Tag: how to animate Page 2 of 3

Breaking Down Breakdowns

In this lesson, AnimSchool instructor Scott McWhinnie takes us through his process of creating breakdowns that will best define a character’s motion. As Scott says in his lesson, “In CG animation, the computer is your inbetweener— and it’s the dumbest inbetweener — so it’s your job to give it all the information it needs.”

What is a Classic Breakdown Pose?

A classic breakdown is typically defined as the “middle transition pose,” giving the computer information to describe the arcs, what is leading, dragging, overlapping, etc. There can be more than one classic breakdown.

Analyzing a Scene

Scott offers an example scene from Zootopia (2016), in which Nick rests his head into his hand, leans forward, and speaks to Judy. The main key poses consist of Nick’s starting position, leaning in, leaning down, and leaning forward towards Judy.

To identify the classic breakdown poses, look for the poses that begin to describe arcs, what’s leading, and what’s being delayed or dragging behind.

The next step is to look for antics and overshoots, ensuring that any build up of action is present and any overshoot of emotion is visible. Generally, great and intense emotions don’t come to a full stop because there simply isn’t enough time; as a result, emotions will often overshoot and settle back. The sharper and more abrupt an action, the greater the overshoot. Anticipations and overshoots are not always necessary.

Then, it’s time to identify the spacers. Spacers define the spacing for the action. As an action starts to move from a resting state, a spacer sets of the ease out; by the same token, as an action settles into a resting state, the spacer sets the ease in. Additionally, as a character or object changes directions, the spacers help define the slow down in order for the change to occur.

Being able to identify and properly use different types of in-between poses is vital to the animation process in creating smooth, flowing actions and preserving efficiency.

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/

Adding Vibration to Animation

Animation is a powerful medium for storytelling and visual expression, and adding subtle details can make a significant difference in how your work is perceived. One such detail is the incorporation of vibration effects, which can bring life, energy, and realism to animated elements. Whether you’re animating a character, a piece of machinery, or any other dynamic object, introducing vibration can add depth and impact to your animations. In this video (linked below), AnimSchool instructor Louaye Moulayess explains how to add vibrations in your animation shots to better sell the struggle, force, and energy a character exerts in order to lift a heavy object.

Louaye begins by identifying the point of maximum vibration – in this case, where the character is struggling the most in order to lift the box. From there, he identifies two more points: where the start of the vibration is, and where it ends, ensuring that the beginning and ending points are at zero so as to not affect past/future poses. 

Louaye demonstrates various possibilities for the shape of a vibration curve, citing that “there are no rules.”

He then adds a key to every single frame between the start and end of the vibration, and quickly shifts each key in alternating directions to create a buildup to the apex and gradual fallout.

Add keys on each frame between the start and end, and ensure you only have the desired channel(s) keyed.

Adjust each key to create a gradual climb and fall in vibration amplitude and intensity.

Before concerning himself with the polish and exact values of each key, Louaye plays through the animation to get a feel of how the vibration looks, and then begins to slowly adjust. Louaye recommends to use check your animation using playblasts in order to see the subtle movements of the vibration. 

Louaye finishes off the animation by demonstrating how to copy and paste the vibration to another control using animation layers, citing to be careful about what controls are selected and knowing specifically what is transferring. In this case, he copied the vibration of the head’s gimbal rotation control onto a knee pole vector translation control, ensuring that he tests the animation and makes necessary corrections, such as scaling down the amplitude of the animation curve.

Incorporating vibration into your animations can significantly enhance their dynamism and realism. Whether you choose to manually animate each frame or use automated techniques, the goal is to create a believable and engaging effect that complements your animation. By mastering vibration techniques, you can add an extra layer of detail that elevates your work and captivates your audience.

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/

Cleaning Up Curves: Splining 101

Understanding the basics of splining your animation is key to crafting a smooth performance. AnimSchool instructor Ricky Renna explains how to spline a shot for beginner animators by demonstrating his method, in which the first step is cleaning up curves in the Graph Editor.

Before splining, Ricky recommends to ensure that your animation is stepped with keys on at least every three or four frames. Depending on the action, you may be able to get away with keying every five frames; however, the more keys you have, the more accurate your blocked animation will be to the final result. 

When you are ready to spline, select all of your keys and controllers and switch them to auto tangents. Ricky explains that he prefers to start cleaning up with the “biggest” controllers, such as the body and gimbal controls. He also mentions that he will split up the animation into sections and fully spline them one section at a time, rather than splining one controller through the entire animation, then moving on to the next. One section may range from 30-40 frames; however, depending on the animation, it may make more sense to split it up according to when one action ends and another begins, resulting in varying lengths.

Before cleaning up the curves – note the overall shape of the curve

In the Graph Editor, the key is to look for smooth curves. Ricky explains that he simply addresses one channel curve at a time before moving onto the next: Translate X, Translate Y, Translate Z…

After cleaning up the curve – note the reduced keys and smooth shape

As you delete and rearrange keys, consider how the changed keys affect the shape of the curve: is it making it more jagged? If so, try adding some keys back in to make a smoother and cleaner action. Keep in mind that one of the most important aspects is whether or not your animation reads well: does adding in an extra key actually affect the feeling and believability of the overall animation? Don’t overcomplicate things! Simplify the curve, and ensure that the intended action still reads in the easiest way possible.

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/

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/

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