AnimSchool Blog

What is Rigging?

AnimSchool instructor Daria Jerjomina has rigged characters all over the industry. In this short lecture, she not only walks through what it means to rig a character, but also discusses how it differs in each part of the industry.

Most are familiar with two stages within the 3D pipeline: modeling and animating; rigging occurs between these two steps. Rigging consists of adding a skeletal structure to the model which allows the model to respond fluidly to the animator’s directions. Without rigging, 3D animation as we know it would not exist.

Daria begins by providing a general definition of rigging: a process of setting up a character, providing an animator with a control over its movement. It falls between rigging and animation within the pipeline.

Parts of a pipeline (not all pipelines are the exact same, but most will follow this general order):
- Visual development (concept art, storyboarding, color script, etc.)
- Modeling
- Rigging
- Animation
- Texturing
- Lighting

Riggers will work closely with both the modeling and animation departments. Animators may request specific features and functionality on the rig, and riggers may need to work with modelers to get the model best suited for adding in those features.

Rigging in Different Productions

CG Feature Animation

Tries to simulate the work of a 2D artist
Rigging needs to give animators the ability to change the model/give the same type of control that they would have if they were to draw the character on paper
Oftentimes that means pushing the model with features like squash and stretch
Give animators the ability to “cheat” certain poses and movements

Visual Effects

Unlike feature animation, in VFX riggers want to achieve a realistic representation of how the character moves
Important to study the anatomy of the character, even if it is a fictional character; the muscle structure and skin deformation needs to resemble that of the animals we have in the real world

Games

Keep in mind that the highest concern in video games is performance – riggers must be conservative and cautious of how complex the rig can be
- As hardware improves, rigs can become increasingly complex with less constraints for things like number of joints. However, rendering in real time still carries limitations!
One of the examples of performance optimization is the level of detail (LOD) that changes depending on how far the character is from the player
- Characters cannot be rendered at the highest resolution all the time, so the model/rig/animation is going to be switched when the player moves closer or farther from an NPC

Other Mediums

Animations can be exported from 3D applications to a variety of mediums
For stop motion: models are created in Maya, 3D printed, and then replaced on a physical and tangible model
- Some challenges include the intersection of parts and the thickness of the mesh
For robotics: animation is created in maya and then exported as code for the physical robot to perform

Analyzing Existing Rigs

It can be extremely useful to closely examine rigs built by other people or companies. It can help in finding features that both work and do not work, see how intuitive the rig is, and look into how it’s built. Try to open up rigs to see how they work; pose them to get an idea of how an animator might use the rig.

Watch the full clip from an AnimSchool lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

The Basics of Facial Animation

AnimSchool instructor Scott McWhinnie starts the discussion on facial animation by breaking down the face into its three main components, the eyes, brows, and mouth.

When learning to animate, most students will slowly build their knowledge over time and, typically, facial animation is saved for an advanced level. This can lead many new animators to approach facial animation with fear and trepidation. However, just like the rest of the body, the face can be animated successfully by employing the 12 principles of animation and approaching the process thoughtfully and intentionally.

Speed

Eyes and Lids

Pupils and lids move very quickly, typically 1-2 frames for movement.
Eye darts
- Note that eye movements are typically very jumpy (unless tracking a moving object) because the eyes need to “lock onto” something
Blinks
- Down movements are quicker than ups
- Try to offset the movements to help relieve the robotic feeling

Scott McWhinnie uses examples from The Incredibles 2 to demonstrate how quickly each part of the face moves as well as how they influence one another by counting the amount of frames used for each action.

