Toonboom Harmony Class Starts 8 Jan 2019

Artwork by our industry mentor, Blue Zoo

We're launching a new 2D Animation course in Toonboom Harmony on 8 January 2019.

This class runs for 8 weeks, one evening a week (tuesdays), and is an introduction to animating in Toonboom Harmony, one of the leading software packages for the creation of 2D animation.

What's this all about?
2D Animation is experiencing a revival, with many 2D productions being animated right here in London. In particular, Blue Zoo, Aardman Animation, and Brown Bag Films in Manchester all use Toonboom Harmony as their 2D animation software platform.

Why Harmony?
Toonboom Harmony is a very flexible software package, that allows the user to combined 2D rigged puppet-style animation with the ability to hand-draw elements in the traditional way.

What's in the course?
The course will cover the basics of locomotion and mechanics in animation, and also 2D rigging, and aims to get students familiar with the software, to enable them to apply for the many studios in the UK and overseas that are embracing this software package. 

Who is it for?

Blue Zoo is our industry mentor for this course

The course is aimed at animators wanting to acquire 2D software skills. This course will enable students to learn the basics of 2D animation using Toonboom Harmony; no prior knowledge of the software is required.

How it works
You will be expected to attend an evening class one night a week, and will be set simple projects to do in-class. You will also have the opportunity to develop your portfolio or demo reel, with an industry brief.

Toonboom Harmony licenses
Best of all, the folks at Toonboom have even arranged an extended period over and above the usual trial period for a Harmony license. This means that our students can download the software and practice at home what they have learned in class, and complete their homework for the next week, over the full period of the course. 

Are there jobs for 2D Animators?
There are indeed. 2D Animation is experiencing a big revival, with many productions  being animated right here in London. Blue Zoo in particular is looking for junior animators with Harmony experience.

Cel Action
It's important to note that Harmony isn't the only game in town. Many productions, such as Peppa Pig, Simon's Cat and Mr Bean are made with Cel Action, a similar software package that also achieves excellent results.

We are also working on developing an evening class in Cel Action, so keep an eye out for the launch of our Cel Action class.

Plamen Ananiev

Industry Mentor
Our industry mentor is Blue Zoo, who use ToonBoom Harmony, and are looking to recruit a substantial number of 2D animators, familiar with the software.

As with all our courses, the class builds up to a live industry brief, ensuring that student work is well targeted towards employers looking to recruit talent.

We also have had invaluable support from London's Karrot Animation, who have helpfully provided us with character rigs for use in the course. 

Tutor
Our tutor is the very talented Plamen Ananiev, an experienced 2D animator who is currently working on Simon's Cat in London.

You can see some of Plamen's work in Harmony in the video below.


Plamen Ananiev Toon Boom Harmony Rigging Showreel from ananiev.plamen@gmail.com on Vimeo.

Course outline
Week 1 - User interface & setup
Week 2 - Animation basics – the Bouncing Ball
Week 3 - Rigging basics 1
Week 4 - Rigging basics 2
Week 5 - Locomotion cycles
Week 6 - Final project – planning
Week 7 - Develop final project
Week 8 - Submit final project (industry brief)

Where and When
Location: Midtown campus, 190 High Holborn
Start date: 8 January 2019
Tuition fee: £995
Mode of study: Part time (Tuesday evening: 7pm - 10pm)
Programme duration: 8 weeks

Finally, to see what kind of animation can be done in Harmony, watch the Harmony demo reel below.


The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our new BA/MArt, now recruiting for September 2019, follow this link.   To apply, visit the offical page here.