their workshop on Arnold in MAYA allowed me to get to lighting much quicker than I expected. Whenever I get stuck, I refer back to the classes and, more often than not, get me back on track and do the fun part...Lighting!!!!”
- Forrest P., Academy of Animated Art Student
“I've gone through the Arnold and Redshift workshops and thought they were very well structured and delivered!
Knowing the tools to make art look good is super important too so I really value them.”
-Jordan O., Academy of Animated Art Student
Who is behind Academy of Animated Art?
Jasmine Katatikarn and Michael Tanzillo are the Co-Founders of Academy of Animated Art. They are both Senior Lighting Artists at Blue Sky Studios with a combined 20+ years of working on VFX and Animated Films.
Mike and Jasmine created The Academy of Animated Art because working in animated features and visual effects has been a dream come true. They were both struggling, young artists who were a bit lost before making the decision to try and become lighting artists. Since then, they have been able to launch careers that have allowed them the opportunity to not only work in an industry that is challenging and fulfilling, but also lead a full life outside of work including traveling the world and starting a family.
This success did not come without a price. Mike and Jasmine have combined to spend over $100,000 on their education before getting their first jobs in animation. Even after that, there was still a gap between what they learned in school and what they needed to know to ultimately succeed in this industry. Now, after more than 20 films and countless student loan payments, they have designed a way to teach artists the necessary skills in order to be successful in this industry without the huge financial burden. The system included a school designed to be an online education system that was affordable and accessible to everyone around the world who wants to chase their dream of working on the next big animated film.
In other words, they have designed a school they wish existed so they could get their dream job faster and save $100,000 in the process.
That school is Academy of Animated Art.
Frequently Asked Questions
These courses are the solution to giving you an advantage for creating exceptional work that will make you more marketable and confident when you apply for a job in the industry.
Start Fast-tracking your learning today with the Tech Bundle!
Make 2022 the year that changed your career.