Character Animator · Animation Supervisor
JimVanderkeyl
Thirty-five years giving characters a heartbeat — from The Little Mermaid to Kung Fu Panda. Now teaching the next ones how.
★ The Fast Track Method
Hey, I'm Jim 👋
Crack the code of timing & spacing.
Thirty-five years at Disney, DreamWorks and Blue Sky — distilled into one course. Let me save you a decade of figuring it out the hard way.
- ✓Stop guessing why shots feel floaty
- ✓The exact timing & spacing studios pay for
- ✓Self-paced, with the Fast Track Method eBook
★★★★★ Trusted by animators worldwide
timing · spacing · weight · intent
timing · spacing · weight · intent
timing · spacing · weight · intent
timing · spacing · weight · intent
timing · spacing · weight · intent
timing · spacing · weight · intent
Jim Vanderkeylsince '89
About
Chasing the moment a drawing starts to breathe — since 1989.
Thirty-five years across hand-drawn cels at Disney and CG at Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Sony Imageworks and Blue Sky — with an Annie nomination on The Iron Giant. These days I teach what I've learned.
0+
Years in animation
0
Feature films
0
Major studios
0
Annie nomination
Selected Filmography
The credits
24 credits across four decades, ranked by reach. Hover a title to pull the slate.
01
The Little Mermaid
1989
Walt Disney
02
Kung Fu Panda
2008
DreamWorks
03
Kung Fu Panda 2
2011
DreamWorks
04
The Iron Giant
1999
Warner Bros.
05
Space Jam
1996
Warner Bros.
06
Shark Tale
2004
DreamWorks
07
Over the Hedge
2006
DreamWorks
08
Monsters vs. Aliens
2009
DreamWorks
09
Rio 2
2014
Blue Sky Studios
10
Flushed Away
2006
DreamWorks
35 years · 14 features · 7 studios
35 years · 14 features · 7 studios
35 years · 14 features · 7 studios
35 years · 14 features · 7 studios
35 years · 14 features · 7 studios
35 years · 14 features · 7 studios
Courses & Mentorship
What I wish someone had taught me.
Fourteen years of instruction, distilled. Whether you want the whole system or one honest critique — I'll meet you where you are.
From the Reel
A few favorites, frame by frame.
From the seats
See how Jim's courses help animators find their spark again.
“I've done Animation for many years and even working in a small studio. I was never classically trained so everything I learned was from books or studying. I wish this course would've been around 20 years ago when I started.”
“As a CG animator I wasn't thinking about how spacing was calculated by the computer. After the course I was able to more easily visualize how to separately judge the spacing and the timing and get them to interplay to effect the visual texture of my animation.”
“This course really helped me out to clarify the little things I was missing in the timing and spacing. The fact that we worked in 2D made it really easy and really fast to understand, while it could've been longer to explain in a CG software.”
“I just finished the course, and I must say I really enjoyed it. You're very clear and precise in explaining important concepts. Also, the software used is affordable and accessible. I particularly liked how you tackled the explanation of the charts.”
““Cracking the Code of Timing and Spacing” is an absolute joy to take in learning about the BEST fundamentals in animation. It is FAST, FUN, and EASY to understand. If you are interested in animation, 2D or 3D, this course is a MUST. Jim presents the lectures in a way that everyone can learn and understand. Save yourself endless hours of frustration in trying to do it yourself — instead follow Jim's course and ENJOY doing animation. I started my 3D animation work in 1999 with 3ds Max, and I WISH I could have taken Jim's animation course THEN! 11/10 would recommend!”
“I've done Animation for many years and even working in a small studio. I was never classically trained so everything I learned was from books or studying. I wish this course would've been around 20 years ago when I started.”
“As a CG animator I wasn't thinking about how spacing was calculated by the computer. After the course I was able to more easily visualize how to separately judge the spacing and the timing and get them to interplay to effect the visual texture of my animation.”
“This course really helped me out to clarify the little things I was missing in the timing and spacing. The fact that we worked in 2D made it really easy and really fast to understand, while it could've been longer to explain in a CG software.”
“I just finished the course, and I must say I really enjoyed it. You're very clear and precise in explaining important concepts. Also, the software used is affordable and accessible. I particularly liked how you tackled the explanation of the charts.”
““Cracking the Code of Timing and Spacing” is an absolute joy to take in learning about the BEST fundamentals in animation. It is FAST, FUN, and EASY to understand. If you are interested in animation, 2D or 3D, this course is a MUST. Jim presents the lectures in a way that everyone can learn and understand. Save yourself endless hours of frustration in trying to do it yourself — instead follow Jim's course and ENJOY doing animation. I started my 3D animation work in 1999 with 3ds Max, and I WISH I could have taken Jim's animation course THEN! 11/10 would recommend!”
“I've done Animation for many years and even working in a small studio. I was never classically trained so everything I learned was from books or studying. I wish this course would've been around 20 years ago when I started.”
“As a CG animator I wasn't thinking about how spacing was calculated by the computer. After the course I was able to more easily visualize how to separately judge the spacing and the timing and get them to interplay to effect the visual texture of my animation.”
“This course really helped me out to clarify the little things I was missing in the timing and spacing. The fact that we worked in 2D made it really easy and really fast to understand, while it could've been longer to explain in a CG software.”
“I just finished the course, and I must say I really enjoyed it. You're very clear and precise in explaining important concepts. Also, the software used is affordable and accessible. I particularly liked how you tackled the explanation of the charts.”
““Cracking the Code of Timing and Spacing” is an absolute joy to take in learning about the BEST fundamentals in animation. It is FAST, FUN, and EASY to understand. If you are interested in animation, 2D or 3D, this course is a MUST. Jim presents the lectures in a way that everyone can learn and understand. Save yourself endless hours of frustration in trying to do it yourself — instead follow Jim's course and ENJOY doing animation. I started my 3D animation work in 1999 with 3ds Max, and I WISH I could have taken Jim's animation course THEN! 11/10 would recommend!”
“I've done Animation for many years and even working in a small studio. I was never classically trained so everything I learned was from books or studying. I wish this course would've been around 20 years ago when I started.”
“As a CG animator I wasn't thinking about how spacing was calculated by the computer. After the course I was able to more easily visualize how to separately judge the spacing and the timing and get them to interplay to effect the visual texture of my animation.”
“This course really helped me out to clarify the little things I was missing in the timing and spacing. The fact that we worked in 2D made it really easy and really fast to understand, while it could've been longer to explain in a CG software.”
“I just finished the course, and I must say I really enjoyed it. You're very clear and precise in explaining important concepts. Also, the software used is affordable and accessible. I particularly liked how you tackled the explanation of the charts.”
““Cracking the Code of Timing and Spacing” is an absolute joy to take in learning about the BEST fundamentals in animation. It is FAST, FUN, and EASY to understand. If you are interested in animation, 2D or 3D, this course is a MUST. Jim presents the lectures in a way that everyone can learn and understand. Save yourself endless hours of frustration in trying to do it yourself — instead follow Jim's course and ENJOY doing animation. I started my 3D animation work in 1999 with 3ds Max, and I WISH I could have taken Jim's animation course THEN! 11/10 would recommend!”
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Let's make
something move.
Projects, collaborations, or a question about the courses — my inbox is open.