ABOUT KARL
Karl has been in demand as a figure drawing teacher at major animation studios for many years, having taught life drawing to animators at most of the major studios in Hollywood/Burbank including Disney Feature and TV Animation, Dreamworks Feature and TV Animation, Sony Imageworks, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros Animation, Rhythm & Hues, Turner Animation, and more.
As part of Disney’s long time tradtion of bringing in Life Drawing/Figure Drawing teachers to enhance the skills of its animators, Karl Gnass has taught inside the studios at Disney Feature Animation for 24 years, and Disney Television Animation for 23 years.
Fast Company Article
Learning In The Flesh: Why Disney Sends Its Animators To Life Drawing Classes
For 82 years, Disney’s in-studio life drawing classes have helped evolve its animated characters. But as increasing reliance on computers lures young animators away from classical drawing, three of Disney’s current master teachers are reminding them why figure drawing is still crucial.
In the 1990s, several other major animation studios recognized the benefits of Disneys figure drawing training and followed suit by developing their own in-studio classes.
These studios sought out Karl, who not only became their first life drawing teacher, but he was also instrumental in assisting the management in setting up the drawing instruction programs for their animation departments.
This included Dreamworks Feature and Dreamworks TV where Karl taught for 22 years, and Nickelodeon for 6 years.
Major Animation Studios Where Karl Has Taught
For many years, Karl has taught weekly classes at several studios simultaneously on an ongoing basis, along with being a life and figure drawing teacher at the Animation Guild Local 839 in Burbank, where he’s been teaching for 28 years. Karl has been the primary year-long instructor at the American Animation Institute which is run by the Animation Guild in Burbank, California, teaching a variety of figure drawing classes to students, both experienced animators as well as students looking to break into the animation field.
Karl also teaches at universities and colleges with art programs, and is recognized as a master teacher internationally with top european animation schools, organizations, studios, and universities with animation departments hosting Karl to present exclusive lectures and figure drawing workshops.
In 2019, Karl was approached by Netflix’s new animation division as its first life and figure drawing teacher. The USC School of Cinematic Arts also recruited Karl in 2019 to teach a semester long special class for its students.
The Shift to Online Live Classes due to the Coronavirus
In 2020, the worldwide Coronavirus Pandemic heavily affected the entire film industry, including the animation studios, which have reconfigured and set up their offices to work from home with their animators.
The Coronavirus also affected the Animation Guild’s American Animation Institute (AAI) nonprofit school where Karl has been a life drawing/figure drawing teacher for 28 years. The AAI temporarily suspended all of its 2020 Spring, Summer and Fall classes and is on hold indefinitely pending the Covid-19 status.
During these trying times, many schools and educational organizations have adapted to the situation by offering online classes and courses. Karl has likewise met the challenge to continue to teach animators and artists through online live streaming life and figure drawing classes. The Animation Guild is supporting and assisting Karl’s endeavor in teaching summer and fall terms of live classes online throughout the pandemic.
Karl’s class terms are 10 weeks long, with a schedule of three 3-hour weekday evening classes, and one 3-hour Saturday morning class. Karl’s classes are available to the public as well as members of the Animation Guild. All skill levels are welcome.
On a positive note, now that Karl’s classes are live online, this opens up his classes to more individuals who can participate. Students nationwide and worldwide can now take his popular classes from the comfort of their own home.
Keep in mind that Karl likes to keep his class sizes small so that he can provide more personalized attention, which means that there are limited spaces available for each class. These classes are being independently hosted and taught by Karl, via Zoom. Karl is also offering one on one consulting and training.
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