AnimationMentor – Animation Basics: Begin Your Character Animation Journey

Skills You Need Before You Start This introductory character animation course requires you to have a working understanding of, and experience with, Autodesk Maya software. If you don’t you can take our Maya Basics Workshop.

What You’ll Learn
At the beginning of your character animation journey you’ll be introduced to the 12 Principles of Animation and you’ll lay the groundwork for the rest of your skills by mastering animation basics. In this course you will:

• Understand the fundamental 12 Principles of Animation and how to apply them
• Animate the classic bouncing ball while demonstrating proper weight and timing, a seemingly simple exercise that will inform all your future work
• Learn efficient animation workflows, including how to block out and refine your shots
• Animate a simple and straightforward “vanilla” walk cycle
• Create a stylized walk cycle to showcase personality and emotion
• Learn to create clear poses that convey emotion even before your character begins to speak