Extended Learning
A. Congratulations, Animator!
You have explored the history of animation, studied the principles that make it work, created your own animations, toured a studio, and researched careers in the field. That is a lot of ground to cover — and you have built real skills along the way. The world of animation is vast and constantly evolving, and what you have learned here is just the beginning. Below are some ways to keep growing.
B. Level Up Your Animation Skills
Learn a Professional Tool
The free tools you used for your merit badge projects are great for getting started, but professional animators work with more powerful software. The good news? Many of these tools have free versions or are completely open-source.
Blender is a free, open-source 3D animation suite used by professionals and hobbyists worldwide. It handles modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, and compositing — all in one program. Major studios and indie creators alike use Blender, and its community produces an enormous library of free tutorials. Start with Blender’s official “Donut Tutorial” — a guided project where you model, texture, and render a photorealistic donut. It sounds simple, but it teaches the fundamentals of 3D workflow that apply to every project you will ever tackle.
Krita is a free painting and 2D animation program. If you prefer drawing to 3D modeling, Krita gives you professional-grade brushes, frame-by-frame animation tools, and onion skinning (the ability to see previous frames as faint overlays while you draw the next one). It runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, and even Chromebooks.
Pencil2D is the tool many Scouts use for their merit badge projects, but it has depth beyond basic flipbooks. Explore its layer system, camera tools, and export options to create more polished animations.
Study Animation Through Film
Watching animated films critically — not just for fun — is one of the best ways to train your eye. Pick a scene from any animated film and watch it frame by frame (most video players let you advance one frame at a time with the period key). Notice how the animators use squash and stretch, anticipation, and follow-through. Pay attention to how a character’s expression changes between key poses. Watch the same scene multiple times: once for the overall motion, once for the face, once for the hands, and once for the secondary actions in the background. This kind of deliberate observation is how professional animators study their craft. Films by Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro), Pixar (Ratatouille, Coco), and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse are especially rich examples to study.
Join an Animation Community
Learning animation alone is possible, but learning with others is faster and more fun. Online communities give you a place to share work, get feedback, and find inspiration. Newgrounds has been an animation community since the early internet and still hosts original animated work from creators around the world. DeviantArt has active animation groups where artists share work-in-progress frames and finished pieces. Reddit communities like r/animation and r/learnanimation are welcoming to beginners and full of tutorials, critiques, and encouragement. Many animators also share their process on YouTube, breaking down how they create specific effects or scenes. Following a few animation channels and trying to recreate their techniques is an excellent way to build skills steadily over time.
C. Build a Portfolio
If animation interests you as a potential career — or even just as a serious hobby — start building a demo reel now. A demo reel is a short video (usually 30 seconds to 2 minutes) showcasing your best animation work. It is the single most important thing any animator needs when applying for jobs, schools, or internships.
Here is how to start building one today. First, keep every animation you create, even the rough ones. You will be amazed at how much you improve over time, and having older work lets you see your growth. Second, focus on quality over quantity. Three excellent 5-second clips are more impressive than one mediocre 30-second animation. Third, lead with your strongest piece. Reviewers often decide within the first few seconds whether to keep watching. Fourth, label each clip with the technique and tools you used. If you did all the work yourself, say so. If you collaborated, credit your teammates. Fifth, update your reel regularly. Every time you complete a new project that is better than your weakest clip, swap it in. A portfolio is a living document that grows with you.
D. Animation Challenges and Contests
Structured challenges push you to animate on a deadline with a specific theme — and they are a surprisingly fun way to improve fast.
Animation challenges are short creative exercises posted by online communities. A common one is the “11 Second Club,” which posts a new audio clip every month. Animators worldwide create a short animation to match the audio, then the community votes on the best entries. It is free to enter and gives you a concrete goal to work toward each month.
Game jams are short competitions (usually 48 to 72 hours) where teams build a complete video game from scratch. If you are interested in game animation, joining a jam — even as the team’s sole animator — will teach you more in a weekend than months of tutorials. Popular game jams include Ludum Dare and the Global Game Jam, both of which welcome beginners.
Film festivals that accept student and amateur animation include the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Annecy International Animation Film Festival (online submissions accepted), and many regional festivals. Having a piece accepted into a festival — even a small one — is a real accomplishment and looks great in a portfolio.