testimonials
I am am proud to showcase my creature animation shot of leopard which I had made in CreatureAnimationWorkshop. Let me tell you about my journey with CAW. I am an Animator and worked on many challenging tasks in VFX but I got very little chance to do hands-on Creature related work, I had seen few students reels from CREATURE ANIMATION WORKSHOP (CAW). which were too impressive and such detailed work. That motivated me to learn creature animation skills. Learning experience from CREATURE ANIMATION WORKSHOP (CAW) is Priceless. Dhanu is one of the best mentors I came across. who has immense knowledge and experience in creature animation as well in other areas of Animation. He has a super Sharp creativity eye. He keeps motivating us and pushes our limits to achieve our best result in animation. He never leaves his students' hands and is always available to help them grow in animation.
Learning experience where we learn from how to ananalized ref to the implementation of minute details. In this process we had overcome a lot of challenges technically from handling rigs and processes to achieve all creative notes. This made us know what are our good and bad habits in animation.
I would recommend Creature Animation Workshop (CAW) for learning Creature animation skills. Now I am very confident to handle the Creature Animation task in production . Thank you Dhanu Muddikuppam and the most supportive community and fellow students. CAW help me to take my career to new heights and giving vision for successful career in animation
Prasad Hublikar
When I first saw CAW’s/Dhanu’s students' work, I was completely amazed and intrigued by why everyone’s work was so consistently amazing! I decided to take on the workshop to find out what I was missing out on to reach that next level of animation. The real answer I quickly learned is a LOT of nonstop hard work and time, and an extremely passionate and dedicated teacher. That extra extra push past the normal effort that people skip to call their shot "done" or "good enough". Dhanu’s time with you doesn’t end just because the class is over like most other classes. He really sticks with you until the end of your shot (I'm still not done as I write this haha). He focuses on one of the most crucial parts of learning that fits my style, which is learning by failure and example. Every mistake I have made every single week during our reviews have made my shot to become as amazing as it is now. When you sign up for this class, you better be just as committed to doing the work no matter how long it takes and how difficult it is, because it is completely worth it, and I have grown so much as an animator. Dhanu is the true mentor I’ve always wanted. It's one thing to be a phenomenal animator, but being able to teach others and bring them up to such a high level is a whole other level of amazing.
Tiffany Cheung
I had a great time during the workshop.it takes your animation to another level. Dhanu's attention to detail is amazing and after a while students tend to start noticing little nuances that put life into the shot. It was a great learning experience for me and made me understand the "subtle" animation which is very hard to achieve. He's an amazing teacher and understands each student's strengths and weaknesses. I wish him luck and I'm already planning for the next workshop.
Ashar Siddiqui
Dhanu does not only teach you how to animate but how to animate on the level which top world productions demand. As it is known. The level of detail in your work differs you from other animators and increases your chances to get the work you dream of. Thanks to Dhanu I have learnt to observe and paid attention to the tiniest detail possible and implement it into my animation. Beside that, Dhanu is one of the most sincere people I have met as he is alway ready to help, he really loves animation and is eager to teach others. He gives 1 to1 feedback as well as recorded feedback whenever it's needed. When I had a problem with something he recorded a video where he showed (animating straight in Maya) his solution. He uploads the video (and not only mine of course) so it's available for others too. On the top of that, he introduced me to people further in the pipeline who helped me to push my shot to production level. I'm proud of the animation I have done under Dhanu's supervision!
Jana Satori
I have been an Animator for several years now and there was always one thing missing from my skill set, i.e. Creatures! CAW has been one of the best experiences for me. I have learnt a lot about creatures from how to approach animating a 4 legged till the final polishing to make it look real and believable. I used to be very skeptical about animating realistic creatures but Dhanu's mentorship has helped me to obtain certain skills and perspectives to find the best ways of understanding animal's nature and how they behave. Dhanu's feedback has definitely pushed my animation to another level. I would recommend Creature Animation Workshop to anyone who wants to upgrade their skills in learning creature behavior and getting the same realistic feel in their animations. Thank you! :D
Karna Contractor
Before starting my journey with CAW I was always intimidated by creature animation. However, Dhanu’s method of teaching made it very easy to understand.
I learnt the step by step process of approaching a shot – from choosing a reference, analyzing and breaking it down to the very minute secondary details. The goal was not only about achieving the final output but also to learn and use effective workflow techniques. I also learnt to look into minute details which we generally overlook. The CAW rigs are industry standard and very animator friendly which allowed us to achieve extremely realistic results. The classes were very interactive and we always received detailed feedback. Observing each other’s work kept everyone in the class highly motivated.
