In LASA’s animation class, students learn how to add motion to their art while learning the skills and tools necessary to make art come to life. During the class, many topics are covered including 2D animation, 3D environment, character design, and stop motion animation. By the end of the course, students have acquired skills to use animation programs effectively in order to animate.

Teacher Nancy Zamora, is a first-year instructor at LASA, although she has been teaching for seven years. She went to school for Media Arts and Animation at the Arts Institute of Austin. Zamora enjoys teaching animation to high school students who don’t have prior experience. 

 “I want everyone to learn a little about the different aspects of animation and what it all entails,” Zamora said. “I also love when students take my class with a fear of 3D software and end up loving it more than all the others.” 

Zamora feels that her students enjoy learning about what goes into creating cartoons, films and games. For instance, one of the assignments is creating a character using an existing one and an inanimate object.

“For example, a katana and Grunkle Stan or popcorn and Sailor Moon,” Zamora said. “I hear a lot of chatting and laughter with this assignment. I love when my students get really excited about learning something new or find joy in what they are working on.” 

One project during the school year involves using Blender, a free and open-source 3D creation and animation suite, to create a 3D environment. Another project that junior Manuel Gaspar enjoyed focused on a different type of animation.

“We would do stop motion animation,” Gaspar said. “The process for that would be that we would make our own scenes, prepare the figures, and then, take [photos] picture by picture of the scenes we wanted to make so that we would have full on animation.”

The diversity of projects is one of the reasons students, such as Gaspar, enjoyed the class. Junior Mateo Rives has also enjoyed the class projects and the opportunity to experiment with creative outlets.

“I signed up for the class because I needed a tech credit, and I have always loved animation, cartoons, and art in general,” Rives said. “I liked it so much the first time that I decided to take Animation 2 the next year.” 

Part of the incentive to take further Animation classes is the workload. According to Rives, if students manage their time well, students don’t have much homework.

“On most days, you just get the entire class period to work, so if you spend your time wisely, you do not ever really get homework, unless you want to work outside of class,” Rives said.

A lack of homework is not the only reason that students, such as Rives, enjoy the work environment. Rives enjoys Zamora’s teaching of what he considers an interesting subject. 

“I definitely enjoy the class because, unlike most classes at LASA, it is not stressful, the grading is not harsh, the teacher is awesome, and the content is actually really fun and engaging,” Rives said. “It definitely exceeded my expectations for how much I enjoyed it. It is definitely something I look forward to each B day.”