Animation for Beginners

A 4-week walk-through of the animation basics designed for people with little to no previous animation training

OVERVIEW

INSTRUCTORS

PRICING

BENEFITS

COURSE OVERVIEW

An animation starter

The animation industry has revolutionized storytelling not only in feature animation but also in live-action film, games, commercials and most recently AR/VR experiences. This course will walk through the basics of animation; the goal is to ultimately decide if animation is for you. Animation for Beginners serves as a foundation for all Animation Master Academy courses, and is meant to be followed by Intro to Animation in Maya.

Course Format:

Special Workshop: recorded lecture videos; feedback is not guaranteed for all students every week)

Duration:

4 weeks

Materials:

Maya, Bouncer rig (provided)

Lecture Type:

Pre-recorded

Assignment:

Due each week

Skills Level:

Beginner

Feedback:

Individual Recordings

Q&A:

Once a week

Prerequisites:

Installation of Maya. The starting .mb file downloaded to the scenes directory.

Course Format:

Special Workshop: recorded lecture videos; feedback is not guaranteed for all students every week)

Duration:

4 weeks

Materials:

Maya, Bouncer rig (provided)

Lecture Type:

Pre-recorded

Assignment:

Due each week

Skills Level:

Beginner

Feedback:

Individual Recordings

Q&A:

Once a week

Prerequisites:

Installation of Maya. The starting .mb file downloaded to the scenes directory.

Course Format:

Special Workshop: recorded lecture videos; feedback is not guaranteed for all students every week)

Duration:

4 weeks

Materials:

Maya, Bouncer rig (provided)

Lecture Type:

Pre-recorded

Assignment:

Due each week

Skills Level:

Beginner

Feedback:

Individual Recordings

Q&A:

Once a week

Prerequisites:

Installation of Maya. The starting .mb file downloaded to the scenes directory.

COURSE OVERVIEW

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

EXPAND ALL COLLAPSE ALL

The more you know, the better.

Week 1 | Introduction to Animation Maya, keyframes and you

Why animation?|Overview of the class and its goals | An introduction to Maya, timeline, keyframes and the graph editor/curve | Introduction to the basic translation controls of the ball rig | How to set keyframes (translate y only.) | Bonus content – An introduction to Ease Ins and Ease Outs and breaking tangents

Week 2 | Moving the ball through space

Continuation- Ease Ins and Ease Outs and breaking tangents | Moving the ball along a path (translate x) and an introduction to Arcs | Copying and modifying curves. Breaking up the cycle and varying/reducing the height of the bounces | Introducing some additional controls in the ball rig | Adding some squash and stretch | Bonus content – Adding some complexity in the ball’s path

Week 3 | Pushing animation beyond realism

Continuation- adding more complexity to the ball’s path interacting with the set | Make the ball come to a stop and demonstrate the difference between a bounce and a jump | An introduction to anticipation | Bonus content – reveal full ball rig. An introduction to secondary action and follow through

Week 4 | And the rest...

Continuation-secondary action and follow through | Blinks and look direction | A quick demonstration on how to render

Animation for Beginners

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Instructor

Your Journey Starts Here

Lukas Niklaus

/Animal Logic

LECTURES BY Todd Elliott

Lukas Niklaus grew up in the small town of Uffikon in Switzerland. After an apprenticeship as a Typographer/Graphic Designer he found his true passion, CGI, and was hooked right away! He started learning on his own and took courses both in person or online. After completing his studies with Animation Mentor he traveled to California to attend their graduation ceremony. As luck and preparation would have it, he met a recruiter from Pixomondo who invited him to join their newly formed studio in Toronto and this became the start of his career. This beginning later led him to Montreal and eventually to beautiful New Zealand.

Lukas has animated at some of the top visual effects houses like Weta Digital, ILM, Animal Logic, Framestore, MPC and other studios and contributed to several Oscar winning or nominated movies. Most recently he has joined a small startup called Lost Cosmonauts located in Wellington, New Zealand.

REQUEST SYLLABUS

SUMMER TERM REGISTRATION

May 2, 2022 - Jul 18, 2022

ONLY

$100

COURSE BEGINS

July 10th

PRICING SCHEDULE

Even though our courses are the most affordable for the quality of education.

These FINANCE OPTIONS allow you to focus on your goals instead of the barriers that keep you from reaching them.

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