I have seen an exponential growth in myself over the course of this workshop and learnt techniques which are not easily available elsewhere. I feel highly confident now and I am eager to apply these skills in the industry.
Bhawesh Ramudamu
Great Animators to become great Mentors is very rare. Dhanu is one of them. Also the kind of clarity and energy he brings is just amazing and it boosts the work to another level. Cheers buddy!
Kuhan
C.A.W. (CREATURE ANIMATION WORKSHOP) Name says everything about it. It's not only about CREATURE ANIMATION, but gives you a 360 degree view of real animation production.
I learnt a lot while doing it and still learning. It has changed my perspective to look at different ways of animal’s behaviour… it has given immense pleasure while feeling the emotions of an animal while animating.
CAW has indeed given me confidence to work in the production environment and pursue my dream to animate creatures under the guidance of a master who has a keen 3rd eye for animation details.
Thanks to CAW mentor Dhanu Muddikuppam and his vision.
This workshop is not only just animating but feeling the creatures from inside.
YOGESH S.PARADKAR
After years of working in the industry I never quite reached my full potential or career goals . I had been interested in online schools for years but the timing had never been just right.I finally took the plunge and jumped into the world of CAW .I should say this is one of the best decisions I've made in years. CAW offers a solid mentorship under Dhanu and a warm online community
where we can talk about animation.Whether you are looking to strengthen your animation reel or to sharpen it, CAW is a perfect place.I would definitely recommend CAW to anyone who is looking to learn and grow as an animator.
Harish Tambe
I’m so glad to have been given an amazing opportunity to have Dhanu as my tutor. I was immediately impressed with his eye for details and the focus he brought to analyzing. He goes out of his way to encourage you to boost your confidence and helps to be patient, which is very much required when you want to unveil a high quality creature animation.
The best part about Dhanu is, he is extremely clear about animation and consistently maintains strong animation ethics with patience and a smile on his face. He works tirelessly every step of his way to ensure that you get the best quality of realistic creature animation. He is always open to bringing new ideas with precision, patience and kindness and his feedback helped me with clearer purpose and better awareness of what I was trying to achieve and why. I love how much I have grown in the short amount of time.
I have benefited immensely from his encouragement while searching for my first reference to finalizing the shot. I have been amazed by the opportunities to grow technically, creatively and personally at CAW. Dhanu is so infectious that I immediately felt the pride and passion of learning under dhanu’s supervision. His contribution towards students’ reel is commendable.
He has inspired me to pursue my goals with hard work, dedication, patience and of course his magical and secret ingredient towards animation is to give “More Love”. It has changed my perspective towards realistic creature animation, now that I can approach to animate any creature. And I obviously owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Dhanu and I wholeheartedly recommend animators to join CAW. It has made me a better animator. Thank you Dhanu, for your time, support and encouragement
Kishore Kumar Muduli
Before taking Dhanu's animation class I never had a habit of animating a character in 360 degrees and I only animated to camera but now I know that it is necessary to have an animation that looks good in every angle. I also learned how to look for good references and what to look for in a video reference.
Kyaw Saw Aung
The style of teaching is phenomenal .I have qualified to get enrolled to the course according to my skills. CAW has been a wonderful learning experience and lives up to its reputation of the best Creature Animation Workshop for freshers to experienced Professionals. CAW has catapulted my thought process and skills to next level, starting from gathering the appropriate reference to analyzing the reference,then understanding the creature behavior, finding out the details of micro movements ,creating the proper body mechanics to final polishing each curve , at the end presenting an appreciative Show reel. I have been a part of the CAW family,where they all support me through my creative / technical troubles and cheer for my success. We also learn from the valuable reviews of other students in each class, so in the end ,apart from our own creatures,we get to know many other creatures too. At Caw,I am always encouraged and supported throughout my course. It has made me more confident and given me a range of new animation methods ,developed my thinking process, and learned to see details. Taken me step by step through the process of creating a realistic and believable performance of the creatures.
Caw always answers all my questions,and feels like taking a one-on-one class.
Lastly CAW is definitely a value for money, there is no compromise in the quality of shots even if it takes some time more to give my best .Thus , the learning is complete, wherein I am confident to handle any complex shot.
Piyal Sarkar
CG creatures come to live, this is the difference I can see and feel in my animation. oops its not animation anymore it's live now.
Thanks CAW for helping me to give life to creatures. Before it was just moving.
