Tag: animation reference

Student Spotlight: Lena Zahoruiko

AnimSchool graduate Lena Zahoruiko discusses her experience creating an emotionally driven animation using audio from the film Midnight Sun (2018). She dives into her process from start to finish, addressing the changes made and how that impacted the final scene. Her shot was featured in the 2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase.

Zahoruiko explains that this shot was her first ever attempt at a dialogue shot. She was cautiously excited about trying something new, and wanted to create a more emotional shot about two individuals—in this case, sisters—parting ways.

Zahoruiko adds that the biggest challenge that she ran into was filming reference footage – after discussing with her class, many mentioned that it would be beneficial if she had real crying to help push the emotional aspect of the shot. As a result, she cried on more consecutive days than she had ever before.

“It took me, I think, around three days to come up with the final version,” she says.

Initially, Zahoruiko mentions, her animation lacked small gestures, and felt a bit stiff because of it. To overcome this, she layered in more hand and arm movement, such as a sweeping motion with the hand. As she played with the balance of exaggeration and subtle movements, she ultimately learned that, for such an emotionally driven shot, “less is more.”

Watch her featured clip below:

Student Spotlight: Maria Fateeva

AnimSchool student Maria Fateeva shares her experience creating an animation using audio from Bo Burnham’s song, “Unpaid Intern,” and offers some insight to her animation process. Her shot was featured in the 2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase.

Maria explains that, looking back, she did not end up utilizing her reference footage as much as she would have liked, which resulted in some difficulties capturing the proper body mechanics and the character flow during the animation process. However, she was still able to pull various key poses and ideas from her reference in order to make a visually entertaining and dynamic shot.

Maria also mentions that the biggest challenge she ran into was animating the main character clutching various cups and mugs, especially when he drops one and quickly grabs it again. At the suggestion of her instructor, Alek Kolev, she snuck in an additional cup near the end in order to really emphasize the large amount the character was holding.

Watch her featured clip below:

Watch the full AnimSchool Student Showcase Livestream 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/

Student Spotlight: Jonathan Gibney

AnimSchool student Jonathan Gibney discusses his experience and walks through the process of animating his shot featured in the 2024 AnimSchool Student Showcase. Using audio of Willem Dafoe’s monologue from The Lighthouse (2019), Jonathan explains how he crafted a villainous pirate performance.

Jonathan explains that, while he filmed a reference video for his animated shot, much of what he actually used is not on video. Rather, if he needs to, he will simply stand up from his desk and act out the shot in order to understand first hand how certain body parts move in the scene.

For Jonathan, the biggest challenge within the shot was grappling with the moving camera, as it affected animation arcs and screen space. In as early as his blocking phase, he had the camera movement planned out to allow for more freedom with the character.

To create an antagonistic character with villainous qualities, Jonathan and his instructor bounced various ideas off one another and adjusted the animation. Jonathan mentions that, in the beginning, the villain was simply going to cut the rope early on, immediately dropping the other character into the ocean. However, this was later changed to have the villain hold on to the rope after cutting it and deliberately releasing it later to maintain tension, play with shape language, and reflect how the choice—and life of the other character—is in his hands.

Watch his featured clip below:

Watch the full AnimSchool Student Showcase Livestream 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/

Walk Cycle Animation Tips

AnimSchool instructor Janel Drewis breaks down the basic steps, and how video reference is used as an aid to achieve believable character movement.
Achieving a natural and convincing walk is deceptively simple. A successful walk cycle animation requires a keen eye for the intricacies of human movement. It involves mastering complex details such as weight distribution, timing, balance, and coordination all while ensuring the character’s movement matches their personality.

Walk cycles do not employ any one specific Principle of Animation – a good walk cycle incorporates each principle in some manner. Because walks are so familiar to the human eye, audiences are extremely aware and can easily identify when a walk looks off or is not believable.

Main Poses of a Bipedal Walk Cycle

  • Contact: front heel makes contact with the ground
  • Down: hips are at their lowest; “bottom” position
  • Passing: back leg passes the front leg
  • Up: hips are at their highest; “top” position

Walk Timing
In a standard walk cycle, the four poses above are spaced evenly throughout. Most people walk “on 12s,” which means they take one step every 12 frames, or roughly two steps every second at 24fps. Animating walk cycles on 16s or 8s was more popular in older 2D animation because animators did not have to split the drawings on thirds like they would have for animating on 12s.

Other Tips
When looking at a reference video, make note of how much the hips drop/rise and how straight/bent the legs are. Additionally, pay attention to the spacing of the feet between frames; this will affect the ease in/out between steps.
To loop your walk cycle, ensure that the pose of your final frame matches your initial frame – you can do this by copying and pasting the initial frame. This will ensure seamless looping. To play this loop continuously, select everything and activate Curves > Pre Infinity > Cycle with Offset and Curves > Post Infinity > Cycle with Offset.

Watch the full excerpt from a live AnimSchool lecture below:

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/