Animate "Monty" Singing "Oh Yeah"

"Monty" sings "Ohhh Yeahhh". 

In the simple animation tutorial we show how to animate a character with no mouth ("Monty") singing a line of dialogue.  

But how can you animate dialogue and lipsync - with no lips?  The answer is - it's all in 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". 

Animate a Run Cycle with "Monty"

"Monty" runs for the bus

In this beginner's tutorial we show how to animate a simple, basic run cycle with "Monty". 

The tutorial uses the excellent "Monty" rig (which you can read about here), and which you can download for free from highend3d.com. 

Every animator should know how to animate a basic walk and a run cycle - these are the "scales" of the animator's skillset.  

Animate a Cartoony "Take" with "Mr Buttons"

Reaction shots are the bread-and-butter of junior animators.  On a feature film, once an animator has graduated from walk cycles and crowd shots, they get given reaction shots.

In this series of video tutorials, we show how to go about blocking out an animated scene, in this case a reaction shot, or "take", with the cartoony cat rig "Mr Buttons" by Keith Osborn.

Animate a "Manly Walk" with "Monty"

Cowboy walk with Monty

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our latest tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and make Monty walk in a masculine way - with just a few clicks.

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate an "Angry Walk" With "Monty"

Angry Walk with Monty by William Thomas

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our latest tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the marvellous "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and make Monty angry and grumpy - with just a few clicks.

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate a Slow, Sad Walk with "Monty"

Animate a sad walk with "Monty"

One thing every animator needs to learn is how to animate a character walk. In our newest tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the marvellous "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and make Monty sad and depressed - with just a few clicks.  

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

Animate a Basic Walk with "Heavy"

Walk cycle with "Heavy" by Jeff Smith

Every animator needs to learn how to animate a character walk. 

In our newest tutorial, we show how to animate a simple walk cycle using the "Heavy" rig. (free for download at Creative Crash). The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

The tutorial is designed to be easy to follow, and to use simple thumbnails that show all the main poses in the walk, and can be easily broken down. 

"Double Bounce Walk" With "Monty"

"Double Bounce" walk by William Thomas

Every animator needs to learn how to animate a character walk.  

In this simple tutorial, we show how to take a "plain vanilla" walk using the marvellous "Monty" rig (free for download from Creative Crash) and give it a sunny, upbeat "Double Bounce" with just a few clicks.  

The video tutorial is recorded in Autodesk Maya, and is aimed at animation beginners. 

How to Animate a Basic Walk with "Monty"

Animate a walk cycle with "Monty"

We've uploaded a new series of video tutorials on how to animate a walk, using the marvellous "Monty" rig, free for download from Creative Crash.

There are four video tutorials of just under ten minutes, showing step by step how to animate a walk cycle. 

The videos are recorded in Autodesk Maya, and are aimed at animation beginners. 

Quadruped Trot Tutorial

Students at Animation Apprentice master the art of quadruped locomotion, including how to animate a trot. 

A trot is an intermediate gait between a walk and a run, an efficient fast motion that permits speed without using excessive energy. 

Below are three tutorial videos showing how to animate a horse trotting. The password is the same as for all our video tutorials.

Animal Anatomy for Animators

Above is a short video on animal anatomy, a general introduction to how animals are put together, and how and why anatomy matters for animators.  Animal and creature animation can be technically demanding; the use of live action reference is very important as a starting point for how to bring animals and creatures to life.

Summer Class Starts 3 July 2023

Artwork by Animation Apprentice Graduate Joe Gamble

Our Summer Animation Class begins on Monday 3rd July 2023.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do is visit the main Animation Apprentice site and go through a few simple steps.

If you want to learn 3D animation to a professional level, and start your new career as an animator - your journey starts here.

Bio Motion Lab Walker and Animating Walks

Bio Motion Walker

All student animators must learn how to animate a walk cycle, creating a successful biped walk and then giving it character and personality.

One very useful resource is the Bio Motion Walker from the Bio Motion Lab, located at York University in Toronto, Ontario.

