In this free animation tutorial we show how to animate a camera shake in Maya. It's a simple tutorial aimed at beginners learning 3d animation in Autodesk Maya.
To animate the camera shake is simple - it's just a few keyframes on the x rotation on the shot camera, simulating what might happen to a real camera operator if (as in this example) a school bus were to whizz past at high speed.
The creative industries have hit some headwinds of late, with a "perfect storm" of writers' strikes, actors' strikes, studio cutbacks - and anxiety over the threat from AI.
But there are jobs and opportunities out there for graduates with strong portfolios and software skills. Below is a list of things to do to maximise your chances of breaking into the industry. Start by making sure that your demo reel is as good as it can possibly be.
One of the most common mistakes junior animators make when staging their shots is to position the camera above the action, looking down on the characters. This can be tempting to do, because it is an easy way to capture everything that is going on. However "CCTV Camera" is usually a mistake (though you might need to create a particular effect in certain circumstances). A better choice is to position the camera at eye level - where the camera becomes a non-participant observer in the scene. Watch this very short video to see why.
In this super simple beginner animation tutorial we show how to animate a vehicle coming to a sudden stop. The free tutorial uses the free "AnyCar 3.1.4 for Maya" rig, downloadable here from Creative Crash.
This is a fun, simple tutorial that is aimed at animation beginners in Autodesk Maya, part of our series of animation basics for students who have never used Maya before.
You can however use any vehicle, and animate it by simply setting a keyframe at the start and the end of the motion. The timing of the traffic cone is very simple; with just a few rotation keyframes we can add texture to the scene.
Eye direction is one of the most important things to get right in animation. If your characters aren't looking at each other, or their eyes are wandering around, the effect is to produce "zombie eyed" characters, who don't seem to be looking at anything.
So how do you avoid "Zombie Eyes"? The answer is, use the Eye Direction Controller, and always add a blink on a head turn.
We're loving this new source of Free Rigs and Sets for Maya Animators at Animation-Matt https://anim-matt.gumroad.com/. It's a great resource, packed with free (and low priced) rigs for character animation. Anim-matt also has plenty of sets for animators to work in, including interior and exterior shots such as street, bars and living rooms, for characters to act and perform in.
Animated characters need to look at each other, so their eyes don't wander around screen. Watch the short video above with acting legend Michael Caine for some tips from the master of screen acting. The video itself is a little dated (1980s) but the lessons remain just as important today. According to Caine, the number one lesson for stage actors is to "hold on to each others' eyes". And, what is true for stage actors is true for animators too. You can watch Caine's acting advice in the video above - the important part is all in the first 5 minutes.
What is the Rule of Thirds? It is a "rule of thumb" for composing visual images. The Rule of Thirds proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. In the simplest terms, try to avoid staging your character dead centre in the middle of the screen.
Eye direction matters. If animated characters aren't looking at each other, or if the motion of the eyes feels weird and lifeless, the animation will lack believability. Fortunately, most character rigs come with a "Look See" or "Eye Direction" controller, which control the character's eye direction, so that the eyes always seem to be focused and alert. To see how to use the "Look See" control with the Kayla rig (one of the rigs we recommend for learning animation), watch the short video above.
Above is a selection of the best acting and performance animation created by students at Animation Apprentice. The "Character Performance" reel includes work created by many of our talented students. All of our graduates should have at least one compelling acting shot on their reel, and one of the best ways to do this is to enter the monthly 11 Second Club. Congratulations to all our students and recent graduates on their excellent work.
In the "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" pitch sessions, animation creatives pitch to the animation industry, much like on the BBC's "Dragon's Den". The CMC takes place from 9-10-11 July 2024. The deadline for submissions is 13 June 2024.
Above is a selection of the best work done on animals and creatures at Animation Apprentice. The "Animals & Creatures Animation Reel" includes work created by many of our talented students. Animals and Creatures are tough to animate - the mechanics of the motion need to be accurate and believable, especially so on high end visual effects feature film work. Congratulations to all our students on their excellent work solving the peculiar problems of animal and creature locomotion and performance.
Sliding feet can be a problem when animating a character walk or a walk cycle. Fortunately for Maya animators, the Lock to World tool created by Jesse Ong Pho offers a simple solution.
Rather than manually tweaking your animation to stop the feet sliding, this script lets you anchor a transform for any given time range in your animation.
In this very short tutorial (just ten minutes long) we show how to do some very simple animation - animate a Telephone Ringing. This tutorial is aimed at animation beginners in Autodesk Maya.
Simple exercises are a great way to gain confidence in animation, starting with the basics to gradually build up your confidence and skills.
In this short fifteen minute tutorial we show how to animate a UFO on a motion path - a very useful technique for animating anything moving through space - UFOs, aircraft, birds, and even fish.
Motion Path animation is an important animation technique, and can be learned in a few minutes. The tutorial starts by searching for a free set and a UFO at Turbosquid - free assets anyone can download. This tutorial is aimed at Maya beginners.
In this very short tutorial (just two minutes long) we show how to use "Infinity Curves with Offset" in Maya. Let's say you animate a character taking two steps across the screen, and you want to replicate the action. By using Infinity Curves with Offset, you can replicate the motion automatically, and have the character take as many steps as you like. Once you're done, you can bake your curves, and then edit the shot.
Animators need to tell a story without words, to create "pantomime" animation. The art of pantomime is that the audience should understand the story being told without words. In the example above, by Joshua Reynolds, Joshua tackles the "Phone Booth" exercise, in which the animator must tell the story of a phone call silently, just using body language and expressions, communicating to the audience what the character is thinking and feeling. Start by thinking about the story you want to tell. Then, act it out, draw some thumbnail sketches, and pose out the shot. Make sure the character poses tell the story clearly.