Animations also require having the original models to work with, and I mentioned that this is an internal resource only. So unfortunately, anything that will need the 3D character files is bound to be off-limits for casual contribution.

There are plenty of tutorials on the web, however. And if you want something serious for studying animations, I'd recommend Jeff Lew's animation DVD, as well as anything from Gnomon (you can "preview" things like that if you know where to look... )

We do need animators, but giving access to our character models requires having a lot of trust and seeing an obvious dedication - that's something Luca decides on The only way you might be allowed to contribute in that department is if you show some reallyreallyreally good work and Luca would want to chain you to a high tower to animate for us nonstop

"Animations also require having the original models to work with, and I mentioned that this is an internal resource only. So unfortunately, anything that will need the 3D character files is bound to be off-limits for casual contribution."
That's not true, A converter has been made for blender, that allows Everyone to make animations.