How to Fix The Pixo Jr Lamp Rig

Pixo Jr is a great rig for learning animation, which you can read all about here.  You can also see a series of short tutorials for animation beginners, showing how to make the lamp hop.  But Pixo is an old rig (2006) and works less well in Maya today.  This is because of Maya's implementation of Parallel Evaluation, designed to make rigs perform faster in the Viewport.  Part of the Pixo Jr's rig is not behaving correctly in this new evaluation mode.  The solution is to change Evaluation Mode to DG. To do this, go to Windows > Settings and Preferences and then in the Settings > Animation category, change the drop down menu for Evaluation Mode from "Parallel" to the older mode "DG".

How To Use Infinity Curves in Maya

In this short video we show how to turn on and use Infinity Curves in Autodesk Maya. Infinity Curves are a powerful tool that enable animators to smooth out looping cycles, such as a walk cycle, run or similar, smoothing the motion so that there aren't any frustrating clicks, bumps or mistakes.

Why Animators Should Work on Multiple Shots

The Iron Giant

Recently a student at Animation Apprentice was getting stuck on one of the weekly exercises, and I suggested that he work on a different shot. At first he resisted - he didn't want to give up on the shot he was working on.  

But I explained that lots of animators like to work on multiple shots at once - it helps to be able to rest your eyes, and come back fresh to a shot after working on something else for a while. 

How to Troubleshoot Animation Curves in Maya

In this brief animation tutorial, aimed at animators learning Maya for the first time, we show how to troubleshoot your curves in Maya, using some simple animation with Monty The Green Pea.  Maya's Graph Editor is confusing at first, but after a while it becomes the animator's best friend. When you first learn animation, you will find bumps and clicks in your work, which can be hard to diagnose and fix. Slowly, over time, it becomes clear how to find the curve that is causing the trouble - and fix it. 

Animation Apprentice Demo Reel 2024

 

 

Above is our 2024 student demo reel, a selection of the best work done at Animation Apprentice over the last year. The reel includes work by Joshua Reynolds, Marc Stevenson, Mark Masters, Michael Monks and Sean Rubin. Congratulations to all of them on their excellent work.

BBC Ignite Welcomes Animation Pitches

BBC "Ignite" deadline is 8 February 2024 at 2pm

BBC Children’s Animation are seeking submissions for fresh, bold and innovative animation ideas. The scheme is called "Ignite" and the deadline is 8 February 2024 at 2pm. 

For all our students at Animation Apprentice who have been working on short films - this is a perfect opportunity to pitch your materials to the UK's biggest broadcaster.

Animate a Simple Head Turn with "Monty"

Animate a simple head turn with "Monty"

In this basic tutorial for animation beginners we show how to animate a simple head turn with a basic character - Monty the Green Pea, who you can read about (and download) here.  

The idea is to learn how to do a basic head turn without making it stiff and lifeless - dip the head slightly on the turn, and also close the eyes - everyone blinks when they turn their head.