Teaching and Training
Since I began studying engineering in the mid 1990's, I have been involved in teaching, training, tutoring and mentoring, starting with tutoring technology in primary schools in and around Glasgow, which I followed with running children's design competitions and projects while at Ford Motor Company. Now working in animation and games, I have been heavily involved in developing the skills of others at different stages of their careers.
Below you can find information on some of my experiences in teaching and training. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you think I could support you as an individual or be of use to your organisation.
Teaching
For the past three years, I have set and mentored a concept art project at London College of Communication, which is a member of the University of the Arts London. It has been a joy to see the students develop theirs skills over a twelve-week period. At other universities such as Central Saint Martins and The Arts University Bournemouth, I have taught classes in animation assisting and run tutorials for Masters' students.
Over several years, I taught 2D animation layout to adults with a passion for animation through Türkiye's Cartoon Mill, which led to making two visits where I ran face-to-face workshops in character design and animation assist.
And in 2012, I taught 2D animation at Phare Ponleu Selpak's animation school in Cambodia, where I wrote a step by step guide to learning 2D animation.
Training
When animation software, TVPaint, first started to be used on projects I worked on, I developed training notes that aligned with our particular workflow, that were used across several studios. This led me to training people within studios, groups in online classes, and individuals who were making the transition from paper or other software and required one-to-one tuition.
This training was integrated with an animation assisting course which I used to teach a large group of juniors on feature film, Ethel and Ernest at Lupus Films.
Mentoring
I love seeing others thrive, and I have mentored for many years for the University of the Arts London, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, and Access VFX. I am able to adapt well to the needs of the mentees and aim to help each individual work towards fulfilling their potential in their chosen fields.