Animate Dialogue with "Monty" - "Smokin!"

In the simple animation tutorial below we show how to animate a character with no mouth saying a line of dialogue (see animation outcome above).  But how can you animate dialogue and lipsync - with no lips?  The answer is - it's all in the acting and the performance.  If the body language is working, then the audience will believe that the character is speaking - even if the character itself has no mouth.  In this tutorial we animate "Monty" saying a line of dialogue - "Smokin!" - the line originally delivered by Jim Carrey in the 80s hit movie The Mask. 

Lipsync with Monty

This simple Lipsync exercise uses the free "Monty" rig, a green pea with legs, which you can read about here, and download for free from highend3d.com. 

Monty has no mouth, so we have to use his body to make the dialogue work.  

Thumbnails

As always, start with thumbnail sketches to plan your work.  On the right are some rough planning drawings to figure out how the animation will look.  Start at frame 1, and rough in all the main poses up to frame 49. 

How to Use the "Monty" Rig

"Monty"

To find out how to get the best out of Monty, see this blog post. 

Monty "Smokin" Tutorial

You can find the tutorial at the links below. The password is the same as for all our video tutorials.

Monty "Smokin" Tutorial Part 1 - Set Up

https://vimeo.com/835806418

Monty "Smokin" Tutorial Part 2 - Block out the Animation

https://vimeo.com/835806560

Monty "Smokin" Tutorial Part 3 - Refine The Animation

https://vimeo.com/835806634

Monty "Smokin" Tutorial Part 4 - Animate The Hat

https://vimeo.com/835806748

Lipsync & Dialogue Resources

Lipsync from "Marmaduke"

To find more resources on animating dialogue and lipsync, follow the links below:

• Animate Monty "Oh Yeah!"
• Why Animators Should Hold Ms Bs and Ps for two frames
• Why Lipsync Should be "Two Frames Ahead"
• Why Lipsync Needs Wide and Narrow Mouth Shapes
• The Secret to Animating Dialogue and Lipsync
• Speed Lipsync - How to Animate Dialogue Fast
• Why Animators Should Open Wide on the Big Vowels
• Dialogue and Lipsync Tutorial
• Animating Lipsync - Avoid Famous Lines of Dialogue
• How to Block Out and Animate a Dialogue Shot
• Why Animators Leave Lipsync Until Last
• Lipsync Resource - The Sesame St Sound Archive
• Why Animators Need to "Hit The Accent"

To find out more about Animation Apprentice, click here for a link to Frequently Asked Questions. To sign up for our next classroom at Animation Apprentice, follow this link.