1-on-1 Animation Mentor: Build Your Animation Portfolio

This 1-on-1 mentorship is built for teens who already animate and want to turn scattered experiments into a focused, polished animation portfolio. Every session is with the same mentor, so feedback builds week by week and the plan adapts to the learner's own style, software and goals, whether that is an art school application, a summer program or simply a stronger body of work.

We start with an honest portfolio review: what is strong, what is missing and which two or three pieces deserve the most attention. From there the learner sets a six-week plan and owns it, choosing shots, setting deadlines and deciding what makes the final cut. Taking the lead on their own project is a big part of what this course builds.

The middle sessions are hands-on. Learners refine character animation with clear posing, timing and spacing, push weight and follow-through, and work on acting choices that make a character feel alive. The mentor demonstrates fixes on screen, draws over frames and suggests reference to study, then the learner applies the notes and brings back a new pass.

In the final sessions we shape the showreel: ordering shots, trimming to the strongest seconds, adding simple titles and preparing a short artist statement. Learners also practice presenting their work and explaining their process, which is useful for interviews and portfolio reviews.

The course works with the tools learners already use, including Procreate Dreams, FlipaClip, Blender or similar apps. It is designed for advanced learners who are comfortable with the basics of frame-by-frame or keyframe animation and ready for detailed critique.

How classes work

Each 75-minute session opens with a review of the work done since last time, followed by focused critique and live draw-overs. The second half is hands-on animating with the mentor guiding in real time, and we finish by agreeing the next steps before the following session.

What we'll cover

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  Session 1: Portfolio Review and Goal Setting – Review the learner's existing animations, choose the strongest pieces and set a six-week portfolio plan with clear goals.

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  Session 2: Posing, Timing and Spacing – Refine key poses and timing charts on a chosen shot, using draw-overs to fix spacing and readability.

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  Session 3: Weight, Follow-Through and Overlap – Add believable weight and secondary motion so characters move with physical conviction.

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  Session 4: Character Acting and Expression – Plan and animate a short acting beat with clear emotion, gesture and facial expression.

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  Session 5: Polish Pass and Showreel Edit – Polish the best shots and arrange them into a tight showreel with a strong opening and finish.

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  Session 6: Final Review and Presentation – Present the finished portfolio, explain the process behind each piece and plan the next steps as an animator.

Learners should already create animations on their own and be comfortable with a frame-by-frame or keyframe animation app. Please bring two or three existing pieces to the first session.