Animators Journey: Beginner Guide to 3D Animation Part 2 from Udemy

What's inside

Syllabus

Now that we animated a passive pendulum reacting only to physics, now we animate active pendulums, ones with muscles and physics!

Getting Started

Chapter 5 Goals

00:00 - Lecture
07:37 - Maya Examples

Adding more of an arc is the exaggeration animation principle to exaggerate motion from our reference.

00:00 - Intro to rotations
07:00 - Rotation manipulators are all gimbal behind the scenes
09:54 - All rotation order combinations and their gimbal locks
14:56 - Practical example of gimbal lock
18:02 - Practical example with cameras
21:23 - Why's this important to animators?
26:06 - Wrap Up

A new tool native to Maya 2024 now makes adjusting rotation order after animation has occurred much much easier!

Extra reading in Resources to download on why we tend to use Euler (pronounced 'oil-er') rotations and not quaternion in animation, they each have their advantages and disadvantages with Euler the preferred method for animation since we need to see curves clearly in the graph editor and rotate objects 360 degrees.

I'm also adding a more realistic Great White Shark rig to the mix, use at your own risk ;)

00:00 - Why we're learning this
02:02 - Shark Reference 1
09:55 - Shark Reference 2
11:45 - In Maya
15:45 - Beginning Animators Struggle With This

Download the reference below to analyze for yourself:

Looping Cycled Animation

Baking Cycles & Retiming

If you haven't already don't forget to change the default setting in the preferences to update all views of your viewport: Preferences > Time Slider > Playback > Update View: All

Animation Layers

Chapter 5 Quiz

Challenge 5: Shark Swim

If you'd like to turn on the fog in the environment scene go to the Shading viewport menu, then check on Hardware Fog.

One student had a question about the use of the override layer at 29min. I only had the tail selected when I created it. So if you're trying it and it's killing all your animation including the body, then you have too many controls selected.

The reason I used it was so I could visually isolate the body's motion temporarily. Notice at around 35 min I get rid of the override layer to bring back the tail animation I wanted to freeze momentarily. At first, around 29 min, I tried the mute layer but was unhappy with that option, because muting freezes whatever current value and pose it is in at the time you mute it. Whereas I wanted to have a straight tail to evaluate the body motion. I didn't want the tail to be stuck in a swimming pose, I wanted it straight. That's why I chose the override layer instead of muting the value.

Student Review: Justin Complex Shark Overlap Swim

Student Review: Zenovia Cycle Without Symmetry Issue

Student Review: Managing Big Scene

Student Review: Eric Shark Swimming

In this lesson, Chris shares his journey to landing his first jobs in the industry which only recently happened at the time of recording this interview.

Planning Makes Perfect

Chapter 6 Goals

Straight Ahead vs Pose to Pose

Kinds of poses (or keyframes) and in order of created:

1) Golden Poses = Story Poses = Key poses: the minimum number of poses/keys to convey an action

2) Extremes = the furthest or most extreme moments of the animation

3) Breakdowns = deciding the motion between keys and extreme poses

4) Inbetweens = the motion in between the other keyframes, can be keyframed on their own, sometimes used interchangeably with breakdowns

00:00 - Getting Started and the problem of Auto Tangent in blocking

02:43 - Stepped in the Graph Editor

03:56 - Default tangent settings in Maya and how to change

06:28 - Why work in stepped

08:09 - Caveat to working in stepped

10:01 - New method I recommend

11:19 - Be Careful Notice

14:09 - Excerpt from this week's demo showing the issue to look out for

14:38 - Wrap Up

See 3 ways to visualize 'Stepped' in the downloadable screenshots

00:00 - Posing vs Timing

01:56 - Retiming methods

03:25 - Add inbetween + create shelf button

06:00 - How to create a hotkey

09:44 - Summary

Tail - C and S Shapes

Bouncing vs Jumping Spacing

Path of Motion

Jump Principles

Counter Keying

Animation Process Examples

NOTE: Since recording this lesson 'OfficiallyMaize' converted the old python 2 tweenMachine into python 3. I'm including both versions below, but know if you're using anything later than Maya 2022 then just use the python 3 version, the zip comes with installation instructions.

00:00 - What, Why, How to use
05:16 - Install instructions of my preferred Tween Machine tool 'TriDragTween'
08:57 - Making Maya 2022 run with Python 2 and Install the old 'Tween Machine'

Find your scripts folder. Run this command in the MEL script editor to find the file path where Maya looks for scripts:

internalVar -usd

For example, my scripts are located by default here:

C:/Users/lucas/Documents/maya/2022/scripts/

triDragTween - Allows you to tween objects by holding a hotkey and click + dragging in the viewport. Middle mouse click + dragging allows for overshoots.