Moumita Das
CAW was such a great experience for me. This workshop really helped me to level up in my animation skills, but also introduced me to some incredible talents during the workshop. Thanks to Dhanu, for his patience and sharing his valuable knowledge with us. If any passionate animator is looking forward to learning creature animation, this is the place and am sure you will enjoy animating.
ABISHEIK AUSTIN
I had been feeling, for a while, that I was needing something more to elevate my animation skills to the next level.I made the right choice by joining CAW.There's a crazy level of excitement and mentor support you can feel in this CAW Workshop.
Mentor Dhanu is very friendly & motivates u in every class ,he would never allow you to settle down with results he will keep pushing you to bring the best out of it.
you change the way you Approach your shot from the beginning. What you learn here is similar to the workflow of animators approaching their scenes in vfx studios.
I left behind some of my old bad habits in my workflow & now I am able to see bigger improvements in the scene.
Yokesh bharathi
Creature Animation Workshop is one of the best learning experiences of my life. Although I learned so much about animating the creatures with proper body-mechanics and subtle details to add life to it, what I learned from this workshop is not just for creature animation but I have been successfully using it in all my animations shots either character or creature, to make it look more alive and natural. One of the best things about CAW is its Mentor " Dhanu ", he is so dedicated and passionate about teaching that he never lets you fall behind and he is always there to push you forward. In comparison to my previous experience of another online workshop, I can tell for sure I never had this much fun and so much learning experience with such a dedicated teacher, who does not leave you behind and is watching over you closely on every step of your workshop and directing you on the right path. I also got to learn various tips and tricks during the workshop which helped me to speed up my animation workflow. I am very excited and looking forward to learning more from Dhanu in the future, as I feel there is too much more to learn from his experience.
Deepak Kumar
I always wanted to learn Creature Animation but due to busy work schedules I couldn't get time to join a training institute. During the lockdown period I heard about the Online Creature Animation Workshop of CAW and from there my journey with CAW started. Initially I was a little bit confused about the training as I had never joined any online workshops in the past but now I must say that I made the right decision by choosing CAW. This workshop really helped me to level up in my animation skills, but also introduced me to some incredible talents during the workshop. Thanks to my tutor Dhanu for all his efforts and patience. Under his coaching it was never like an online workshop, I always felt his presence surrounding like a one-on-one class. CAW has given me a broad vision ahead. I am very excited and looking forward to learning more from Dhanu in the future, as I feel there is too much more to learn from his experience. Thanks a lot Dhanu and CAW for introducing me with my goals.
Swarup Jadav
CAW is the game changer for me. Being a self taught Animator till now I never imagined things could be like this. I was always intimated to start even a simple quadruped walk before. But After working with Dhanu in the Workshop, I got confident enough that I keep looking for new animals to animate by myself.
I couldn’t even see such small details before in any video yet alone Animate them. But now every time I watch some video reference or see any animal in real life I keep noticing how they move unconsciously.
Other than training for the Eye for details, Dhanu also helps you with technical stuff and gives tips and tricks to how to get your Animation to that next level and he keeps pushing you to do more and more and never give up.
I would highly recommend CAW to anyone looking to get into Creature Animation and see the change in their Biped animation skills at the same time.
Mrinal SonI
Creature Animation Workshop has given me the insights into observing and understanding what makes every creature unique and then create realistic, believable and industry-standard creature animations. The journey has been of deconstructing my preconceived notions about animation, observing every little details of animal behaviour, working in a proper workflow and perfectly using the hierarchy of every controller.
I would like to thank Dhanu for being an amazing mentor, being patient with my learning curve and helping me out in every possible way and making me aware of my potential. Also, interacting with my fellow classmates for these few months have been a lot of fun and I have learnt a lot from seeing their progress as well.
I would definitely recommend this course for anyone who wishes to have a more in-depth understanding about creature behaviour and animation, across all skill levels and industry experience
Shubhranil Roy
Dhanu is an amazing animator who truly knows what he is talking about. He guided me with great patience and well explained feedback on what and how I could improve my animation in the weekly live reviews.
My sense for timing, spacing, understanding body mechanics and how to break down a reference has improved drastically and I had a lot of eye opening "aha"-moments.
Once again, thank you Dhanu for sharing your decade of knowledge and for being so patient with me
Stephanie Strand
I had been feeling, for a while, that I was needing something more to elevate my animation skills to the next level.I made the right choice by joining CAW.There's a crazy level of excitement and mentor support you can feel in this CAW Workshop.