The Bio Motion Walker allows animators to move a range of sliders showing how to make a walk cycle feel masculine or feminine, heavy or light, anxious or calm, happy or sad.  

Animators study live action, and then incorporate - and exaggerate - real life in their work . The Bio Motion Walker is a useful tool for analysing how people walk and move in different ways.  

You can find the Bio Motion Walker here.

Animation Apprentice Visits Westminster Kingsway

Westminster Kingsway College 

Last week Animation Apprentice visited Westminster Kingsway College to talk to with students and young professionals about careers in animation. 

The event was hosted by Film London to provide aspiring artists with guidance on how to break into the creative industries  and, specifically, into the animation industry.  

Today the animation industry continues to grow, despite Covid and Brexit, boosted recently by expansion of the UK Govt Tax Credit. 

  

Mark Masters Ranks No3 in 11 Second Club

 

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Mark Masters on his successful entry into the March 11 Second Club - you can watch his animation "Visitor in Nature" above.  Mark's entry was ranked no 3 in this month's 11 Second Club (out of 126 entries) - a very impressive result.  "The 11 Second Club" competition is a monthly contest in which animators compete to animate the most inventive and entertaining take on a piece of dialogue. Mark Masters is currently taking our Masters' Degree in Animation, delivered with our university partner Buckinghamshire New University.

Marc Stevenson Ranks No 4 in 11 Second Club

Congratulations to Animation Apprentice student Marc Stevenson on his successful entry into the March 11 Second Club - you can watch his animation "Horsin' Around" above.  Marc's entry was ranked no 4 in this month's 11 Second Club (out of 126 entries) - a very impressive result.  "The 11 Second Club" competition is a monthly contest in which animators compete to animate the most inventive and entertaining take on a piece of dialogue.

UK Animation Returns to Cartoon Forum

Cartoon Forum - Toulouse 18-21 September 2023

The European film agency "Cartoon", organisers of "Cartoon Forum" and "Cartoon Movie", has announced that UK animation will return to Cartoon Forum this year in a special initiative titled "Animated UK Meets Europe", led by Animation UK, and supported by the BBC, Disney, and other major UK Partners. 

UK Animation Tax Relief Increased to 39%

One less-reported aspect of the Chancellor's Spring budget here in the UK was an increase in the tax relief granted by HMRC for UK animation to a generous 39%. 

This appears to be in response to lobbying by the UK creative industries, who have long argued that the tax credit encourages UK animation production, and nurtures domestic talent and creativity.

Here at Animation Apprentice we are delighted that the Government is supporting the UK animation industry, and we welcome the news, which will surely boost UK animation production, and create a jobs pipeline for animation graduates in the UK. 

Andrew Schlussel Talks AI and Animation

In the Ted Talk above, DNEG Animation's Andrew Schlussel explains why, even though AI can now automate many jobs - such as concept art - we should not fear it.  Andrew explains how changes in animation and vfx technology over the years have increased the size of the industry - not shrunk it.  He suggests that AI will be no different, and that the "net sum" of jobs in the Creative Industries will continue to increase, even though certain processes can be done by machine learning.  What should we do with AI instead? - embrace it, and use it. 

Animation Grad 2.0 by Aaron McGriff

We're liking this article at Linkedin by Pixar animator Aaron McGriff, who talks about what it takes to get hired as an animator straight out of school.

Aaron's top tips are to "start with your demo" reel, and make sure you specialise in the kind of animation you want to do most. Your demo reel for Pixar will not be the same as your reel for ILM.

Aaron's article is thoughtful and full of great advice, and we highly recommend it. You can find the full article here. 

2023 Rookies Now Open

All of our graduating students at Animation Apprentice are encouraged to enter The Rookie Awards, the international competition for young creatives. The competition opens today, Tuesday March 7th 2023 - and the final deadline is 1st June.

The Rookies was founded in 2009 to "showcase the most talented student designers, illustrators, film makers, animators, developers, digital artists, and launch them into the career of their dreams." All our graduating students should enter.