Brows

Brows can move slower than the eyes
Typically move sharply but can move intentionally slower
- At times this could have jumpy movements if moving slowly
Generally staying in 3-10 frame range for speed, but can depend on the situation/context – not as hard of a rule as with the eye speed

Mouth

Variation in speeds – depends on the situation/context
With lip sync, things are going to move fast
- This is why animators try to live within an expression and animate the lip sync within that pose rather than changing the whole pose of the mouth
Hold the M, B, and P shapes for at least 2 frames
Try not to have the mouth open up for just one frame and then close (sometimes the closed shapes don’t always have to be closed all the way)
If the mouth moves very slowly (which it can), it will feel more deliberate and purposeful

Understanding how the major facial components independently move while influencing one another will allow an animator at any skill level to improve how they approach facial animation.

Watch the full clip from an AnimSchool lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Breathing Life into Idle Animations

How do you keep a character alive, when they aren’t moving? How do you enable a character to feel real and animated when they are stuck in one spot?

Animschool Game Animation Instructor Seth Kendall breaks down a successful idle animation. The term idle often means to sit still and do nothing, but in animation, to idle means to breathe life and personality into a character in the most minute and delicate manner. To idle successfully is a true test to see if you understand what it means to create the “illusion of life.”

Preparing to Create

Get inspired
Get reference
Have an idea/vision of what you want to do

Creating the Idle

Seth explains that the first thing you should consider is the “base loop.” Generally, this may be some type of breathing cycle with back-and-forth movement, tensing and relaxing, etc. You’ll want something that can loop well to form a “ground texture” for the overall animation.

What to Pay Attention to

Seth breaks down a few examples of idle animations and points out notable details in each, including common elements that make a looping animation successful:

Good overlap: hips are driving the motion – overlap occurs as the motion travels up the spine and though the arms

Layers of motion: in a simple breathing idle (as seen in the examples), this may be the up/down motion of the body as the base layer, a slight head shake as another layer, accessories jingling as another, etc. Layers can become more complex as you add more specific movement.
- Try to ensure that the layers complement each other!

Use variation in timing and frequency to create contrast + draw the viewer’s attention
Consider adding macro variations that occur over three to six loops
- Remember not to just repeat the fidget multiple times

For a more dynamic loop, blend and overlap the fidgets so that the character is never still; having the character constantly in motion can be a good way to hide the loop
Ensure that your base idle animation has life and variation to it

Watch the full clip on the AnimSchool YouTube channel here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Appeal in Animation

Appeal is often a misunderstood term in animation. It doesn’t just mean creating a cute, cuddly, and beautiful character. Any character can and should be appealing, from heroes to villains.

Appealing animation is what keeps you watching, whether it be good or evil, beautiful or gruesome. Appealing animation captures your attention and hooks you into a scene.

What is appeal?

Appeal is the ability to attract, interest, amuse, or stimulate the mind or emotions. Appeal is subjective.

2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase – Carl Nyasore

2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase – Leticia Lozano

2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase – Seyed Tabatabaei

To help understand the nuances of appeal in animation, AnimSchool Instructor, Matthew Sheppard, has come up with an easy-to-remember and easy-to-navigate acronym, CRAISINS:

Complexity: used to support area of interest, or draw/lose attention to create clean contours/silhouette/shapes; think about what is competing for attention
Readability: clarity and legibility of the pose – potentially going beyond the accuracy within the 3D space to ensure the pose is effective
Asymmetry: weighting the face and body to support the line of action; using the “wedge” properly (opening up the character towards the action/who they are speaking to)
Intent: is the intention of the pose clear? Is there enough information to interpret the intent of the scene, thought, or action? Find the right balance to keep the intent of the pose/animation clear and decisive – do not be ambiguous; intent should be made clear during planning stages!
Silhouette: Clean up lines and contours to support the line of action/pose; hide tiny bits of information to strengthen a pose or add information to draw the audience in
Negative space: used to help direct the audience where to look either by creating or eliminating it
Simplify: reduce the information the audience sees or the amount of keys used to clarify the ideas and actions

Watch the full snippet from an AnimSchool class lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

2024 Student Animation Showcase

The highly anticipated 2024 Student Animation Showcase is here! Watch the amazing work of AnimSchool students from over the past year featured in the annual showcase. Each year, students choose audio clips from various TV shows, films, and other media and reimagine them into a new animation with guidance from AnimSchool instructors who actively work in the industry.