Mentor Dhanu is very friendly & motivates u in every class ,he would never allow you to settle down with results he will keep pushing you to bring the best out of it.
you change the way you Approach your shot from the beginning. What you learn here is similar to the workflow of animators approaching their scenes in vfx studios.
I left behind some of my old bad habits in my workflow & now I am able to see bigger improvements in the scene.
Yokesh
Creature Animation Workshop has helped me correct my workflow as well as my way of looking into reference. My mentor Dhanu taught me the process of approaching any shot studying reference and explained how to carry out its realistic motion and feel onto our working creature. All this enhanced my quality of work as well as my confidence. Now I am able to see minute details in the reference and implement the same on a creature for its realistic feel. With my overall experience I really thank Dhanu. CAW is the best place to learn creature animation.
Deepak Verma
Creature Animation Workshop and instructor Dhanu has helped me in more ways than one. Being a student in CAW is beneficial to any animator from beginner to advanced skill set. Dhanu and the CAW students offer not only invaluable knowledge when it comes to animation, but the tools and strategies that you need to help you succeed on your journey to getting your animation from good to the best professional VFX quality with fantastic results. Thanks to Dhanu, I have now developed and adapted a professional workflow to not only get better results but help me speed up my animation time in one half the time it used to take me in the past. If you are serious about improving and learning high industry standard animation, I wholeheartedly recommend becoming a part of the Creature Animation Workshop educational family.
Steve Filatro
Learning at CAW from Dhanu is not just about creature animation but much more than that. Dhanu helps you boost your confidence and helps you be patient which is very much required when you want to bring out a quality realistic shot. His personal attention to each and every student
and passion to bring out the best from everyone is the reason CAW students are producing amazing stuff. There is a lot to learn from Dhanu, right from attention to detail, to handling your timeline efficiently, tips and tricks and above all he inspires a lot to keep pushing for the best. A big plus is the CAW family of students who are extremely helpful to each other. I am glad I enrolled for CAW and would highly recommend anyone who loves to animate creatures.
Abhishek Chandra
I came across CAW by chance. I was scheduled to start a creature course with another anime school, but was told about Dhanu by my work colleagues who also work in VFX. My decision to join CAW was not about learning how to animate creatures because there are many ways to do that. When I watched the showreels I saw something different, that extra 10% of detail that takes his students' animation from being good to great.
Once up and running in course it was clear to see how and why CAW produces such great results. Dhanu’s eye for detail is amazing and his workflow just works. He has a great personality that is approachable and accommodating no matter what level you are at. You get great one-on-one tuition, but are also a part of a family of students that are aiming to help and improve each other.
I can say I highly recommend CAW, but then again the results speak for itself.
Kadel
Dhanu is always an inspiration to me , his work always inspires me to improve animation. I must say the initiative taken by Dhanu to teach such high quality animation is awesome.This workshop taught me how to build a shot from scratch to final animation.
The CAW is an awesome experience for me. it's always i'm thinking of improving animation , and was very curious about the vfx animation, i am a character animator, was more in character acting, expression behavior never thought of ever animating creature but really was very much interested to know how creature animation works, I have animated creatures before but now i can see the difference before and now. and believe me it was the best experience I had in my life, In CAW workshop cleared most of my doubts how the timing and spacing works in realtime and how to animate creature behavior, things are much more clear now, in the workshop I learned how to observe , how to look for reference, how to follow it keepin all the aspects of animation in mind.
I must recommend CAW to every animator who wants to improve his knowledge on animals, creatures..
Ramzan Mulani
CAW is the best platform in my career to learn high quality creature animation. Of course without Dhanu, our beloved mentor and friend, it is not possible to start to see a dream one more time. He not only teaches us, but also boosts up our energy and passion. He is teaching every student with Patience and his eye on detailed feedback on assignments is remarkable.Students can realise their improvement day by day and can feel that they are not so far from their dream.
Ohh! Like to add, Every student in the group is very helpful and friendly.We are sharing tips and tricks, ideas,and motivating each other. Whatever I can say about Dhanu and CAW is not enough unless you experience it.
I am very blessed to have this legend as my mentor.
SUMIT
This is the first time I am learning directly from a tutor, and this is the best decision of my career so far. In CAW, I have learned a lot and many new things in the class. Our mentor Dhanu, has a great eye for detail. He also aims for us students to develop those detailed eyes. Along with animation he also inspires us to work hard. CAW students are very helpful. If you are planning to learn quality animation skills, do not wait, enroll now.
ANIL SHAW
Creature Animation Workshop emphasizes us to understand the process thoroughly behind the realistic movements by reading the references in the correct manner. It has changed my perspective to look at any movement.
