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Meet Your Mentor:
Laurent Benhamo

Senior and Lead Creature Animator. Over 27 years in feature films at ILM, Framestore, MPC and Disney.

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I have been animating creatures and characters for feature films for over 27 years. My credits include Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Lion King, Paddington and Gravity.

 

My specialty is creature anatomy, physicality and performance. I apply traditional animation principles to modern VFX pipelines, and I have led shot reviews and given performance feedback on large multi-shot sequences.

 

I started with traditional 2D animation at GOBELINS in Paris, and that training still shapes how I look at every shot: weight, timing, and what the character is thinking.

 

I created Animotion Academy to teach what I do in the studio, to animators who want to work at that level.

 

What you will learn

 

Production-based 3D animation, the way it is done on a feature film

Locomotion and anatomy of animals and creatures

Composition and storytelling in a shot

Performance and facial animation

How animation compares with live action, drawing, sculpture and music

Rigging tips from a production point of view.

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Want to develop your animation skills with Laurent?

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How I teach

 

Every week you send me your shot and we go through it together, live on Zoom. I explain my notes with graphics and videos, so you can see exactly what to change.

 

All sessions are recorded. You can watch them again whenever you need.

 

The courses are for animators of all levels. You work on your own shot, and you get honest, specific feedback on it.

Awards & Recognition

Annie Awards 2023
Best Character Animation – Live Action
Nominee – The Beast (Framestore)

Primetime Emmy Awards 2005
Outstanding Special Visual Effects
Nominee – Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real
Laurent Benhamo – Lead Visual Effects Animator

Filmography

Selected credits

 

Feature films

Star Wars: Episode VIII, The Last Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Gravity

The Lion King

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

Paddington

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Clash of the Titans

Wrath of the Titans

War Horse

Where the Wild Things Are

The Tale of Despereaux

The Last Dragon

Quest for Camelot

Space Jam

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

A Goofy Movie

 

Television and other

Prehistoric Planet

The Beast

Cedric

Gadget and the Gadgetinis

Education

GOBELINS, L'ecole de l'image section animation

January 1991 - June 1993

Training in tradition 2D animation and history of cinematography

Languages

- English

- French

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