Run the code below to install. It’s Python:

import triDragTween

triDragTween.install()

If the above method doesn’t work, here’s how to install manually. In the Hotkey Editor, save this as your press command for your desired hotkey:

import triDragTween

triDragTween.press(sensitivity=.5, barLength=100, barOffset=-200)

For the same hotkey, save this as your release command:

import triDragTween

triDragTween.release()

tool made by Michael Trikosko

tweenMachine

The old tweenMachine no longer works in python 3 which Maya 2022 and all newer version now use. I'm including both versions of tweenMachine.

Previously I found a work around that's now out of date since they updated it to python 3 but here's how you can actually make newer versions of Maya use python 2 anyways:

create a new desktop shortcut for Maya 2022
find the original program location and right click send to desktop
right-click on the shortcut icon and go to Properties
In the Target text box paste in this after the existing text, don't replace it with this, just add it to the end: maya.exe -pythonver 2

Then close this down and open Maya by double-clicking this new shortcut and it will open using python 2.

Paste the tweenMachine.py script file that you can download here as well as from the github link above to the scripts folder mentioned at the top of this text.

If you had Maya already open you can type rehash in the MEL command text box and hit enter to refresh.

Then copy/paste and run this python command to open the tweenMachine. You can also middle mouse drag this to a shelf to create a button:

import tweenMachine

tweenMachine.start()

00:00:00 - Start
00:02:00 - Planning
00:04:40 - Blocking
00:41:00 - Spline
01:04:20 - WATCH OUT for squash and stretch affecting your silhouette and adjust for it.
02:01:55 - Final Words and Review

Note: if you start animating the ball and then later turn on the tail but it is not in the right place on the ball, you can spin the tail to where you want to begin animating it!

Select MoverMain_Cntrl (the main + control) and adjust Tail Anchor attribute.

00:00:00 - Grease Pencil Planning
00:10:57 - Ball Final Tweaks Before Animating Tail
00:15:36 - Begin Tail Animation
00:17:00 - Make Display Layer
00:18:18 - Blocking Poses
00:46:13 - Begin Tail Polish
01:24:29 - First Jump Tail Polish
01:39:00 - Second Jump Polish
01:47:25 - End Landing Polish
02:03:03 - Fix Tail Dragging Ground Too Much
02:19:10 - Final Settle C to S shape
02:30:00 - Final Settle Fix Closer to Ball
02:39:00 - Retime End Tail
02:59:03 - Final Look

Note: if you start animating the ball and then later turn on the tail but it is not in the right place on the ball, you can spin the tail to where you want to begin animating it!

Select MoverMain_Cntrl (the main + control) and adjust Tail Anchor attribute.

Chapter 6 Quiz

Challenge Goal: Demonstrate a ball jump with a tail that drags, follows through, and overlaps.
If you have more time, perform two jumps.

Challenge Summary Overlapping Action:

Choose one of the 3 environment scene files below to download and open it in Maya.
Set your project (and accept the project window folders)
Save scene in versions, rename to something that includes _anim_ in the file name to distinguish from the environment only scene file.
Reference in the ball rig.
If you have only 5 hrs, just do one jump.
If you have more than 5 hrs, do 2 jumps in a row.
No more than 120 frames in length.
Playblast your animation and upload it to the next lesson for review.

Estimated time to complete = 8-10 hours

Note: if you start animating the ball and then later turn on the tail but it is not in the right place on the ball, you can spin the tail to where you want to begin animating it!

Select MoverMain_Cntrl (the main + control) and adjust Tail Anchor attribute.

Student Review: Emma

Student Review: Justin

Student Review: Tiann

Warning: This is an advanced technique.

It's not something everyone needs to learn to successfully complete this Beginner course.

In case you wanted to perform a swing motion like Anna, then this is one technique you can use to smoothly create a rotation with your own temporary rig you can create with locators to get the desired pivot point for a rotation.

Weight A Minute

Chapter 7 Goals

00:00 - Pre-production

07:02 - Production

15:00 - Post-production

18:22 - Pipeline

23:37 - Final Anecdote

00:00 - How Rigs Work

03:50 - Inside Maya

06:52 - Painting Weights

FK vs IK

00:00 - What are Pickers and their advantages?
03:22 - How to Use The New Picker You Can Download Here?
05:31 - No picker buttons are working fix... Set up namespace.