This year, along with the release of the showcase, AnimSchool held a livestream with some of the animators whose shots are featured in the showcase to discuss their inspirations, workflows, and other behind-the-scenes information related to their work. Check out the livestream (link below) to hear the unique perspective and insight that each animator has to offer.

Sarah Crepeau

Noemi Rajczyba

Heather Vidal

Daniela Lobo Dias

Many of the audio clips featured in the showcase include Bo Burnham’s Unpaid Intern Song, Donna Champlin’s CW “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “The Break-Up” movie, “Booksmart”, “The Straight Story,” “Adman” short film, “Requiem for a Dream” movie, a “Funny Or Die” skit, “Young Sheldon”, “The Producers” movie, musical podcast “Loveville High : Episode 1”. “We have a Ghost” movie, “The Equalizer” tv series, “Anthony Starr, The Boys Season 3”, “Desperate Housewives” tv series, TikTok video by @freshmozzerella, “The Lighthouse”, BBC interview with Judi Dench, “Dungeons and Dragons” movie, Neil deGrasse Tyson interview, Chris and Jack YouTube episode “Future Ex-girlfriend”.

The showcase and livestream premiered on YouTube on May 21, 2024. Watch below:

AnimSchool Student Animation Showcase 2024

AnimSchool Student 2024 Showcase Livestream with the Animators

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu

Storytelling in Animation

What is the role of an animator? Is it to have the best spline pass? Is it to have a masterful lip sync? At its heart, the role of an animator is to be a storyteller. As animators, we have to bring characters to life – but it’s our choices, how a character jumps, how a character sits, even how a character breathes – that tell the story underneath.

From a walk cycle to a dramatic all-out fight, every decision made by an animator can tell a different story. Similar to a painting, posing in animation is an integral part of storytelling, every frame gets sculpted, every pose is thought out and together the sequence can become a masterpiece.

In a snippet from a live AnimSchool class, Brendan Fagan takes viewers through the main role of an animator as a storyteller by explaining how the fundamentals of storytelling can be combined with the principles of animation to produce unparalleled animators.

The Role of an Animator

To help tell the story
To entertain the audience
To bring characters to life
Use acting skills to communicate ideas
Creating a variety of animation styles
To make adjustments according to feedback of directors or supervisors
Work to a deadline

Animators are actors! Understanding how to create appealing and entertaining poses to help communicate the story to the audience is a crucial part of an animator’s job.
(Animation by AnimSchool graduate Catarina Rodrigues)

Telling the Story

You are writing a story with pictures; goal is to entertain the audience
A picture is worth a thousand words – an idea can be conveyed with a single image/single pose
Any good story has a beginning, middle and end – your animation should, too!
Know where your scene fits within the wider story; know where your character is coming from and going to so you can apply the overarching theme to your process
Each animator, if given a story, can come up with a different visual representation to best convey it
Avoid cliche ideas – make things unexpected!
Keep it simple!

What is the main character feeling here? What might the story be? What hints from his body language, facial expressions, etc., help to convey that?
(Animation by AnimSchool graduate Piotr Jalowiecki)

Storytelling Factors

Stories generally have a three-act structure: setup, conflict/obstacle, and resolution. Even in short scenes, the three acts are still present, but may not be as noticeable or traditional with how they appear.

Reflect on some questions about the story you are trying to tell:

What is the situation?
Who is the character?
What is the character trying to accomplish?
What is the outcome?

(Animation by AnimSchool graduate Marcus de Andrade)

Considering this information and familiarizing yourself with the overarching story can help you become a better visual storyteller through your animation.

Watch the full snippet from an AnimSchool class lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Posing the Mouth in 3D Animation

Whether you are animating a complicated Lip Sync or just posing a character to look their best, there are two details that are often overlooked: the teeth and the tongue.