Once one understands it, the results are only going to be 100%.
I am very happy with my decision to choose CAW as my mentor as I learnt so much from it with the help of which I am venturing into this wonderful vfx stream.
The knowledge CAW delivers,remains with you throughout your entire professional journey. Thank you CAW! :)
Rohini Paradkar
The creature animation workshop has been very informative and an amazing one !! This course has changed the way I look at creature animation . I have done some creature animation before but it never seems believable and it was always daunting to start a new shot. But after this course and with the knowledge I have gained , I feel it's easier to start and finish a creature shot .
This course is not only about learning creature mechanics, it’s about learning animation as a whole. You will learn things like looking for timing and spacing , seeing shapes and secondary
animation in the reference and implementing these details into your shot . The techniques I learnt In this course have not only helped me in creature animation but also in my CG stuff too. Dhanu is an amazing mentor . He is very patient and has a Wealth if knowledge in this department. So for anyone who is looking to learn creature animation and make a kick ass shot for your reel , I’ll recommend you to join this workshop and become a part of the CAW family.
Vinayak
A great experience and an amazing journey which I wish never ended. It's not a school, it's more like a family with lots of talented animators and an amazing mentor who are always there to help you with animation and doubts. Dhanu is a great mentor and he teaches you the right approach to do a shot and work in a professional way by sharing all his knowledge and many years of work experience in the industry. Highly recommended to those who are enthusiastic, passionate and have lots of patience to be a professional creature animator.
Vineeth Vijayan
To be a part of CAW was the right decision after learning from Dhanu. He is a great Mentor and a positive person who stands for you in each and every situation. As an animator I was thinking I know so much but after doing this workshop my perspective changed and a lot of things have changed. Every week I thought I was near to finishing my shot but Mentors like Dhanu told us where the issue is and what needs to be fixed. These corrections make a big difference in my career.
I like one thing very much in Dhanu. He always boosts you by encouraging you with his kind words and vision towards success.
Personally I learnt a lesson that every year we have to gather some knowledge and always think at the end of the year what we learnt this year. I have spent the money but I am happy with what I received. This is the end of the month. I am proud to say I learnt so many things and ways of working in the right direction.
Thank you Dhanu
Bhuvnesh kumar
Having seen multiple shots of Creature Animation Workshop's students on LinkedIn, I was absolutely blown away by the quality and level of detail in the work. Wanting to challenge myself with creature animation, I contacted Dhanu, the founder and mentor, and after a few conversations I decided to join CAW. Since then I've had nothing but a fantastic and positive experience. Not only is Dhanu a 'beast' of an animator but also an absolutely dedicated mentor with a strong passion for teaching and sharing his knowledge with his students. Through my time at Creature Animation Workshop I have learnt so much about animation workflows, quadruped body mechanics and adding details that I normally never would have thought of. Dhanu is very communicative and provides one on one feedback. He has guided me all the way from finding the right references to cleanly blocking my shot and finally layering in details all the way to polish. Each week has been a steep learning curve and I highly recommend Creature Animation Workshop to anyone looking at improving their animation skills.
Ryan Sequeira
Dhanu makes you come out of your comfort zone, He trains your eye, he makes you unlearn all the bad animation habits you might have developed over the years and in the end you will develop skills which you will be proud to show off. His passion and enthusiasm towards animation is contagious.If you are passionate and can dedicate a good amount of your daily time, this is the workshop for you. And remember this is hardcore stuff, only enroll if you are up for it and this might be your best learning experience ever.
Sashank Mangipudi
Once I watched the works of the students of CAW, I decided to join that workshop. their works were super awesome and very close to the quality of the vfx shots in the movies so i knew that workshop would take my work to the next level ... Dhanu cares a lot about all the tiny details and his feedback gives your animation a big push and makes it better and better...he really pushed my work limits and I learned from him a lot about creatures...so grateful for taking that workshop with Dhanu.
Ahmed Hassanein
Creature Animation Workshop is a MUST for anybody who wants to learn how to do realistic creature animation.
Dhanu is a dedicated, hardworking, mentor and inspirator, with a strong passion for teaching and sharing his knowledge with the people who want to learn and to improve to be better animators. During classes at Creature Animation Workshop I have learnt so much about animation workflows, quadruped body mechanics and learnt to have an eye for little details and what makes a creature animation shot become better and polished. Dhanu is the kind of teacher you can ask any kind of questions, and who happily will share with you everything, from how to pick a good reference to adding the little details that help to bring life to any shot.
Thank You Dhanu
Jose Ramirez