online courses

Storyboarding & animatics

In this course, you will create an animatic of your own short story. Visualising your idea is an essential skill for any director – whether you work in animation or film. An animatic is a simplified form of filmmaking, with a moving camera and framing that is similar to motion comics animation. You will learn various rules of filmmaking like the 180-degree rule and the rule of thirds. You will understand how to frame to express emotion, how to use mise-en-scene appropriately, build characters, tension and dynamic action. While learning visual storytelling and directing, you will also become proficient in Adobe Premiere and After Effects or Blender.

Duration: 13 weeks

Motion comics

In this live online course students will create an animated 2-minute short film in a motion comics illustrative style.

Each student will choose a Caribbean folklore (in English) and will have to turn it into a short film.

Students can choose any visual style and slightly change the plot of the story - so the action can be transposed to the Middle Ages, cyberpunk, or anywhere else. It is important that the general concept of the story be preserved. After working on the text, each student prepares a storyboard and graphic concepts, and after these have been cleared, they begin production.

Duration: 12 weeks

Blender

In this course, you will create a 30-second animation and learn not only the basics of Blender but also how to wield one of the most innovative tools for creating animation – Grease pencil.

The grease pencil enables you to create a beautiful, hand-drawn 2D animation in a 3D environment. You will be able to freely move the camera, change textures, and edit the movement of characters and their position in a 3D space. In just ten classes you will create a short animated scene, animate your character, paint backgrounds, texture, use lights, render and even create sound for your short movie! Blender is a fantastic program in which you can both draw, animate and create models. This course is a great introduction to animation – both for independent artists and professionals who want to learn to use a fantastic new tool.

Duration: 13 weeks

Meet our Mentors

If you're from the Caribbean and interested in visual storytelling for comic books, animation, and digital games then this webinar is for you!

Re-watch our livestream with tutors & mentors Matt and Lukasz, as they talk about the Storyboarding & Animatics, Blender, and Motion Comics courses starting soon; plus Q&A!

Presented by Skylarkin' Media Inc. and Rootstory Academy.