#3 Brian Kouhi - Learning to animate (the least painful way) 2/4

This time our special guest is Bian Kouhi - Toronto-based animator with impressive experience working on big titles like “Paw Patrol” and “Maya and the Three”, founder of 3d Animation Hub YT channel, where he publishes tutorials and all animation related stuff - https://www.youtube.com/c/BrianKouhi

Brian is an entrepreneur who has recently launched an animation course/mentoring platform https://www.toanimate.ca/ which aims to jumpstart people's animation careers using Blender. This interview hosted by DJ is divided into four parts covering different topics from starting a career in animation, through learning the skills and software to running a tutoring business.

In this part of the conversation DJ and Brian talk a bit about learning and teaching animation. What it takes to learn to animate and how to even start if you want a career in animation. Brian gives clear answers to the most crucial questions:

Is learning animation hard?

What is the number one skill you have to master to become (a good) animator?

Is there a shortcut or do you have to go through the long and painful way?

We also discuss the pros and cons of universities for animation, free learning content on YT, and the added value of paid structured courses like ToAnimate that make them a worthwhile investment. Brian gives a ray of hope to those that would like to join the animation community in their 30’s or 40’s saying it’s never too late to pursue your dreams (though it might take more perseverance and devotion). Is learning rigging a necessity or even a bonus for an animator? Are the new AI tools for animation - like Deepmotion or Plask a threat or a breath of fresh air to the animator’s world? We cover those topics together with many small digressions in this episode of CG Talks.