Animation Academy

The Animation Academy ROCKS!!! This school is a terrific resource. It teaches heavy fundamentals for artists of all levels AND at a fraction of art school tuition. Charles and his staff bring professionalism, inspiration and most of all FUN. I am very excited to continue creating and learning at The Animation Academy. You will too!

I have been attending classes here for a long while now, and the impact it has made in my artwork and design skills is incredible. I have never felt better about the characters that I draw, nor have I been happier in a learning enviroment. The character design and visual developement classes have helped me gain so much more confidence in my work, and it really shows! I highly recommend this school to artists who are looking to improve the quality of their work!

Been looking to come here for years. Now, I have finally started, and I am so glad I did. I absolutely love it! I’ve been ‘lost’ for years, trying to figure out where I belong. Was an architecture student for years. Went to El Camino College, UCLA, was about to start at Harbor College. Tried drafting, engineering, architectural drafting/​design communications. A teacher suggested painting, but I had never painted before. I knew that I liked houses and buildings, but mine were always the most colorful in my architecture classes. I love to draw all the time in my free time. I am now learning the basics and I already see improvement in my sketches. I am even being taught how to go about selling my art work when I am done. Different web sites, publishing my own books. A couple years ago, I signed up with the Art Institute, but did not go through with it, ad they were charging me $ 90,000. I know that I have made the right decision, the best decision to come to Animation Academy and I am so excited to see what my future holds for me. I look forward to going to class and enjoy doing my school work and homework.

I took intro to Character Design with Charles the head instructor. I really enjoyed the class and felt like I became a better artists for having taken it. I was coming from a strong background in illustration and I wasn’t sure that I would get much out of an intro character design class, but I found out how much I don’t know.
We did head rotations, character rotations, and the structure of the class is to force each student to begin building a portfolio to help them get a job or into an art program. I really liked Charles’ style of teaching. He allows each student to have some freedom with his watchful eye guiding you along.
The cost of the classes is very reasonable. I’m taking classes at UCLA and the Animation Academy is at least half the cost of those classes.
My favorite part of this class was the small class size about 6 students total. It gave the class a cozy feel. We all got to know each other and Charles shared a lot of wisdom from his career and his thoughts on the future of animation as a career.
I would definitely recommend this class to anyone interested in getting some experience in animation. The age of the class was a good range. I was the oldest being 25 and the youngest student was 13. I plan on continuing more classes there if my work schedule will allow for it.

If you’re interested in taking various animation classes while have little skill in drawing, then this school is for you. All you need are a few drawings as well as the money and you’re in. The classes are very small but are great because the students will receive more assistance from the instructor if needed. The instructor, Charles is very helpful, however, his teaching and some of his methods were unusual. For example, the first day of class, you’re instructed to draw a teddy bear. Also, handouts, the importance of silhouette, and the use of using basic shapes to build your character designs would’ve helped a lot. He really focuses on the character turnarounds as part of the assignments even when you’re not going to model in 3D and animate in 2D. In addition, a break isn’t even brought up for staying in class for 2 ½ hours. Class critiques as well as drawing techniques would benefit the students. Also, ask Charles about the union, it’s a pretty interesting story he can share. This is a non-​accredited school but for the price per classes, class sizes, and help you receive is ok.