Creating a Finished Character Animation in Blender
1h 29mIntermediate2015-12-17
Authors
David Andrade
Award-winning Animator and Cofounder of Theory Studios
Course details
With its free, professional-grade toolset, Blender gives 3D artists the ability to animate and tell stories they only dreamed of in the past. In this course, learn to use Blender to breathe life into a character and tell a story with animation and dialogue. The goal of the course is to combine video references with the principles of character animation to create a walking, talking animated person: Arthur, a disgruntled office worker and thwarted musician. Learn how to use the animation tools in Blender, work with a dialog track, and flesh out and light the scene. Your guide, David Andrade, provides tips to help you imagine your own character's inner life and an overview of the post-production process for rendering the final video.
Learning objectives
Listening to the dialog clip
Sketching out the animation framework
Learning how character and facial rig works
Blocking key character poses
Getting feedback
Adjusting appendages
Matching dialog to the animation
Cleaning up frames with the Graph Editor
Lighting and rendering the animation
Learning objectives
Listening to the dialog clip
Sketching out the animation framework
Learning how character and facial rig works
Blocking key character poses
Getting feedback
Adjusting appendages
Matching dialog to the animation
Cleaning up frames with the Graph Editor
Lighting and rendering the animation
Skills covered
Blender3D AnimationRenderingMotion Graphics and VFX3D ModelingProjectVisualization and Real-TimeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and Illustration
Concepts
0. Introduction
- 01 - Welcome
- 02 - Using the exercise files
- 03 - Prerequisites
1. Where it All Begins, Storytelling, and Planning
- 04 - Listen to the dialog clip and sketch it out
- 05 - Create a video for your reference
- 06 - Sketch out the animation framework
2. Meet Arthur
- 07 - Set up the Blender interface for character animation
- 08 - Get to know Arthur and how character rigs work
- 09 - Explore Arthur's face and how facial rigs work
- 10 - How to troubleshoot common errors in Blender
3. Character Animation
- 11 - Block out the character's key poses
- 12 - How to effectively apply the concept of timing
- 13 - Prepare the animation for viewing and sharing
- 14 - The importance of feedback
- 15 - Begin the rebuilding process
4. Refine the Details
- 16 - Tweak the body movements
- 17 - Adjust the appendages
- 18 - Manipulate the complex face with a few controls
- 19 - Work with the dialog to match the animation
- 20 - Clean up key frames with the Graph Editor
- 21 - Polish off the end result
5. A Brief Overview of Render Settings in Blender
- 22 - Use Cycles to render the final animation scene
- 23 - Effectively light the animation
- 24 - Final rendering and post-production
6. And It Never Ends
- 25 - Where to go from here