Animation Foundations: Fundamentals

Course details

Dig into the roots of animation in this course for animators, motion graphics artists, and visual effects designers of all levels. Author George Maestri reviews the basic concepts of animation and what makes things move—and the features you'll find in almost every animation package, including X, Y, and Z planes, keyframes, animation paths, hierarchies, pivots, and rotation. Plus, learn time-tested techniques that bring your animations to life, such as easing, squash and stretch, exaggeration, staging, and the importance of timing.

Learning objectives
Understanding forces and motion
Working with center of mass
Adjusting frame rates
Understanding keys and keyframes
Building animation paths
Navigating the object hierarchy
Staging an animation
Animating to audio and music

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome

1. Physics and Motion

02 - Understanding forces and motion
03 - Momentum and mass
04 - Friction and drag
05 - Center of mass

2. Animation Software

06 - X, Y, and sometimes Z
07 - Working in different frame rates
08 - Understanding keys and keyframes
09 - Understanding animation curves
10 - Creating animation paths
11 - Working with hierarchies
12 - Setting pivots and rotation

3. Principles of Animation

13 - Slow in and slow out
14 - Arcs in animation
15 - Overlap and follow-through
16 - Squash and stretch
17 - Anticipation
18 - Exaggeration
19 - Staging

4. Timing

20 - The importance of timing
21 - Animating cycles
22 - Animating to audio and music

Conclusion

23 - Goodbye