Animate a Sneeze with Monty

Animate a sneeze with Monty

In this beginner animation tutorial, we show how to animate a sneeze with Monty, the green pea.

A sneeze is an explosion of air, so we want a big anticipation, and then a big sneeze. 

If you have time, attach a hat to Monty's head, and animate it flying up in the air, spinning and landing again (you will need the Parentmaster plugin for this).

Thumbnails

Timing a sneeze with Monty

Start with the thumbnail sketches on the right hand side, sketching out the key poses and the rough timing for the shot.  

Animators should always thumbnail their work - here is why. In this shot there are three basic poses: a start pose, an end pose, and a middle pose.

Work Method

Frame 1 - pose Monty in the start position

Frame 3 - a slight anticipation, take Monty down a little

Frame 23 - key pose, lift Monty up and close his eyes - anticipation

Frame 26 - Ahchoo! Monty down, in the squash position

Frame 30 - Monty up again in the stretch position

Frame 35 - Monty down again

Frame 59 - Ease into final pose

Monty

We will use the free "Monty" rig, a green pea with legs, which you can read about here, and download for free from Highend3d.com. 

Sneeze Audio

Download a sneeze wav file (Maya works best with wav files) from the web. I used "Young Woman Sneeze" from this page here, but you can use any sneeze you like. 

Monty Sneeze Tutorial

You can find the Monty Sneeze tutorial below. As with all our videos, they are password-protected. Just email us for the password at info@animationapprentice.org

Part 1: https://vimeo.com/video/1014966860

Part 2: https://vimeo.com/video/1014967004

Part 3: https://vimeo.com/video/1014967134

Lipsync & Dialogue Resources

Animate Monty doing "Riverdance"

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

• Animate Monty saying "Oh Yeah!"
• Animate Monty saying "Smokin'!"
• 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"

Beginner Animation Tutorials in Maya

Animate a Simple Head Turn with Monty

To see more free basic tutorials in Maya, aimed at animation beginners, see below:

• Animate a Telephone Ringing in Maya
• Animate a UFO on a Motion Path
• Animate a Candle with Blend Shapes
• Animate a Simple Head Turn with Monty
• Animate a Flickering Neon Sign in Maya
• Animate a Foxy Tail in Motion
• Animate a Flag Waving in Maya
• Animate Two Dice Falling and Rolling
• Animate a Cartoony Vehicle Coming to a Sudden Stop
• Animate a Traffic Cone Being Knocked Over
• Animate a Submarine Underwater with Caustics

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.