Animate "Monty" Singing "Oh Yeah"

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 (well, singing) a line of dialogue - "Ohhh Yeahhh". 

Lipsync with Monty

"Monty" thumbnails "Ohhh Yeeeaaah"

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. 

Monty Dialogue Tutorial

Monty Oh Yeah Part 1

https://vimeo.com/834440242

Monty Oh Yeah Part 2

https://vimeo.com/834440403

The password is the same as for all our animation tutorials. 

To see another example of Lipsync animation with Monty, take a look at the animation by Rich Jeffrey below.

"Oh Yeah" Lipsync with "Monty" by Rich Jeffrey

Dialogue Shot with No Lipsync by Charlie Aitken

To see another example of a dialogue shot using a character with no mouth, see the example by Charlie Aitken below:

 

Blocking a Dialogue Shot

For more on how to Block Out and Animate a Dialogue Shot, follow this link.  

How to Use the "Monty" Rig

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

Lipsync & Dialogue Resources

Lipsync from "Marmaduke"

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

• 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.