My partner and I competed at the National SkillsUSA conference in the 3D Animation and Visualization competition and we had nine straight hours to plan, model, animate, and render a 30 second animation that conveyed a mood. We ended up coming in 7th in the nation.
Here's our animation: http://hanimation.animationblogspot.com/2007/07/01/national-competition/
I'm not going to lie to you, That was unimpressive. If you love animation and want to exceed in any area of the industry you should be well rounded in many aspects of animation. I would suggest the book "the Animator's Survival Kit" by Richard Williams. Keep going with your animation ventures but don't neglect the knowledge that you can gain from others through reading books and asking for critisism.
Good Luck, Learn all you can! -Skyler
Pretty cool for just 9 hours. I got a real sense of creepiness going down the cave. Good job.
Alan
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