Animation industry has been churning out some great content during the lockdown. With the ban on live-action shoots, we saw production houses taking the animation route to make their content reach the nooks and corners even during these difficult times.
Kids’ broadcasters had their plate full with new episodes even during the covid lockdown, all thanks to the technology and passion towards animation. One such animator, with his passion for the art, not just created some great work, but also nurtured minds, creating a whole bunch of animators for the future.
Vivek Ram, fondly known as Senapati who runs the Vaanarsena Studio, with his fire to give something to the animation industry, started giving free training in figure drawing and animation basics online. He is the proud mentor of some 90 trainees now!
Ram thinks that institutes are charging a huge amount but not one student is production ready. Starting with basic human figure drawing including fundamentals and anatomy, Ram also trains the enthusiasts with 2D animation basics. “My goal is that the upcoming artists should atleast get a starter job when they finish the course,” he mentioned.
Ram’s goal is to build an industry with skills. The students enjoy the online training sessions and are taking interest in building up the animators community and pursue this passion. Each student submits 50 drawings daily without fail, which is enough to show all the positive response from the trainees.
Ram, along with two volunteers Aditya Srinivas and Debosmita Mazumdar, mentors the training sessions. The class sessions are recorded for students to watch again before submitting their daily assignments for review. “I figured that I don’t need the money; I want the numbers. I want to build the industry,” said Ram.
The training course, which has students ranging from the age of 13 to 35, is flexible and spans between three to six months, with daily mentoring. The team has started inviting industry professionals to guide the students over one hour sessions on weekends so that the learning continues through the entire week. The past speakers include Tony Singh, Rajesh Kalyadappu and Dapoon Rai Dewan.
Ram and his team are planning to start a dedicated YouTube channel of this course for those who couldn’t join it now.
This initiative is a huge boon for budding artists and animators who wish to make a mark in the industry, but are left behind due to the huge fee structure at the other institutes. We look forward to see more such talent houses like Ram.