Triggerfish, in partnership with Goethe-Institut and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, has launched Triggerfish Academy, a free digital learning platform for anyone wanting to understand more about the career opportunities and how to get started in the field of animation.
The website features 25 free video tutorials, quizzes and animation exercises introducing animation as a career and the principles of storytelling, storyboarding and animation, as well as several additional resources to help guide aspiring animators into a career in animation.
“The South African animation industry is growing - and so is the demand for skilled animators globally,” said Noemie Njangiru, head of Culture and Development at Goethe-Institut Johannesburg.
She pointed to the success of recent Triggerfish projects like the Oscar-nominated Revolting Rhymes as well as Mama K’s Team 4, Netflix's first original animated series from Africa.
Njangiru also highlighted the opportunities for animation outside the traditional film industry, within fields like advertising, app and web design, architecture, engineering, gaming, industrial design, medicine, and the motor industry, not to mention growth sectors like augmented reality and virtual reality.
The course was created by Tim Argall, currently the animation director on Triggerfish’s third feature film, Seal Team.
He’s roped in many of the South African animation industry’s brightest stars like Malcolm Wope, Annike Pienaar, Daniel Snaddon, Faghrie Coenraad, as well as Triggerfish head of production Mike Buckland.
The featured talent share not just their skills but also their stories, from how they broke the news that they wanted to be animators to their parents, to common myths about the animation industry.
“As kids, animation is part of our lives, so we don’t really think about the idea that animation is actually somebody’s job,” said Argall.
“When I was a kid, I loved animation and I loved to draw. I remember when I was about 12, I thought: ‘I really want to see my drawings come to life. I want to be an animator.’ But I had no idea where to even begin.”
Click here to find out more about the Triggerfish Academy
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Triggerfish on seven ordinary things that can lead to one extraordinary result
Congolese storyteller breathing new life into African mythologies
