VFX Academy of Design

The Importance of Fundamentals

This course is a deep dive into the 12 principles of animation, taking the basic exercises and pushing them to the next level. By the end of the 10 weeks , students will have a solid understanding of the principles of animation and how to apply them to their own animation projects. They’ll get a better sense of how they can use Maya and its tools, and not letting the software dictate how to animate.They will be able to show animation exercises involving animation fundamentals, simple biped body mechanics, strong and appealing poses, and a stylized walk cycle. And finally, as the industry and the tools are evolving quickly, we will look into mastering Maya and develop an efficient workflow in order to be production ready , pushing students both artistically and technically.

Registration Now Open

Registration Period

Oct 09, 2024 - Feb 04, 2025

Course Start

Jan 23, 2025

Course Format

Standard

Skills Level

Intermediate

Duration

10 weeks

Q&A

Once A Week

Feedback

Individual recordings

Lecture Type

Pre recorded

Assignment

Due each week. Expect to spend 8-10 hrs/wk viewing lectures, Q&A, and time on assignments.

PREREQUISITES

Course: Intro to Animation in Maya

MATERIALS

Autodesk Maya, a frame by frame player like quicktime/RV, pen, paper

The more you know, the better.

Week #1

12 PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION: Building Your Animation

– Workflow and essentials animation vocabulary – Analyze of different approach on how to block a shot with examples – key poses / breakdown/ inbetween – Timing vs spacing : ease in , ease out – Analyze/ breakdown : vfx shot / cartoon shot

Week #2

12 PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION: Solid vs. Soft

– Rock Solid Robots VS organic fleshy characters – Squash and Stretch – Smear frames – Overlap and Follow Through: Lead / drag / follow through/ settle – How to push the organic : overlappy parts of the body : muscle / fat / flesh/ hair / tail – the importance of simulation in cg animation

Week #3

12 PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION: Arcs, Secondary Actions, and Extremes

– The arcs , the secondary actions and extremes in animation – Arcs – Technical Aspect of dealing with arcs in Maya – IK vs FK Workflow / tracking your arcs / camera view vs perspective view – The Extremes – Anticipation – The importance of Subtlety – the importance of reference – Key pose/ antic/ Breakdown / reaction / keypose – Secondary Actions – Different style means different type of secondary actions

Week #4

12 PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION: Appeal

– Animation is about beautiful things with a beautiful motion – Appeal / Exaggeration – Posing , silhouette , line of action ,complexity vs simplicity

Week #5

Body Mechanics: Balance

– Studying balance in a still pose – Studying balance in motion – How do you deal with balancing weights in your body?

Week #6

Maya Workflow: Let's Get Techy

– Constraints and animation layers – Hotkey Setup , Marking menu , and the importance of setting up your workspace . – Bringing your own set of tools, Scripts – The importance of speeding up your workflow

Week #7

Return of the 12 Principles of Animation

Let’s make things clear : – Weight shift principle and strong drawing skills – In-depth look at full body motion and especially the weight shift – Staging: Basic staging : camera Focal Length, rule of thirds

Week #8

Staging and Contrast

– Advanced staging: Using film examples to show how to make a clear staging . Insisting on the importance of clarity in animation – The contrast: Contrast is everywhere” in the design, in the animation, in your timing, it makes things interesting, entertaining.

Week #9

Animation Mechanics: the Walk, Part 1

Learning how to walk : – What is a walk? When? Why? How? What does it tell about a character? – Deep dive/ reminder into the mechanics of the walk for a vanilla walk

Week #10

Animation Mechanics: the Walk, Part 2

– Finalizing your animation – Looping your animation: Workflow on how to make sure to loop that walk cycle – The Polish – If you’ve done your job correctly then you don’t see the technology, you just feel the character, the emotion, the life

Unleashing your creativity

Andy Le Cocq

Senior Animator

LECTURES BY Andy Le Cocq

Course Start: Jan 23, 2025

Andy is a French artist, currently Senior Animator at Framestore Montréal, he worked for nearly a decade as a character / creature animator in studios such as MPC, ILM, Framestore London and Base FX Kuala Lumpur. He started his career in London (UK) working in commercials / previsualisation and Music videos and then moved on to the Vfx industry. His credits include : Star Wars Episode 8, Jurassic world: The Fallen Kingdom, Lion King, The Mandalorian and most recently His Dark Materials Season 2. Art, Films and Video games enthusiast and constantly evolving as an artist through all these years , Andy is eager to share his knowledge and help you grow in your animation journey.

Instructor's Gallery

PRICING SCHEDULE

Even though our courses are the most affordable for the quality of education, these finance options allow you to focus on your goals instead of the barriers that keep you from reaching them.

3x Payments

$299.67

2x Payments

$449.50

Full payment

$899

Winter TERM REGISTRATION Now Open

Oct 09, 2024 - Jan 27, 2025

COURSE BEGINS on Jan 23, 2025

What makes this learning experience unique?

PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK

Receive personalized feedback on all assignments from the industry’s top professionals.

LIFETIME ACCESS

Enjoy lifetime access to the spectrum of course content, including lectures, live Q&As, and feedback sessions.

CERTIFICATION

Show off your Certification of Completion when you turn in 80% of course assignments.

FLEXIBLE LEARNING

Learn anywhere, anytime, and at your own pace with flexible, online course scheduling.

Animation Foundation 101

Character Design

Electives

Environment Design

Drawing Foundation

Compositing/Lighting

Houdini/FX

Rigging

Animation Foundation 101

The Importance of Fundamentals

The more you know, the better.

Trailers

Course Trailer

Student Reel