When a character has their mouth closed, their teeth can be ignored. What about when they are smiling, laughing, crying, or any other open-mouthed emotion? That’s when the teeth come into play.

The answer is simple: don’t get caught up in 3D – take it back a step and think about what looks most appealing. AnimSchool instructor Rohini Kumar explains to approach it as a 2D drawing and think about the small details as a sketch artist would. By combining that perspective with the insight of an animator, you can create more appealing asymmetrical poses that not only look right, but feel right in motion.

Teeth

Favor the upper teeth for a smiling or relaxed mouth, lower teeth can sometimes follow the opposite arc
Shape the teeth to follow the curvature of the mouth/lips
cheat the natural position of t he teeth
- Seeing the back teeth breaks appeal – rotate the upper teeth to hide the back
Create symmetry between the shape of the teeth and the mouth corners
Distance between the teeth lines should be similar
In more subtle smiles, create appeal by converging the teeth and mouth corners

Tongue

Very rare to open mouth and not see the tongue except in extreme angles
More appealing to show the tongue than a black gap, but may depend on the shape of the sound
Tongue helps to hit your lip-sync, especially when talking rapidly

Rohini explains to treat the tongue like a drawing, rather than a 3D object. Keep it simple – ensure that the curvature of the tongue is clear and that the viewer does not see any extraneous geometry at the base of the tongue, behind the tongue, etc. In a more relaxed position, the tongue can be “cheated” to sit back and tilted in the direction that the character is looking.

Additionally, consider when the tongue may be distracting from the overall animation – Rohini mentions that “N” and “S” sounds can often get away with not showing the front of the tongue flashing in and out to reduce distractions.

Watch the full snippet from an AnimSchool class lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

3D Head Modeling Topology & Techniques

Establishing good practices in 3D modeling is crucial to ensure that the model deforms correctly during animation, allowing for smooth and natural movements of characters or objects. Additionally, clean topology facilitates easier modification and editing of the model, enabling artists to iterate quickly and make adjustments as needed. It not only improves the visual quality of the model but also streamlines the entire production process, making it an essential aspect of professional 3D modeling.

AnimSchool instructor Jackie Marion shows how she gets started in creating new 3D character models and discusses the workflow of a production modeler.

Creating a Head: The Forms
When modeling a head, consider what different forms make up the overall shape of the head. Jackie advises against starting with a sphere – though it may be your initial instinct to start with a sphere, the grid-like topology and edge flow of a basic sphere primitive in Maya will work against the design of a face.

The head is typically much more than a sphere (though some stylized characters can have a very spherical head). Generally, the top of the head is egg-shaped, while the face and neck areas can be formed with cylinders.

Start Modeling
When patch modeling a head, Jackie explains that she starts with a plane (subdivisions width 2, height 1). This plane has an edge running down the center which will allow her to maintain symmetry across the X axis as she extrudes new faces and edges from the plane. She typically places the plane somewhere near the center of the face, such as along the bridge of the nose, and then starts to extrude new segments that follow the form and contour of the face.

Jackie recommends to find a good rhythm as you place new sections – don’t go so far apart that you lose the form, but also don’t go too close together that you end up with too many edges and too much detail. Once she has formed a basic frame that wraps around the form of the head, she uses Fill Hole to start closing the gaps.

There are various alternative methods to closing these gaps, such as extruding the inner edges or using the Append tool, but Jackie mentions that she prefers to use Fill Hole so that she can add in the topology and edge flow afterwards with the Multi-Cut tool.

Jackie explains that the “rule” to follow here is to determine where the “corner” is, and build your edge flow from that. For instance, all edges on the left and in front of the corner might flow towards the back, while edges on the right and behind the corner might flow up and towards the left. Once you have established the rule for your own models, you can apply it to the other sections as well.

When building out the form of the face, remember that, even though you are only making the exterior “shell,” there is anatomy underneath that is informing the shapes you are building. This is what will help you achieve a realistic and believable look.

