Frequently Asked Questions

What is all this?

The 11 Second Club is a monthly character animation competition. Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue provided by the club. Throughout the competition, participants can share their progress with each other and critique each other's work. At the end of the month, everyone votes for whose submission they consider the best for that month. The idea is to give animators a chance to practice their skills in a fun, challenging environment.

How do I enter?

To participate, the first thing you'll need to do is to download this month's audio file. Then, use the month to animate a character performing the line, using whatever acting you feel interprets the audio best.

Finally, upload your movie to the site before the end of the competition. To get the most out of the club, use the "Work in Progress" forum throughout the month to get feedback on your work.

What are the dates of each competition?

The competition runs from midnight New York time on the 1st of each month until midnight New York time on the last day of the month.

The Voting period runs from the 1st until midday on the 5th of each month. The winner is announced the same afternoon.

But I don't know anything about modeling or rigging!

Relax! No one said anything about modeling or rigging your own character. There are plenty of characters available online for you to animate with. Have a look in our "Resources" section to find expressive and ready-to-animate rigs for most popular 3D programs.

Can I still enter if I'm a paper-and-pencil animator, or if I use stop-motion puppets?

Of course! Animation is animation. However you feel most comfortable animating your entry, then that's how you should approach it. All that's really required is that you can upload a video of your work to the site by the end of the month (see the Submitting section for accepted formats).

How do I know you guys aren't going to disappear?

We've done everything we can to make the site secure and easy to maintain. We've even anticipated the current round of admins becoming too busy to run the club, so we've made the administration streamlined and easy to pass on.

How can I get involved with administration?

Future admins will be invited to help administer the site based on their participation in the club. So if you're interested, be active, helpful, and professional in the forum and competitions.

What do I get if I win?

The winning entry will receive a professional mentor eCritique from Animation Mentor, the top school for training future character animators!

If I win, can I ask the mentor questions?

No. The winning entry will automatically be uploaded to Animation Mentor's site for critique from one of their top studio mentors. No other materials or questions will be uploaded.

If I win, can I request a specific mentor?

No, each month's mentor will be chosen by Animation Mentor.

What if I don't want my work critiqued publicly?

You can decline the prize by unchecking the box on the entry submission page. The eCritique prize will go to the next highest rated entry.

What will disqualify my entry?

• Don't edit the sound file (beyond adding silence before/after if needed).
• Don't put your name or contact info on the video.
• Don't try to upload files more than 50 MB.
• Don't use anything overtly offensive.
• Don't try to cheat.

Is there anything else I should know?

Here are our terms and conditions!

What are the dates of the competition?

The competition runs from 12:01 am New York time on the 1st of each month until midnight on the last day. Voting runs from the 1st to the 5th.

Can I edit the audio file?

No. To keep the playing field level, we do not allow edited versions. Adding silence before or after is acceptable. Entries with edited audio will be disqualified.

Can I add extra props and scenery?

You can, but manage your time well. People will focus on your character animation skills; everything else may distract from your animation.

What if you choose a clip I've already animated?

As long as you follow the rules, you're welcome to enter it into the competition.

Does my submission have to be fully-rendered?

Nope! This is an animation club. Unrendered previews or playblasts are perfectly acceptable. As long as we can see your acting choices clearly, that's all that matters.

What format should my video be in?

MP4 (h264) is the recommended format. .mov, .avi, .webm, and .m4v also work. Entries can be up to 50 MB, widescreen 16:9. Aim for 720p (1280×720) or 1080p (1920×1080). See our Helpful Hints for encoding your animation.

What framerate should I use?

Common framerates: 24fps (Film), 25fps (PAL), 30fps (NTSC). We recommend one of these. The entry system will accept any frame rate.

What format should my thumbnail be?

You don't need to upload a separate thumbnail. We pull one automatically from the middle of your video. If you want a specific frame as the thumbnail, make sure it sits near the middle of your timeline.

Can I replace my entry before voting?

Yep! You can re-submit as many times as you want until the submission period ends.

Do I have to be registered to vote?

Yes. But it's quick, and it's free!

How many stars should I give?

Do I have to provide a comment?

Not required, but constructive feedback is encouraged and earns you Critic XP toward your voting rank.

Can I choose which entry to vote for?

No. Entries are presented in order of least-rated first (entries with the fewest votes come up first) to ensure fairness.

Can I change my vote?

Yes, after finishing all entries you'll see a list ordered by your ratings where you can go back and change votes.

What's the XP system?

Two tracks — Artist XP and Critic XP. Artist XP rewards submitting entries (and placing well in voting). Critic XP rewards voting, commenting on entries, and participating in the community. Each track has its own rank ladder, so someone who's better at giving thoughtful feedback than they are at animating (and vice versa) can still level up.

How do I earn XP?

• Artist XP: submitting an entry, placing in the top 10, winning a competition, entry streaks across consecutive months.
• Critic XP: casting a vote, leaving a comment on an entry, being a power voter (rating every entry in a month), picking winners accurately.

What are achievements?

One-off badges unlocked by specific milestones — your first entry, 10 comments, winning a month, voting at 11:11, founding-member status, and about fifty more. Many are hidden until you unlock them. Visit your profile page to see the full grid and which ones you've collected.

Where do I see my progress?

Your profile page (click your name in the header) shows your Artist and Critic XP, current ranks, and achievement grid. The header itself also displays your rank badges on every page.

Where can I upload my Work in Progress?

We don't host WIP video files ourselves, but host your clip on YouTube or Vimeo and drop the link into a post in the Work in Progress forum. You'll get feedback from other animators, and recent YouTube-linked WIPs are automatically featured on the current competition page.

How do I get my WIP featured on the competition page?

Post a YouTube link to your WIP in the WIP forum during the current month. The site automatically picks a random recent WIP (posted in the last 45 days) and embeds it in the "Featured WIP" panel on the competition page. No hashtag needed — just a YouTube URL in your post.

How do I embed a YouTube or Vimeo video in a forum post?

Paste the URL on its own — no BBCode tags around it. Both YouTube (youtube.com/watch?v=… or youtu.be/…) and Vimeo (vimeo.com/…) will auto-embed as an inline player. URLs in the middle of a sentence work too.

Heads up: the composer toolbar's chain-link button wraps your URL in [url]…[/url] BBCode, which renders as a clickable link but won't embed. Skip the button for videos — just paste the URL bare. Use the link button when you want a custom label (e.g. [url=…]my video[/url]) and don't care about inline playback.