Month: December 2024

Student Spotlight: Heather Vidal

AnimSchool graduate Heather Vidal shares her experience working on an emotional scene using audio from the film Good Will Hunting (1997). Inspired by heartfelt stories about the struggles of unhoused people, she explains how she channeled her own hardships into her animation. Her shot was featured in the 2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase.

Vidal explains that she got her idea from YouTuber German in Venice, who interviews homeless people. One of the most common themes she noticed from these interviews was how individuals would often quit their jobs to take care of their loved ones. However, once their loved ones passed away, these caretakers would be left with little to no money between the medical bills and funeral costs, resulting in their current situation. Upon hearing the audio from Good Will Hunting, she remembered these stories and felt inspired to make such an emotionally charged animated shot.

Initially, Vidal mentions, she had only treated the dog’s character as a prop, making him move as little as possible. During development, her instructor gave her the idea to have the dog rest his chin on his owner’s knee at the very end—Vidal was very pleased with how it turned out.

Watch her featured clip here:

Watch the full AnimSchool Student Showcase Livestream here:


At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros. Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Student Spotlight: Lena Zahoruiko

AnimSchool graduate Lena Zahoruiko discusses her experience creating an emotionally driven animation using audio from the film Midnight Sun (2018). She dives into her process from start to finish, addressing the changes made and how that impacted the final scene. Her shot was featured in the 2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase.

Zahoruiko explains that this shot was her first ever attempt at a dialogue shot. She was cautiously excited about trying something new, and wanted to create a more emotional shot about two individuals—in this case, sisters—parting ways.

Zahoruiko adds that the biggest challenge that she ran into was filming reference footage – after discussing with her class, many mentioned that it would be beneficial if she had real crying to help push the emotional aspect of the shot. As a result, she cried on more consecutive days than she had ever before.

“It took me, I think, around three days to come up with the final version,” she says.

Initially, Zahoruiko mentions, her animation lacked small gestures, and felt a bit stiff because of it. To overcome this, she layered in more hand and arm movement, such as a sweeping motion with the hand. As she played with the balance of exaggeration and subtle movements, she ultimately learned that, for such an emotionally driven shot, “less is more.”

Watch her featured clip below:


At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros. Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Student Spotlight: Fabiana Dell’Aquila

AnimSchool graduate Fabiana Dell’Aquila animated a scene using audio from the TV show “Desperate Housewives” (episode aired 2009), and details all the changes that occurred in her creative process. Her shot was featured in the 2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase.

Dell’Aquila explains that, when starting the shot, she immediately knew that she wanted to work on a funny shot with personality. She got the chance to dive into a character and act as she never would in real life, which she saw as a self-confidence boost.

“I just had so much energy, so much desire to play with a bit of a more funny timing,” she notes.

Initially, Dell’Aquila had started with more of a slouched pose for her character. However, her instructor gave her a quick sketch of a much more dynamic pose, having the character adjust and admire her own appearance in a handheld mirror. From that drawing, she rebuilt the animation and added more dynamic movement within the arms. She mentions that she ultimately had a lot of fun playing with smaller, more subtle animations of the hands and face.

Watch her featured clip below:


At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros. Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Student Spotlight: Tommaso Maurutto

AnimSchool graduate Tommaso Maurutto shares insight for his animated shot, which features audio from the TV show “The Equalizer” (2021), and breaks down his creative process from ideation to the final animation. His shot was featured in the 2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase.

Maurutto explains that he started with an initial drawing/idea pass to get a feel for the timing, spacing, and how the characters would fit into the environment. He also mentions that it was his first time doing a shot where two characters interact, and he was interested in playing with their dynamic and how their individual personalities could be conveyed through the acting and animation.

Maurutto kept the camera movement simple with only two cameras, and focused on the change of expressions of each character. One of the challenges he ran into was conveying the nervousness and anxiety of one of the characters; his instructor ultimately helped him push the idea more with smaller, supporting actions such as rubbing his sweaty hands on his pants, a light tug on his hat, and other small movements.

Maurutto also modified the character rigs to better support the dynamic between the two characters, with one being more clumsy and the other as more of a dominant and confident character.

Watch his featured clip below:


At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros. Learn more at https://animschool.edu/