Watch the full snippet from an AnimSchool class lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Follow Through and Overlap: Animation Tips

Follow through and overlap are essential principles in animation, adding depth, realism, and fluidity to movement. These techniques not only enhance the visual appeal of animations but also convey a sense of weight, mass, and physics, making the animation more believable and engaging to the audience. Mastering follow-through and overlap empowers animators to breathe life into their creations, elevating the art form to new levels of expression and immersion.

Pro Animator and AnimSchool instructor Philip Hall explains these concepts and how they are used in animation to break up movements.

Key Concepts:

Follow Through: Separate parts of a body or object will continue to move after the action has been completed, or after the body has come to a stop
- Example: When throwing a ball, your arm continues to move after the ball has left your hand; swinging the arm “through” the ball

Drag: Parts of a character or object trail behind in an action
- Example: Flowing fabric or hair will trail behind the body/head

Lead & Follow: One section of the body goes first, and another section of the body goes after until all parts of the body have arrived at the next pose
- Example: Getting up from laying down – the head might lead the action, then the rest of the body follows in an arc
Successive Breaking of Joints: As one object leads an action the successive joints bend or “break” in the opposite direction; Joint 1 breaks, then Joint 2, then Joint 3…
- Example: When raising an arm, you might lead with the upper arm, then elbow, then wrist, then fingers

Philip demonstrates the concept of follow through with a ball and “tail” rig, showing how the tail drags behind the movement of the ball as it moves forward and hits an invisible wall. Once stopped, the back-and-forth movement of the tail is likened to the repetitive motion of a door stopper when flicked.

Watch the full snippet from an AnimSchool lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

The Key Poses of a Run Cycle

Disney Animation Supervisor and AnimSchool Instructor Angelo Sta Catalina shares his best tips on animating a run cycle.

In this snippet from an AnimShool class lecture, Angelo discusses the key poses and principles that make a run cycle come to life. Angelo breaks down key poses including the contact, down, push, and peak, providing valuable tips for naturalistic and stylized runs while preserving the core principles of body mechanics.

A run cycle shares many poses with a walk cycle, which typically consists of a contact pose, down, passing, up, and back to the contact pose. However, there are some crucial differences – in a run, the character is in the air for longer than they would be for a walk, resulting in some different key poses.

Run Cycle Key Poses

Contact > Down > Push > Peak > Contact

Contact: Front foot (typically heel) makes contact with the ground
Down: Lowest, most “squashed” pose; the leg in contact with ground is bent
Push: Starting to “push” off into the air; in some cases, this pose may already be fully in the air
Peak: Highest pose; character is fully in the air, and knees generally stay still from previous pose

Reality vs. Exaggeration

When creating your poses and observing them in your reference(s), think about how exaggerated or realistic you want the run cycle to be.

In Angelo’s reference of a track runner, he points out a few characteristics that make the run cycle appear more true to real life: in the contact pose, the runner lands on the ball of the foot rather than the heel. The feet are closer together, and the leg that makes contact with the ground is closer to the center mass of the body.In more exaggerated runs, animators might have the character’s foot land farther away from the body; in these cases, it is the heel that makes contact with the ground to compensate for the distance of the foot.

To achieve the feeling of a weight shift, Angelo recommends looking closely between the contact and down poses. In the contact pose, try to find a straight leg, then contrast that with a bent leg in the down pose. In a more realistic and natural run cycle, the runner may not always completely straighten their leg – animating with this in mind can result in a more realistic animation. However, keep in mind that pushing the poses to have a straight leg can help with the clarity of the overall mechanics of the run.

Be Aware of Tangents in Your Poses!

Tangents are common occurrences in reality, and you may end up with some in your animation, especially if you are using a realistic reference – just be sure they are intentional, or make small adjustments to avoid them!

Watch the full excerpt from an AnimSchool class lecture here:

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros.
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/