Tip: if you double-click the base tail button it will select the entire tail.

If you get a pop-up window, just check the box (Apply to all...) and 'Allow', it shouldn't reappear:

00:00 - Center of Gravity

01:45 - COG examples

05:30 - Bike example

06:45 - Mass distribution

07:22 - Changing COG

13:23 -Stable vs Unstable COG

14:20 - Determine where COG is

14:55 - Vehicles

17:58 - Summary

00:00 - Reference as a tool

09:22 - Maya - Movie File

12:45 - Maya - Image Sequence

15:16 - Maya - Image Sequence Advantages

24:12 - Premiere Pro - Blocking Stepped Reference Edit

29:58 - Final Tips

31:40 - Summary

00:00 - Weight Shift Overview

05:43 - Common Mistake

12:20 - Contrapposto

15:15 - Example for Animation

18:18 - Another Common Mistake

20:36 - Summary

00:00 - Getting Scene Setup

03:57 - Starting Blocking

07:37 - Turning on center of pressure tracker

16:35 - Antics and Overshoots

44:15 - Spline

01:06:05 - Feet

Chapter 7 Quiz

Challenge 7: Weight Shift

Student Review: First Pass

Student Review: Michael

I'm Walking Here

Final Chapter Goals

00:00 - Intro

03:08 - Base Poses

04:20 - Cycles

05:00 - Rules of Thumb

09:32 - Analyze a walk: Feet and Knees

25:25 - Analyze a walk: COG and Hips

00:00 - Two Methods

01:24 - Method 1

05:28 - Method 2

07:12 - Tweaking Options

00:00 - What's the deal?

00:58 - First Example

01:47 - Consider This Before...

02:29 - Evaluate what first?

05:20 - Trackers

11:37 - Anti-pop controls

17:35 - Summary - how to address

00:00 - What's On vs Off the spot animation
03:16 - Maya: How to make a cycle that works for both
10:07 - Maya: How to convert "on the spot" to off
19:33 - Maya: How to convert "off the spot" to on

Remember to make sure your math for your foot contacts makes sense.

The middle frame between 1-24 is not 12.

The middle frame of 0-24 is 12.

Because 0-11 is the first stride and 12-24 is the second stride.

Frame 0 and 24 will be identical and frame 12 is the mirror of 0 and 24.

Keep your cycle ending on an even number and starting on 0 to make the math easy for you.

Redirector

Demo: Walk Cycle

Chapter 8 Quiz

Challenge 8: Walk Cycle

Student Review: Marta

Student Review: Vasile

Congratulations

BONUS: Whats Next?

BONUS: Learn More from Lucas

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Animators Journey: Beginner Guide to 3D Animation Part 2 with these activities:

Review Animation Principles

Show steps

Solidify your understanding of the fundamental animation principles before diving into advanced techniques in Maya.

Browse courses on Animation Principles

Show steps

Read about the 12 principles of animation.
Watch videos demonstrating each principle.
Identify examples of these principles in animated films.

Read 'The Animator's Survival Kit'

Show steps

Gain a deeper understanding of animation principles and techniques through this comprehensive guide.

View Adventures in Animation: How I Learned Who I... on Amazon

Show steps

Read the chapters relevant to the course topics.
Practice the exercises described in the book.
Analyze how the book's principles are applied in your own work.

Practice Looping Animation Cycles

Show steps

Reinforce your understanding of creating seamless looping animations, a key skill covered in the course.

Show steps

Choose a simple action, like a walk or a tail wag.
Animate the action in Maya, focusing on creating a smooth loop.
Test the loop to ensure it's seamless.
Refine the animation to eliminate any pops or glitches.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Study 'Acting for Animators'

Show steps

Learn how to apply acting principles to your animations to create more believable and engaging characters.

View Acting for Animators on Amazon

Show steps

Read the chapters on character development and emotional expression.
Practice acting out different emotions and poses.
Analyze how actors use body language and facial expressions to convey emotions.

Create a Demo Reel Excerpt

Show steps

Showcase your best animation work from the course in a short demo reel excerpt.

Show steps

Select your strongest animation clips from the course challenges.
Edit the clips together into a cohesive sequence.
Add music and titles to enhance the presentation.
Get feedback on your demo reel from peers or mentors.

Animate a Short Scene with Body Mechanics

Show steps

Apply the advanced animation techniques learned in the course to create a short scene focusing on realistic body mechanics.

