Sir Wade's Mentorship
Group Mentorship
Meet twice a week: Once for animation lectures, assignment / live workflow demos, and technical guides; the other session is for feedback on your shots / to learn from the feedback of others!
Personal Mentorship
Meet 1-on-1 weekly to get personalized animation training, work on your demo reel strategy, learn a new animation tool, or get assistance with your next shot - the goal is yours to set.
Beginning Animator
If you're new to industry animation training or want to revisit the fundamentals / 12 principles
Student Animator
For those with previous or current instruction that need help getting to the next level
Junior Artist
You know how to animate, and would like guidance and structure with ideas / workflow
Perfect for Students Attending Online Animation Schools
You may already have an industry mentor, but sometimes it's helpful to have someone to help translate their notes, to show you how to achieve what they're asking for, and to teach you the 'why' behind the feedback you've been given.
At the very least, it's always nice to have someone to run your ideas by before you present them to your supervisor.
No School Experience? No Problem.
If you've never experienced a formal animation education, or haven't animated in awhile, a flexible curriculum can be implemented to help you start off on the right foot, or pick up where you last left off.
You will be given exercises specific to your skill level, to help you grow as an artist and to provide work for your demo reel or freelance portfolio.
How the Mentorship Program Works
Zoom Meetings are on Sundays + Thursdays.*
- Sunday: 12 - 2pm PT | Review Sessions
- Thursday: 5 - 7pm PT | Workflow Demos
Animation Shot Feedback
Feedback is given through SyncSketch, which has a free account option.
Mentorship Discord Channels
You'll communicate with both your mentor and peers through private Discord channels within Sir Wade's Animation Discord Server.
Additional channels are provided to with your group, help each other solve problems, and get peer feedback outside of official sessions.
Get to know each other; you're in this together!
Session Recordings
All group meetings and review sessions are recorded and uploaded to your Course Library.
You'll also have access to recorded demos, group lectures, and workflow-specific tutorials.
Recordings are available to re-watch on any device- just like in Sir's other online courses. Access will continue as long as you're an active member of the Mentorship Program.
A Note on Scheduling:
If you attend an online animation school, deadlines are often on Sunday, which means you'll receive feedback in sync with your class, and benefit from lectures with time to implement what you learn in your shot's next pass.
*Occasionally, sessions may be rescheduled or combined due to mentor availability.
Exclusive Mentorship Discounts
- A free Educational License to animBot is provided for all Mentees while enrolled
- A discount on many of Sir Wade's online courses and workshops
- More tools and discounts - TBA
Supported Animation Software
You're welcome to use whichever keyframe animation tool you'd like! We recommend sticking with one that we can teach you or help troubleshoot, so that you're least likely to get stuck fighting the computer instead of focusing on being creative.
Autodesk Maya 2023 / 2024
You can use any version, but we recommend 2023 (Service Pack 3) or 2024.
Maya is the most common tool for character animation in our industry, so it's a good software to default to for this work.
Unreal Engine 5.4
Native animation authoring became possible in 5.2, but we recommend 5.3 or 5.4.
Unreal Engine is quickly gaining traction as a major animation authoring tool for games, feature, and commercial work.
Blender 4.1
Any recent version of Blender is great for animation - the big changes come in 2025.
Blender is a wonderful and popular tool that, like Unreal Engine, is free to download - plus Blender is open-source.
Cristi Rivero
"Sir Wade's classes are very accessible for people with neurodivergent issues that may usually fail at animation schools' intensive programs and uni's neverending grades.
He said once: 'Do not beat yourself up, if you haven't understood this animation principle it's just because I have yet to find the approach that works for you'. Spoiler: He found it 💪
I personally think the mentorship approach is better and cheaper than traditional teaching. If you're still not sure, ask him about your specific needs, he is always open to feedback and ideas for courses."
"Sir Wade is THE way."
Nari Hodges
"Why pay $100k+ for a degree and tons of drama when you can just pay not even a fraction of that and get education that's 100x better with no drama!"
Gabriel Fernandes
"Sir Wade is a mentor that anyone should have. Supportive, funny, passionate, dedicated and more.
He will ALWAYS (yes, CAPSLOCK) help you to improve your projects or find your best ways to do what you want to do.
Exercise and explanation are always based on your level. Don't be afraid to talk with him about anything!
I'll share with you a little secret, the more you work and you are passionate about the projects you are doing, the more he will be passionate too and he will start to be very talkative and supportive, helping you in any ways he can."
Mentee Shot Work
Gabriel Fernandes
Gabriel Fernandes
Valerio Presciani
Your Name Here! (if you want!)
Ready to Get Started?
Join the Mentorship Program today to meet other animators like yourself who are looking to take that next step and grow their skills with the help of an experienced mentor. Space is limited.
RESERVE YOUR SPOTFrequently Asked Questions
Can I work on my own shot ideas, or only assignments?
What if I need to miss a mentor session, or several?
How does the free animBot license work?
What if I don't have new work to show every week?
Looking for Animation Classes?
In addition to the Mentorship Program, we offer full online animation classes and workshops to help you learn animation at any level.
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