Category: App-News

My Studio Tour

Studio Tour with Aaron Blaise
+ $10 Class Sale

Ends November: 14th

🎁 Limited Time! Use Code: ANIMATION-SAVE at checkout and get any Single Animation Class  for $10
Click Here to View More Animation & Art Lessons for 40% OFF

Watch The video above to see a studio tour by animator & director, Aaron Blaise. Watch as he shows you his recent art as well as some gems from his time at Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Also, look below for more of his classes on sale.

Get ANY Single Animation Course for $10!*

We have over 600 hours of Animation & Art lessons.

PLUS, if you use code: “ANIMATION-SAVE” At checkout you can get any single animation tutorial for Just $10.

*$10 Course Promotion Ends November 14th, 2022.

We offer 3 Great Ways to Learn! First, you can purchase any ART LESSONS a la carte. Or you can become a Monthly Streaming Member and get immediate access to over 600 hours of art lessons that you can stream on your computer, phone, tablet or SmartTV. Finally, you can become an ANNUAL MEMBER and get hundreds of hours of video lessons to keep and download.

Lesson Previews:

The videos below are selected lessons from various courses.
These represent just a small portion of the 550+ hours of animation lessons, art tutorials and more available with our membership plans.

Get Immediate Access to All this Great Content + More!

“I was trained by Aaron Blaise. Aaron is Awesome!”

– Byron Howard (Director: “Zootopia”, “Tangled”, “Bolt”)

Miss Violet Hand Drawn Animation

This is a little bit of animation that I did a little while back. Miss Violet is based on my old dog. She was such a sweetheart and so much fun. This story was developed by myself along with the incredible Vedanta Sproston and my business partner, Nick Burch. I had so much fun putting this together. I hope you enjoy it.

The plan is to fo more of these in the near future.
Continue reading Miss Violet Hand Drawn Animation

Wolfwalkers Early Design Work

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to check out the amazing, award winning film Wolfwalkers directed by Tom Moore and Ross Stewart.
If not I encourage you to stop reading this and go watch it! (I’ve embedded the trailer below)It’s available on AppleTV+ which you can get on pretty much any streaming device with a free trial.

It was developed by the amazing team at Cartoon Saloon over in Kilkenny, Ireland whom I was fortunate enough to get to visit in 2019 on one of my last international trips before the pandemic. While I was there I was working with the team doing some animation demos & lectures and I was treated to a behind the scenes look at the progress of the film. It wasn’t finished yet but it was clear already that it was going to be something very special.

Myself & Nick Burch with Tomm Moore and some of the Cartoon Saloon Crew in Kilkenny, Ireland. 

My history with Wolfwalkers goes back a little further than that though.  In 2017 the team at Cartoon Saloon reached out to me to get some tips on wolf animation and design. At the time I provided a few small demos for them and some wolf illustration ideas.  From there it evolved into them wanting to see some takes on how I would approach designing the two main characters of Mebh & Robyn in their wolf forms.  I was sent an early draft of the script and had a go at some designs.These were just meant for exploration. The model sheets were my attempt to find a middle ground between the flat graphic design of the film and a more 3 dimensional look. I was trying to strike a balance between a more “realistic” wolf and the beautiful 2D style that Cartoon Saloon is known for.  I’m glad they stuck with the more graphic look.  Ultimately, I think the final look of the characters in the film are much stronger than these early concepts but I wanted to share them with you. In the end, I was only on the project for a few days but it was great fun and I was happy to help.

 

Flash forward to December 2020 and my jaw hit the floor after watching the film. Both because of how beautiful of a movie it was but also I was shocked to see my name listed in the credits. There I am under the Visual Development/Concept Design section. This is a huge honor and a was a truly unexpected surprise. Most people don’t realize that simply doing work on a film does not guarantee you will get a credit. Film credits are not handed out like candy. Typically it is a negotiated part of a contract and requires some substantial contribution. In my case I did not request a credit and certainly didn’t expect one.

So a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to the directors  and to everyone at Cartoon Saloon for producing such a beautiful film and for allowing me to have be connected with it in anyway. Now go watch the movie already!

“Back to School” Student Discount Sale!

This Promotion Has Ended.

I often travel the world giving demos & lectures and get the opportunity to work with aspiring artists, illustrators and animators from all walks of life. I am continually impressed by the talent out there as well as the questions that I get.

A HUGE part of our mission with this site is to continue to offer affordable art education. As a special “Thank You” to returning students and teachers I am offering a 50% Off Student & Teacher Only Promo Code for Annual Premium Membership & Monthly Streaming Membership Plans on the site.

Get the code by simply signing up for my newsletter with a valid “.EDU” email address below.

 

Don’t Have a “.edu” email? If you are a student or teacher CLICK HERE and upload proof of current educational status and we will email you a code after we have verified your details.

Continue reading “Back to School” Student Discount Sale!

Lightbox 2020 Event Replays!

Well, Lightbox 2020 was a huge success but has now come to a close.
Below you can find replays of each of the four workshops I did over the weekend! You can also view SIX New prints that are now available and never before published online!

My Lightbox Event Schedule: (Replay Videos)

PAST EVENTS:

  • MY APPROACH TO ANIMAL CHARACTER DESIGN

    Friday 1:00 pm – Friday 3:00 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise

    Watch as Aaron shares his approach to design believable and lovable animal characters!

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

  • ANIMATING 4 LEG LOCOMOTION

    Saturday 1:00 pm – Saturday 2:30 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise

    Animator and Director, Aaron Blaise walks you through his approach to how to animate 4 legged animals. He explains his thought process and animates for you in Real Time!

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

  • THE ANIMALS OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

    Sunday 3:00 pm – Sunday 4:00 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise, Manny Carrasco

    Join Aaron and Manny as they recap a recent Camp and Draw trip to Yellowstone. Learn about some of the parks’ wildlife, get some sketching tips and a listen to a few hilarious stories about a group of artists seeking adventure in Montana.

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

  • USING PHOTOGRAPHIC TEXTURES IN DIGITAL CHARACTER RENDERING

    Sunday 4:30 pm – Sunday 6:30 pm EST (GMT -4)

    Presenter(s): Aaron Blaise

    Aaron Blaise (Brother Bear, Aladdin, The Lion King) is a world renowned digital artist. Watch as he shows you his tips & tricks for digital drawing that looks like a frame of a finished film!

    WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

 

 

Snow Bear Teaser!

As some of you may know I have been working on a short film called “Snow Bear” for quite a while now. Most of the time has been spent in story development & boarding it out. We are just now lining up the time to get it animated and I am hoping to have it out in 2020. I am pleased to share this little test I did with you.

 

Interested in Digital Art & Animation Instruction? I offer a line of tutorials, videos and lessons. CLICK HERE to Learn More.