Character Animation Fundamentals

Character Animation Fundamentals

by Steve Roberts
Released September 2012
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136129490

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Book description

Expand your animation toolkit and remain competitive in the industry with this leading resource for 2D and 3D character animation techniques. Apply the industry's best practices to your own workflows and develop 2D, 3D and hybrid characters with ease. With side by side comparisons of 2D and 3D character design, improve your character animation and master traditional principles and processes including weight and balance, timing and walks. Develop characters inspired by humans, birds, fish, snakes and four legged animals. Breathe life into your character and develop a characters personality with chapters on acting, voice-synching and facial expressions. Expertly integrate core animation techniques with your software of choice featuring step-by-step tutorials, highlighting 3ds Max, Maya and Blender workflows. Adapt the tips, tricks and techniques for unique projects like character design for rotoscoping and motion capture. Advance beyond the fundamentals of 2D and 3D character animation with the companion website which includes short demonstration movies, 2D and 3D exercises and fully rigged character models.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Halftitle
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Table of Contents
  6. Acknowledgements
  7. Preface
  8. Foreword
  9. Chapter 1 Introduction to Animation Working Practice
    1. How Animation Works
      1. The Basics
    2. Frames per Second
    3. What You Need for Your Studio
      1. Animation Paper
      2. Peg Bars
      3. Light Boxes
      4. X-sheets
        1. Sound
        2. Action
        3. Frame Numbers
        4. Levels
        5. Camera
      5. Line Testers
      6. Pencils
    4. Let’s Get Animating
      1. Key-to-Key Animation
      2. Animating Straight Ahead
    5. Flipping, Flicking and Rolling
      1. Flipping
      2. Flicking
      3. Rolling
    6. How to Use a Line Tester to Help Your Animation
    7. Exercises
      1. A Bouncing Ball in 2D
    8. How to Relate Your 2D Animation to Your 3D Animation
    9. The 13 Things You Need to Know About Maya
      1. 1 Maya Screen Basics
      2. 2 Maya Keyboard Shortcuts
        1. Views Shortcuts
        2. Animation/Manipulation Shortcuts
        3. Playback Shortcuts
      3. 3 Setting Up Animation Preferences in Maya
      4. 4 Creating Basic Objects in Maya
      5. 5 Moving Objects in Maya
      6. 6 Setting Keys in Maya
      7. 7 Using Graph Editor in Maya
      8. 8 Creating a Preview in Maya
      9. 9 Hierarchies in Maya
      10. 10 Creating Objects and Putting Bones in them in Maya
      11. 11 Giving Your Characters Color in Maya
      12. 12 Importing Sound into Maya
      13. 13 Rendering a Scene in Maya
    10. The 13 Things You Need to Know About 3D Studio Max
      1. 1 3D Studio Max Screen Basics
      2. 2 3D Studio Max Keyboard Shortcuts
        1. Views Shortcuts
        2. Animation/Manipulation Shortcuts
        3. Playback Shortcuts
      3. 3 Setting Up Animation Preferences in 3D Studio Max
      4. 4 Creating Basic Objects in 3D Studio Max
      5. 5 Moving Objects in 3D Studio Max
      6. 6 Setting Keys in 3D Studio Max
      7. 7 Using Track View in 3D Studio Max
      8. 8 Creating a Preview in 3D Studio Max
      9. 9 Hierarchies in 3D Studio Max
      10. 10 Creating Objects and Putting Bones in them in 3D Studio Max
      11. 11 Giving Your Characters Color in 3D Studio Max
      12. 12 Importing Sound into 3D Studio Max
      13. 13 Rendering Your Work in 3D Studio Max
    11. Overview of the ‘Ball Drop’ Exercise in 3D
    12. How to Animate a Basic Bouncy Ball in Maya
      1. How to Create Your Ball
      2. How to Animate Your Ball
      3. Adjusting the In-Betweens
    13. How to Animate a Basic Bouncy Ball in 3D Studio Max
      1. How to Create Your Ball
      2. How to Animate Your Ball
      3. Adjusting the In-Betweens
    14. Drawing
    15. The 12 Principles of Animation
      1. Squash and Stretch
      2. Anticipation
      3. Staging
      4. Straight-Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
      5. Follow-Through and Overlapping Action
      6. Slow In and Slow Out
      7. Arcs
      8. Secondary Action
      9. Timing
      10. Exaggeration
      11. Solid Drawing
      12. Appeal
  10. Chapter 2 Matter and the Animation of Inanimate Objects
    1. Inanimate Objects
      1. Weight
      2. Environment
      3. Solidity
      4. Force
      5. Construction
    2. How to Animate Inanimate Objects
    3. The Animation of Solids
      1. A Bowling Ball
