#ringling animation

[vivulent]

Withered Willows

I LIVED Please accept the child of several all nighters and where's-waldo-rerenders lol

Music: “Never be Alone” by TheFatRat

[kaylinpak]

Ringling Animation: Is it Worth it?

This is not a post bashing Ringling College of Art and Design or its program. I just believe that after attending several semesters, I formed a new opinion that needs to be shared. It’s something that new applicants should consider just as much as any piece of portfolio advice they find. Several of you who come across this may recognize my name as the one who made that Ringling CA portfolio advice post. If that’s the case, nothing has changed regarding my opinions towards the portfolio process. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that unless you know you have a passion for animating by actually trying it out before attending or applying, the Computer Animation major at Ringling is not for you.

I only have my experience to speak on, but I don’t want you to take this as me saying you shouldn’t try to apply or attend Ringling. This is purely me explaining how I came to certain conclusions through self-discovery.

I was naive; I grew up loving animated films and cartoons and believed my wish to be a part of that industry was reason enough to apply for animation. I had never used a 3D software like Maya before, but I assumed it would be one of those tools that just needed time and practice getting used to. (Arguably it still is, but more on that later.) I learned the hard way that the major is no joke; once sophomore year starts, the CA students only get busier and busier. I initially had the bravado, hearing from CA upperclassmen how tough it gets but believing I could handle it. I couldn’t handle it.

When it comes to the CA students, I feel like you could separate them into 3 distinct groups. Those who have never animated before, but quickly got the hang of it, those who have tried animating/studied animation at another school, and those who struggle but have a drive to push through. The common factor is that they either have a passion for animating or quickly gain a passion for animating. I steadily learned that I didn’t have that same kind of passion for animation. There’s only so far a person can improve with practice alone; only those with passion can soar, but no one can teach someone to be passionate about something.

I struggled with the Maya software throughout the entire semester and heavily considered switching majors. It wasn’t until a friend (who was also in CA) asked if I just didn’t like the workload when I knew 150% I needed to switch. Every major takes a number of different classes that are exclusive to each major. Story Development was a class exclusive to CA majors; it was essentially a storyboarding class. It was my favorite class, and while the assignments weren’t as time-consuming as the Computer Animation ones, I still had to put in many hours to work on the projects. The thing was, I was always eager to work on my Story Dev homework and didn’t mind (or didn’t notice) spending hours at a time storyboarding because it was always so much fun for me. 

Realizing that I never felt that kind of excitement towards my animation projects (instead, I felt immense dread) made me wonder how many of my peers were in the same boat, but perhaps too afraid to say something. It also made me realize what I actually loved to do because I missed it so much. CA majors draw and have to know how to draw, but I wished there was more time dedicated to becoming a better character/environment designer. The fact is, no matter how good of an animator someone is, animation takes a lot of trial and error. It’s a very time-consuming endeavor, which is why I believe only those who really love animating should pursue this major.

The takeaway from all this is that if you’re someone considering applying to Ringling for animation, I advise you to at least dabble in the software yourself for a bit to get a feel for it. Take a class, try animating on your own, animate something in 2D or 3D. I would’ve saved a lot of time if I had known this before; I don’t want others to also later realize they’ve made a mistake. This isn’t to demean the quality of the program because I really believe they have the most amazing curriculum for those who want to work in animation.

Thanks for reading this.

[vivulent]

I present to thee Aardwolf Angst :>

I wonder what broke his arm 👀?

[kaylinpak]

Ringling Dorm Life Shopping List

Hey, everyone! This is a post for incoming Ringling freshmen who have never lived on their campus. (Some have attended precollege) Anyways, I made this list in another post, but feel like this one should also get as much attention as possible. This is a list of items that made my dorm life so much more easier and I hope will also help you:

- Sharpies (writing your name on supplies, VERY important), White marker/Silver Sharpie for supplies that are black, Sticky Notes, tape, scissors, a physical calendar

- Pencil bags/boxes (I had 3: 1 for pens, pencils, and an eraser that I brought to every class, 1 for figure drawing materials like charcoals, and 1 for sculpting tools. You’ll probably only need 1 depending on your major, though.)

- Desk lamp (room doesn’t come with one), extension cord 

- Laundry hamper, shower caddy

- Napkins/Tissues, Paper Towels, Hand wipes/ Cleaning wipes, Hand soap

- Small personal trash can and garbage bags (room doesn’t have any)

- Folder (for holding documents, forms, class packets), Cheap lined notebook (for taking notes in mandatory Academic classes)

- BRITA filter pitcher (filters tap into drinking water), replacement filters, cup(s), plastic silverware

- Clotheshangers (your dorm rooms don’t come with any), Command Hooks (self-adhesive hooks for towels, VERY IMPORTANT) 

- Sunscreen, bug spray and itch cream (no matter how frequently I washed my sheets, I occasionally got spider bites all over my legs), Band-aids and antiseptic spray/ointment

- Microwave and mini fridge if your dorm doesn’t have one, Roomba or small vacuum

- Toilet cleaning materials- all dorm rooms have personal bathrooms and it’s your responsibility to take care of them

Happy shopping!

[kaylinpak]

help? i'll be a junior in high school i've been considering ringling as a college i'd like to go to, and i've been into drawing since childhood. however pretty recently i realized i have only ever focused on drawing cartoon characters and have limited knowledge on art fundamentals like anatomy, perspective, etc. and this worries me because i feel like i have very little time to fully understand these concepts since pretty soon i'll have to start thinking about college.

One thing I must emphasize above everything else is to never underestimate how much a person can improve in a year, even in a month, as long as you practice consistently. You’re in a very lucky position since you have junior and senior year to work on your art before entering college. I think you’ve got more than enough time! 

There are some things I can suggest that might make your journey less stressful:

1. Enroll in an art program at your high school or outside of school. If you can, try to find out how those teacher(s) teach, as you’d need someone to help your fundamentals as well as allow you to develop your art in your own way, not one without the other. Having someone professional or with a higher skill level than you monitor your progress is great because if you’re doing something wrong, someone’s right there to point out what you done goofed and how to fix it.

2. Practice on your own time, but smartly. If you’re someone juggling APs, a lot of homework, or other time-consuming extracurriculars, I recommend you practice sketching more so than working on beautifully-finished projects. You can work in pencil, color pencils, pens, whatever works for you, just don’t limit yourself to what you can try out. Another pro to this method is that it’s cost-effective; you don’t need a fancy moleskine for quick sketches. And when you have more free time, work on something more detailed or rendered. 

3. I had this practice schedule where I would spend a quick hour or less sketching a specific subject a day. For example, Mondays were for animals, Tuesdays were for exterior environments. You can use the internet, but something that’d make practice more fun is by drawing from shows, movies, and video games that you like. Concept art or even just stills are great to study from. If you don’t have Netflix and don’t want to pay to rent a film, YouTube has millions of movie clips. Another great habit to pick up is write down every time you think “I wish I could draw __ better.” or “I want to learn how to draw ___.” That way, you won’t spend a long time settling on what you want to practice that day; you already have a few ideas jotted down. 

I hope this helps you!

[kaylinpak]

Animation from first semester; he’s supposed to be sheepish but everyone thought he was happy....

[kaylinpak]

Quadruped walk cycle of a stripe-less tiger

Side note, how did they ever keep all those stripes on shere khan consistent?? Dang

[kaylinpak]

Brainstorming sketches for a new school assignment