3dartist,joyof3d2 Details
Animation Foundations
Refreshing core animation fundamentals through body mechanics, rig anatomy, and FK/IK switching.
Perspective, Posing & Blocking
Animating the camera, using 3D space and scene layout effectively, and creating eye-catching poses.
Niche Animation Techniques
Smear frames, special constraints and parenting, mesh replacements, and intentional rule-breaking.
Acting & Performance
Creating gestures, lip sync, and facial expressions to craft convincing character moments.
Story, Layout & Shot Clarity
Applying story structure, pacing, and layout principles to guide shot choices across a sequence.
Finalizing a Full Sequence
Planning, executing, polishing, and editing a complete sequence of complex animated shots.
- Section 01
OT
01. Orientation- Instructor introduction - Class objectives and learning outcomes - Philosophy of character animation (movement vs. expression of movement)
- Section 02
Foundations
02. Fundamentals & Essentials- Understanding essential keyposes, timing, and workflow - Reviewing and polishing keyposes from a pre-made breakdance animation - Animating a bouncing ball as a recap of the basics
03. Applying Our Fundamentals- Creating a breakdance animation from scratch - Understanding the fundamentals at work - Switching between IK and FK
04. Animating with a Camera- Recreating the breakdance animation with a camera-driven approach - Posing the camera with our character - Creating an animation with dynamic poses
05. Principles of Sakuga Animation- Understanding composition, dynamic perspective, and shape language to guide the viewer's eye - Animating the composition itself and treating the visual space as a character
06. Animating with an Environment- Blocking shots that utilize 3D space in a 3D environment - Constraining the camera to our character for airborne action - Utilizing everything taught up to this point for a fun, simple shot
07. Anticipation & Settle (Mini Lesson)- Reviewing another pre-made animation to study anticipation and settle techniques
- Section 03
Acting & Performance
08. Animating Acting: Reference, Props, Ideas- Finding and creating references - Using household props, and how to choose useful ones - Selecting an idea for an acting practice animation
09. Animating Acting: Speech- Lip-sync animation - Creating mouth-shape keyposes
10. Animating Acting: Gestures- Creating keyposes when they all feel "essential" - Blocking an acting shot and understanding "staging" and "keep-alive" - Learning how to act so our animations feel alive
11. Animating Acting: Polishing- Polishing and finishing our acting practice animation
- Section 04
Story, Layout & Shot Clarity
12. Pose & Shot Changes (Mini Lesson)- Understanding pose changes and body mechanics that feel alive - Understanding shot changes: How does pacing and composition affect clarity and storytelling?
13. Story Structure & Animation- A complete overview of JOY's story-blocking methodology - How story structure knowledge informs our animations - Understanding how even a simple animation curve is a story: different curves have different personalities, and different personalities express different stories
14. How to Break the Rules (Mini Lesson)- Breaking the rig - Cheating for the camera - Smearing the character or the entire frame - Replacing objects in the scene - Understanding why intention matters when breaking rules and how it affects the shot
- Section 05
Final Sequence & Workflow
15. Planning out a Big Sequence- Building an idea for a fully fleshed-out animation sequence that brings together everything we've learned - Planning our shots with storyboards, drawings, and an Excel/Google Sheet - Gathering and creating references and preparing a mockup shot
16. Blocking a Full Sequence- Blocking a sequence of different shots that together tell a story - Understanding our workflow so we can estimate how long a sequence will take and when to take breaks
17. Polishing a Full Sequence- Polishing a sequence of different shots that together tell a story
18. Finalizing Our Shot- Tips, tricks, and resources for finalizing our shot with VFX, compositing, and smears
19. Course Wrap-up & Goodbye- Editing our shot together in DaVinci Resolve - Reviewing what we learned and created - Introducing JOY's Discord server and available free resources
This course will use Blender, Krita, and DaVinci Resolve. For the best learning experience, students should also prepare Alpha & Beta rigs by Agora.community and Sprite Fright rigs by Blender Studio.
Please purchase and install these program(s) for an optimized chapter experience.
*These programs and/or materials will not be provided with the chapter.
