Why Animators Should Avoid "CCTV Camera"

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.

Animate a Vehicle Coming to a Sudden Stop

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.  

Animate a Traffic Cone Being Knocked Over

Animate a Traffic Cone Being Knocked Over

In this beginner's animation tutorial we show how to animate a traffic cone being knocked over by a speeding car.  It's based on the Yellow Beetle animation tutorial - which you can find here.  

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. 

How to Avoid "Zombie Eyes"

Try to avoid "zombie eyes"

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. 

Free Rigs and Sets for Animators at Anim-Matt

https://anim-matt.gumroad.com/

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.

Michael Caine Acting Lessons For Animators

 

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?

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.

How to Use The Eye Direction Controller

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. 

Acting and Performance Reel 2024

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.

CMC Wants Your Pitches by 13 June 2024

Children's Media Conference 9-10-11 July 2024 

The Children's Media Conference (CMC) in Sheffield wants your animation pitches.  

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. 

Animals & Creatures Reel 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.

Lock To World Tool Stops Feet Sliding

We're recommending this new animation script "Lock to World", available for download at Gumroad.  The Lock to World tool does the same job as the Anchor Transform Tool - which no longer works in newer versions of Maya since the upgrade to Python 3. 

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.

Animate a Telephone Ringing in Maya

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.

Animate a UFO on a Motion Path

Animate a UFO on a Motion Path

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. 

Infinity Curves with Offset in Maya

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.  

Phone Booth Pantomime 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. 

How to Install and Use the Parent Master Plugin

In this short video we show how to install and use the free Parent Master Plugin for Autodesk Maya. The Parent Master plugin is a useful tool that allows animators to attach and un-attach objects easily and quickly.  Here at Animation Apprentice we've been using it and recommending it since 2014.  The plugin is a Python script created by Paolo Dominici and has recently been updated for py3.  Watch the video above to see how to install it. You can also read our original blog post here from 2014.  You can find the PM official site here, and also find the latest version at Paolo Dominici's site here.

Animate a "Sneaky Walk" with Monty

Sneaky Monty

In the video tutorial below we show how to animate a sneaky walk with "Monty" the green pea.

To complete the tutorial, first start with a Basic Walk with "Monty" - which you can learn how to do here.

Then, as with our other character walks tutorials, adapt the basic walk to give it character and personality - in this case a "sneak". 

Spring Class Starts on Monday 4 March 2024

Animation by Mark Masters

Our Spring Animation Class begins on Monday 4th March 2024.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do is visit the main Animation Apprentice site and go through a few simple steps.

If you want to learn 3D animation to a professional level, and start your new career as an animator - your journey starts here.

How to Import an Image Plane into Maya

In the three minute video above, we show how to import an image plane into Maya. Image planes can be especially useful for, as in the example above, importing your thumbnail sketches into Maya, so that you have your reference inside the shot.  This way you can follow the reference step by step, and match your animation poses to your thumbnail sketches. 

Animate a Walk Cycle "On the Spot" with Monty

Monty goes for a stroll

We've uploaded a new series of video tutorials on how to animate a walk, using the marvellous "Monty" rig, free for download from Creative Crash.

There are four video tutorials of just under ten minutes, showing step by step how to animate a walk cycle, animating the walk "on the spot" on a treadmill, then adding a forward translation on the World Control to have Monty move through his environment.  

The videos are recorded in Autodesk Maya, and are aimed at animation beginners.