Show steps

Choose a simple scenario, like a character walking and picking up an object.
Plan the animation, considering weight shift, balance, and timing.
Animate the scene in Maya, paying close attention to body mechanics.
Refine the animation based on feedback and observation of real-life movement.

Explore Advanced Maya Animation Tutorials

Show steps

Expand your knowledge of Maya animation by exploring advanced tutorials on topics like rigging, scripting, and dynamics.

Show steps

Search for tutorials on specific animation techniques you want to learn.
Follow the tutorials step-by-step, experimenting with different settings and approaches.
Apply the techniques learned in the tutorials to your own animation projects.

Career center

Learners who complete Animators Journey: Beginner Guide to 3D Animation Part 2 will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

3D Animator

As a 3D animator, the primary responsibility is to create realistic and engaging three-dimensional movement for characters, objects, and environments. This role can span across industries, including film, television, video games, and advertising. With its focus on animation, the Animators Journey course helps build a foundation for the skill set required of a 3D animator. The course emphasizes animation techniques within Autodesk Maya, the industry-standard software. Learning to create looping animation cycles, analyzing video references, adjusting animations with advanced tools, and animating body mechanics may be instrumental in excelling as a 3D animator.

See salaries and explore the career path for 3D Animator

Junior Animator

A junior animator brings characters and objects to life in various media such as film, television, and video games. This role involves creating animations based on storyboards and direction from senior animators and directors. The Animators Journey course helps build a foundation for mastering animation techniques in Autodesk Maya, a crucial skill for a junior animator. Skills in creating looping animation cycles, analyzing video reference, and adjusting animation with advanced tools will be invaluable here. The course's focus on animation techniques and demo reel creation makes it a strong choice for aspiring junior animators.

See salaries and explore the career path for Junior Animator

Character Animator

A character animator specializes in bringing characters to life through animation. This involves creating realistic movements, expressions, and performances that align with the character's personality and the story's needs. The Animators Journey course helps build a foundation for mastering animation techniques in Autodesk Maya, an industry standard, and provides crucial skills for a character animator. The course's emphasis on advanced animation techniques, creating looping animation cycles, and animating body mechanics may be particularly helpful. Also, the focus on creating a demo reel is useful for showcasing one's animation skills.

See salaries and explore the career path for Character Animator

Freelance Animator

A freelance animator works on a project basis for various clients, providing animation services for commercials, short films, and other media. They need a strong portfolio and the ability to manage their own projects. This course helps build a foundation for mastering animation techniques in Autodesk Maya, providing a valuable skill for a freelance animator. The course's hands-on challenges and quizzes may be useful for honing skills, while the focus on creating a demo reel enables one to attract clients. The ability to create looping animation cycles and animate body mechanics may be particularly helpful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Freelance Animator

Game Animator

A game animator specializes in creating animations for video games, ensuring that characters and creatures move realistically and engagingly. They work closely with game designers and programmers to integrate animations into the game engine. The Animators Journey course helps build a foundation for mastering animation techniques in Autodesk Maya, the industry-standard 3D animation software, and is critical for a game animator. The focus on creating looping animation cycles, analyzing video reference, and animating body mechanics may be helpful for creating believable character movements. The course may also be useful for learning how to create a demo reel with all your work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Animator

Motion Graphics Designer

A motion graphics designer creates visually engaging animations and designs for various digital platforms. They often work on projects such as commercials, explainer videos, and social media content. This course can be useful by providing a strong understanding of animation principles and software like Autodesk Maya. The course's coverage of advanced animation techniques and creating looping animation cycles may prove useful for a motion graphics designer. Furthermore, creating demo reels enables a designer to present to potential clients and employers a portfolio of the works that feature their best abilities.

See salaries and explore the career path for Motion Graphics Designer

Visual Effects Artist

A visual effects artist creates special effects and animations for films, television shows, and other media. This role requires a strong understanding of animation principles and software. This course may be useful for learning how to animate in Autodesk Maya, which is essential for a visual effects artist. The advanced animation techniques and the ability to adjust animations with advanced tools will be useful for creating visual effects. This course is valuable because of its focus on animation, excluding modeling and texturing, which lets one focus on animation.

See salaries and explore the career path for Visual Effects Artist

Virtual Reality Developer

A virtual reality developer creates immersive experiences using VR technology. This often involves creating 3D environments, characters, and animations that users can interact with. This course can be useful by providing a strong foundation in 3D animation techniques. The ability to animate in Autodesk Maya and create looping animation cycles may be very helpful for creating interactive VR experiences. The hands-on challenges and project files offered in the course provide practical experience for creating content for virtual reality applications.

