FALL 2016 Sign up for the Beginning 2D Animation class at Laney College! Learn animation fundamentals by drawing the Disney principles and using Digicel Flipbook. Understand how timing works, how to create believable motion in 3 dimensions, with laws of physics, and have fun doing it!

New Animation Class for Spring 2016!

NEW ANIMATION CLASS for Spring 2016!! Laney College is presenting a beginning 2D animation course teaching drawing fundamentals for animating, plus professional animation software skills in Digicel Flipbook, which is used by all the animation studios, as well as all the art/animation colleges throughout the Bay Area.

Learn the essence of all animation: TIMING and SPACING.  Get hands-on experience animating many exercises using Disney's 12 principles, such as anticipation, follow through & overlap, ease in & ease out, squash & stretch, and more! Animate by drawing on traditional light tables ( Laney has a room full of them!), scanning drawings into Flipbook, edit the timing, add sound & color, and voila!
We will study character design, movement, objects and weight with gravity, momentum, & inertia, visual effects such as water flows, fire burning, dust clouds, etc.and styudents will be able to unleash their own creativity & ideas in making their own short movies, too!

I am a 30 year professional animator and have worked in Hollywood, Europe, and all over the San Francisco Bay Area since 1982.  My professional experience includes 5 jobs for Disney Studios, featuring Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers and Goof Troop, and Disney World's EPCOT Center,  plus MTV, FOX TV, Universal TV, many advertisements, storyboards, & numerous character designs.
I have also taught beginning through advanced animation techniques at 4 different universities & colleges over the past 18 years. You can animate. I will show you how with hands on lessons!

Flier---Animation by ClaarToons Studio

This is a "timing chart" I create as pre-production of all animation that I do. These charts are taught in my new online series of drawing animation lessons. Write to me at: claartoons@comcast.net.  There is a website for viewing & evaluating the course for those who are interested.

Animation! My 2015 business card

Summer 2014 Animation Workshop information at Laney College, Oakland

Workshops are on Thursdays: June 12, 19, & 26,  9 AM to 4 PM (with lunch break) at Laney College

 Building A-Graphic Arts, Room 152. Teacher: Tony Claar, 30 years professional experience.

 The cost is only $35. for each one-day workshop. Come to one, two, or all three!

 Students will learn to draw simple objects & characters and animate short exercises,  will do stop-motion with clay and humans (themselves), and will also get a crash course in Digicel Flipbook professional software. Great animated short films will be shown, too. All the principles and the basics of how to animate will be covered, including timing, squash & stretch, & anticipation. Students will also learn how to do special effects like explosions, smoke, water, etc. and can make their own short movie to take home! Students bring their own USB flash drive & their own digital camera, if they have one ( a smart phone with built-in camera will work IF it has a hole in the bottom where a tripod can be secured).  Laney College will provide a few digital cameras & a scanner, plus Cintiqs.

It will be a fun introduction to animation from a professional animator with experience at Disney, Mtv, Hollywood movies and TV series, with hands-on training for beginning levels. The 2nd & 3rd workshops will offer more challenging exercises for those who want them. Each class will also stand alone for those who can only come once or twice. Any level of experience or no experience is OK.

Each all-day workshop is for anyone ages 14 & up and the cost is only $35. Register by emailing the teacher and you will be registered: claartoons@comcast.net. Pay by check through regular mail or bring cash or check to the class.

For more information, email the teacher with questions: claartoons@comcast.net.

Pictures from Hollywood movies, TV shows, TV commercials, & specials that I worked on 1987-1992

Assistant Animation.  "The Chipmunk Adventure" feature film:. Bagdasarian Productions, Studio City, California

Assistant Animation.  "Rockin' Through The Decades; Alvin with Michael Jackson"  TV special: Bagdasarian Productions, Studio City, California

Layout for Animation.   "Chip 'N' Dale Rescue Rangers"-"The Disney Afternoon" TV series:
Walt Disney Television, Woodland Hills, California

Animation & Assistant Animation.  "Cool World" feature film: Director: Ralph Bakshi.
Paramount Pictures, Burbank, California

Assistant Animation.   "FernGully-The Last Rainforest" feature film:  Kroyer Films, Burbank.

Storyboards.   "Goof Troop"-"The Disney Afternoon" TV series.  Walt Disney Television,
North Hollywood, California.

Animation.   "Kurtz and Friends" TV commercials. Kurtz and Friends, Burbank,
California

                   Animation. "Slimer: The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon show, produced at D.I.C., Burbank. 
                    

  






 Assistant Lay Out.  D.I.C., Burbank.    

Tony animating on Gumby, Sausalito.

DRAW ANIMATION! new Laney class

Eric and Tony at AAU in Dec. 2008

POSTER for Graphics in Motion I class at Laney, September 1, 2012