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. 

How to Animate a Bouncing Ball

Ball bounce by Joris Van Laar

In the tutorial below we show how to tackle the entry-level "Bouncing Ball" exercise. Below is a collection of some of the best "Bouncing Ball" exercises completed by Animation Apprentices over the years. 

At Animation Apprentice we start with the bouncing ball, as students learn to apply the principles of timing, spacing, paths of action and weight - four of the Twelve Principles of Animation.  Even a simple exercise can be entertaining to watch.

Nine Ways to Create a Great Animation Pose

How do you create a great pose in animation? Creating great poses is a necessary skill for all animators to learn. In the video above, I suggest nine ways that an animator can create a great pose - the key starting point for a great acting scene. 

Body Language for Animators

 

Body language is as important as spoken language, and just as important for animators to learn. Animators are actors (with a pencil or a mouse) and we must understand how body language can be used to communicate emotion, and how to create great poses in our work. A great pose should communicate what the character is thinking and feeling.  In the 13 minute video above, I explore some of the basic principles of body language and how these can be applied to character animation.

Creativity - Can it Be Taught?

Here at Animation Apprentice we believe that creativity can be taught. Creativity is like any muscle - it can be exercised and strengthened. Today, few schools teach creativity, preferring instead to concentrate on core subjects like maths and science - subjects in which there is almost always a correct answer.  But in the creative industries, there is no right answer, and the only way to succeed is to try things out, to take risks. Watch the short video above to find out more. 

Summer 2019 Animation Demo Reel

Take a look at some of the great work done by our students over the past year. Congratulations to Amedeo Beretta, Anna Zielinska, Jeton Lakna, Joe Gamble, Lee Caller, Olavo Lins, Oliver Canovas, Tim Milson and Victoria Bailey.

April 11 Second Club

This month, our masters' degree student animators are working on DA702, their character animation Module, with a view to entering The 11 Second Club, a monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators practice their skills.  The Master's students practical assignment for the module is due on Monday April 22nd.

Cheetah Rig from HighEnd3D - Handle with Care

Cheetah rig for Maya by Vikram Verma

It's hard to find a good cheetah rig for animation in Maya, which is a shame, as these big cats are beautiful animals, and there is plenty of excellent live action reference available for animating a cheetah run cycle.

The best rig we have found is the free Cheetah rig by Vikram Verma, available for download at Highend3D.com.

Alex Williams Animation Demo Reel

Recently a producer I've been working with asked me to cut a new demo reel - a single reel showcasing a selection of the best work I have done over the years.  Since I've been in the business so long, cutting an animation demo reel feels a bit like watching my life flash before my eyes. In my case, I started animating in the mid 1980s, so watching clips from older films like "Rollercoaster Rabbit" (1989) brings back a lot of great memories.  The best part is recalling some of the great projects I've been lucky enough to work on - such as The Lion King, The Iron Giant, and the Harry Potter series.

Why Do Animators Need Clean Curves?

Graph Editor in Maya - keep those curves clean

Recently a new student at Animation Apprentice asked this question: "Why it is necessary to have clean curves [in the Graph Editor]? Can we just ignore them as long as the animation looks good?"

This is a good question. After all, the audience will only see the final result, not the curves in the Graph Editor.  So, why bother keeping the Graph Editor clean? What is the point?

Thumbnailing Mrs Copperbottom from "Robots"

Robots - Mrs Copperbottom

Learning to thumbnail animation is one of the hardest skills for junior animators to master, but being able to do rough thumbnail sketches is a very helpful skill because it helps the animator plan their work.

You wouldn't build a building without architectural plans. And you shouldn't start animating a shot without a clear plan of where you are going.

How to Block out and Plan Creature Animation

This short video ten minute explains how to block out and plan an animal or creature animation shot.  What do animators mean by "blocking"? We mean the process of establishing the main key poses in a shot, using stepped curves (i.e., single poses without any smooth transitions), so that we can test whether or not the shot will work. Having a good, organised workflow is an essential part of the animator's toolkit. Long before you start making key poses in Maya, you want to plan the shot out in your head, on video, with thumbnail sketches and/or storyboards.

How to Animate a "Two Shot"

Squirrels by Henry Fenwick - it's all about eye contact

Animating two characters acting is, obviously, more complex than animating one.

One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators when they animate two characters interacting is to forget that the audience can only look at one thing at a time.

The basic rule is when animating two characters is to keep it simple, and try to avoid having too much happening at once.

How to Create a Face Camera in Maya

We recommend always creating a Face Camera when you animate characters in Maya. The reason for this is that you don't want to keep having to zoom in on your character in the viewport to find the facial controls. Constant zooming in and out will slow down your workflow and, worse of all, encourages the animator to neglect the facial expressions altogether. Good facial expressions are crucial to making good animation, because it's how we know what the character is thinking and feeling. And without an emotional underpinning, your audience won't connect to your animation.

Locksmith Animation Opens in Primrose Hill

Sarah Smith, Elizabeth Murdoch, Julie Lockhart

Good news for the London animation industry; the long awaited Locksmith animation studio, first announced back in 2014,  has opened its new premises in Primrose Hill, housing up to 70 artists.

Locksmith is backed by London VFX house Double Negative, and also supported by entrepreneur Elizabeth Murdoch.

Thumbnailing Boog from "Open Season"

Learning to thumbnail animation is one of the hardest skills for junior animators to master, especially if they are not comfortable with drawing. But being able to do rough thumbnail sketches is an important part of the animator's toolkit, and in the video above I demonstrate how I approached thumbnailing a shot I animated on "Open Season". The trick is to create a plan for your animation so that, long before you start creating poses in Maya, you already have the shot figured out in your head.

Weight Lift by Olavo Lins

One of the hardest things to achieve in 3D animation is the creation a sense of weight.  Weight is hard to simulate because our characters are just pixels - they have no intrinsic weight, so we have to create it from nothing. This means understanding how our bodies move, how the physics works, and knowing where the weight is at any given point during any given action. It's also important to create a sense of fun and entertainment around the shot, so that it isn't just a technical exercise. In this weight lift exercise above, Animation Apprentice student Olavo Lins shows how it's done.  Congratulations to Olavo on an excellent piece of work.

Online MA in 3D Animation - New Course Video

Here's an updated course video for our Online MA in 3D Animation, explaining what's in the course and what makes it so unique. In a nutshell, it's the world's first online MA in Animation - a practical course which teaches both the practice and theory of 3D Animation, developed in partnership with Buckinghamshire New University. We are currently welcoming applications, and to apply for your place, just follow this link.

Dominic Rayner Animator at Operator's Creative

Operator's Creative, Old St, London

Many congratulation to Animation Apprentice graduate Dominic Rayner who has just started a job as an animator with The Operator's Creative, a creative agency based in London near Old Street. 

Prior to that, Dominic worked as a character animator at Lipsync Post, on a new feature film combining animated creatures with live action footage. 

To see more of Dominic' work, including his demo reel, follow this link.

Animation Taster Day Friday Jan 26th

Learn to animate a bird in flight

Want to try computer animation, but not sure if it's right for you? Come along to an Animation Taster Day in London on Friday January 26th.

Animation Taster Days are all about helping prospective students learn about character and creature animation, and find out what an animator's job is all about.

The classes take place at Escape Studios in Shepherd's Bush, West London. You will work with Autodesk Maya and the Adobe Creative Suite, and you’ll get a hands-on introduction to 3D Animation techniques, all for just £25!  By the end of the day you'll have your own piece of animation uploaded to your YouTube channel.  So, how do you sign up?