Where to Start Learning Animation for FREE!

I grew up watching the classic animated Disney movies including, Snow white, Bambi, and Sleeping Beauty.  When new Disney movies came out in theaters,  like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid it was always a huge deal in our home.  

Every movie that came out had better quality picture than the previous one. The quality and design of each movie began to change with advancing computer technology. Computer animation gave artists more options to render different styles and expand creativity.  In 1995 Pixar was born, animation took a giant leap forward.

Today, Pixar is a leading American computer animation film studio known for films that include Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Cars, Inside Out, Finding Nemo, and more.  

I mention this brief Pixar background because I have always been interested in how to  create animated movies. Now I, and you, can learn how  for FREE!
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How?  Disney has sponsored a partnership between Khan Academy and Pixar, to create Pixar in a Box - with a behind-the-scenes look at how Pixar artists  create their amazing movies!

Pixar in a Box is a collaboration between Pixar and Khan Academy to "create, develop, and promote a series of learning tutorials that demonstrate how math, science, engineering, and the arts are a vital part of the magic and wonder of the Pixar filmmaking process"-Pixar in a Box. 

Logos belong to Pixar and KhanAcademy.  Logos used under fair use, Createful Art is not authorized by, sponsored by, or associated with the trademark owner. 

What is Khan Academy? Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization that was created in 2006 by Salman Kahn with the goal to provide free education for anyone, everywhere. 

I believe everyone should sign their kids up on Kahn academy. Not only because it is free, but it is also fun for kids. There is so much on Kahn Academy for kids to explore.  

I recently started exploring Pixar in a Box myself. I had tons of fun learning how to design and animate blades of grass and model grass movements with parabolas. I got to explore how clay models are transformed into digital characters using weighted averages. I explored how animators bring characters to life with the help from animation curves. Then I discovered how combinations were used to design crowds in Wall-E. This was just the tip of the iceberg. Don't know what any of this means? Well you have to go to Kahn Academy to find out!

So I handed over the computer to my kids. They actually wanted to play and do the math problems. The program shows the appropriate grade level for each activity. My kids enjoyed the lessons appropriate for their age level. Even though my kids are younger, they were grasping the idea of a parabola! Say what? I am not kidding. Kids who are older and learning Algebra or Geometry will get more from Pixar in a Box then my eight year old, but there is still a lot even younger kids can learn. 

I strongly believe that art loving kids who have a hard time in math will take to this and enjoy finding out how math works in the art industry. Pixar says-"Pixar in a Box is designed to help students answer an age old question: "why do I need to learn this stuff?" Our answer to this question is a series of interactive lessons, each of which demonstrate how a concept introduced in school is used for creative benefit at Pixar."

As an artist I can say this is a wonderful idea.  As a teacher this is a wonderfully awesome idea!  As an artist, teacher, and mom trying to teach kids math, this is out of the ball park for greatness!

So what are you waiting for? Sign your kids up for Pixar-In-a-Box! 

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I was not affiliated, endorsed or sponsored by Kahn Academy or Pixar in a Box when creating this review. All opinions are mine.  Quotes were found on //www.khanacademy.org.