See salaries and explore the career path for Virtual Reality Developer

Augmented Reality Developer

An augmented reality developer creates interactive experiences that overlay digital content onto the real world. This often includes animating 3D models and integrating them into AR applications. This course may be useful by providing a strong foundation in 3D animation techniques and the use of Autodesk Maya. Skills such as creating animations from scratch, adjusting animations with advanced tools, and creating looping animation cycles may be helpful for developing AR content. The hands-on challenges may provide practical experience for creating interactive AR elements.

See salaries and explore the career path for Augmented Reality Developer

Simulation Specialist

A simulation specialist develops and implements simulations for training, research, or entertainment purposes. This often involves creating realistic animations of complex systems or processes. This course may be useful by providing a strong basis in 3D animation techniques and the use of Autodesk Maya. The ability to create looping animation cycles and adjust animations with advanced tools may be helpful for creating simulations. The hands-on projects and downloadable files may offer ways to gain practical experience in simulation.

See salaries and explore the career path for Simulation Specialist

Technical Animator

A technical animator bridges the gap between art and technology, focusing on the technical aspects of animation. This includes rigging characters, creating animation tools, and optimizing animation pipelines. While this course does not focus on rigging, a technical animator may find it useful as it builds a foundation for advanced animation techniques in Autodesk Maya. The ability to adjust animations with advanced tools and understand animation layers is useful for efficient workflows. Since the course focuses purely on animation, it may be useful by improving your animation skills.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Animator

Digital Artist

A digital artist creates artwork using digital tools and software. This can include creating illustrations, concept art, and animations for various media. This course may be useful by providing a strong understanding of animation principles and techniques in Autodesk Maya. The ability to create animations from scratch and adjust animations with advanced tools may be helpful for enhancing digital artwork. Furthermore, creating demo reels enables an artist to present to potential clients and employers a portfolio of the works that feature their best abilities.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Artist

Storyboard Artist

A storyboard artist visualizes the narrative of a film, television show, or video game by creating a series of illustrations that outline the key scenes and actions. While this role is primarily focused on drawing and visual storytelling, some knowledge of animation can be beneficial. This course may be useful by providing insights into animation techniques and how movements are constructed, as well as providing a more holistic understanding of the overall animation process. Exposure to Autodesk Maya through this course may also enable a storyboard artist to create more dynamic and informative storyboards that account for camera movements and character actions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Storyboard Artist

Instructional Designer

An instructional designer creates educational materials and training programs, often incorporating multimedia elements such as animations and videos. An instructional designer may find it useful to gain knowledge about animation. This course may be useful by providing a foundational understanding of animation principles and techniques in Autodesk Maya. Learning to create animations from scratch and adjust animations with advanced tools may be helpful for designing engaging and effective learning content. The ability to analyze video references may be helpful for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of animated content.

See salaries and explore the career path for Instructional Designer

Animation Director

An animation director oversees the creative and technical aspects of an animation project. They guide a team of animators and artists to ensure that the project meets its artistic and technical goals. An animation director typically requires a master's degree. The Animators Journey course helps build a foundation to understand the animation process, techniques, and tools used by animators. The course may be useful by developing an understanding of Autodesk Maya, animation principles, and the creation of demo reels. This foundational knowledge may be very useful for effectively leading and directing animation teams.

See salaries and explore the career path for Animation Director

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Animators Journey: Beginner Guide to 3D Animation Part 2.

ADVENTURES IN ANIMATION

Save

Is considered the bible for animators. It covers a wide range of animation techniques and principles with clear explanations and illustrations. It's a valuable resource for understanding the core concepts of animation and improving your skills. This book provides a strong foundation for the advanced animation techniques taught in this course.

Adventures in Animation: How I Learned Who I...

Hardcover

Acting for Animators

Save

Bridges the gap between acting and animation. It teaches animators how to create believable and engaging performances by understanding acting principles. It's particularly useful for understanding character motivation and conveying emotions through animation. This book will help you add depth and nuance to your animations.

Acting for Animators

Paperback

Acting for Animators: 4th Edition

Paperback

Acting for Animators

Kindle Edition

Animators Journey

Beginner Guide to 3D Animation Part 2

What's inside

Syllabus

Save this course

Activities

Career center

Reading list

Share

Similar courses