      2. A Soccer Ball
      3. A Balloon
      4. A Water-Filled Balloon
    4. The Animation of Liquids
      1. A Drip
      2. A Splash
      3. An Object Falling into Water
    5. 2D Exercises
      1. The Background Level
      2. Animating a 2D Bowling Ball
      3. Animating a 2D Soccer Ball
      4. Animating a 2D Beach Ball
      5. Animating a 2D Ping-Pong Ball
      6. Animating a 2D Water-Filled Balloon
    6. 3D Exercises
  11. Chapter 3 The Construction of a Simple Character, its Articulation and Balance
    1. Basic Human Anatomy
      1. The Spine
      2. The Rib Cage
      3. The Pelvic Girdle
      4. The Skull
      5. The Shoulders
    2. Joints
      1. Plane Joints
      2. Pivot Joints
      3. Hinge Joints
      4. Ball and Socket Joints
      5. Saddle Joints
      6. Condyloid Joints
    3. Movement in Arcs
    4. Line of Action
    5. Designing a Basic Human Character
    6. How to Design a 3D Character
      1. Complexity
      2. The Graphic Nature of the Character
      3. Strong Silhouettes
      4. Weight and Balance
        1. Gravity
        2. Balance
    7. Overview of How to Build and Rig a Simple 3D Character
      1. Skin and Bones
      2. Child of the Joint
    8. Planning a Scene
    9. Animating Your Characters (Using the Left and Right Sides of the Brain)
    10. Exercises
      1. The Lift Exercise in 2D
        1. Working Out the Key Positions
        2. In-Betweening the Key Positions
      2. The Lift Exercise in 3D
      3. The Lift Exercise in Maya
        1. Setting the Keys in Maya
        2. Setting the Breakdowns in Maya
      4. The Lift Exercise in 3D Studio Max
        1. Setting the Key Positions in 3D Studio Max
        2. Setting the Breakdowns in 3D Studio Max
  12. Chapter 4 Timing, Anticipation, Overshoot, Follow-Through and Overlapping Action with an Animated Character
    1. Timing
    2. Anticipation
      1. How Much Anticipation?
      2. Force
      3. Acting and Anticipation
      4. Double Takes
      5. Speed and Surprise
      6. Anticipation During a Movement
      7. Varying the Amount of Anticipation
      8. Other Ways of Using Anticipation
    3. Follow-Through
      1. Follow-Through of Inanimate Objects
      2. Follow-Through of Animate (Living) Objects
    4. Overlapping Action, or Overshoot
    5. Vibration
    6. Exercises
      1. The Stick and String Exercise in 2D
      2. The Stick and String Exercise in 3D
      3. The Stick and String Exercise in Maya
        1. Building the Stick and String in Maya
        2. Animating the Stick and String in Maya
      4. The Stick and String Exercise in 3D Studio Max
        1. Building the Stick and String in 3D Studio Max
        2. Animating the Stick and String in 3D Studio Max
      5. The Dive Exercise in 2D
      6. The Dive Exercise in 3D
      7. The Dive Exercise in Maya
        1. Building the Background in Maya
        2. Animating the Dive in Maya
      8. The Dive Exercise in 3D Studio Max
        1. Building the Background in 3D Studio Max
        2. Animating the Dive in 3D Studio Max
  13. Chapter 5 Animation of Human Walks and Runs
    1. Walk Cycles
    2. Pace
    3. Walking Mechanics
      1. The Stride Positions
      2. The Crossover Positions
      3. Shoulder Movement
      4. Arm Movement
      5. Up-and-Down Movement of the Body
    4. Walk Cycles Displaying Different Moods
    5. External Influences
    6. Two People Walking Together
    7. Running
    8. Exercises
      1. The Walk or Run Cycle Exercise in 2D
      2. The Walk or Run Cycle Exercise in 3D
      3. Changing the Pace and Mood in a Walk Exercise in 2D
      4. Changing the Pace and Mood in a Walk Exercise in 3D
  14. Chapter 6 Animation of Animal Walks and Runs
    1. The Four Types of Animal Locomotion
    2. Construction of an Animal
      1. Pantomime Horse Construction
      2. Cartoon Four-Legged Construction
      3. Correct Four-Legged Construction
    3. Animal Leg and Foot Construction
      1. Animals with Paws
      2. A Dog Walk
      3. A Cat Walk
      4. Animals with Cloven Feet
      5. Animals with Hooves
      6. Flat Feet
    4. Animal Runs
      1. Trotting
      2. Cantering
      3. Galloping
      4. Transverse or Rotary Gallops and Canters
    5. Exercises
      1. The Dog Walk Cycle in 2D
        1. The Dog Walk Cycle in 3D
        2. The 3D Dog Walk or Run Cycle
  15. Chapter 7 Animation of Acting – Body Language
    1. Acting
      1. Method Acting
      2. Theatrical Acting
    2. Consequence
    3. Emotions
    4. Introduction to Laban Movement Theory
      1. Kinesphere
      2. Space, Time, Weight and Flow Continuums
      3. Eight Basic Efforts
        1. Pressing
        2. Flicking
        3. Wringing
        4. Dabbing
        5. Slashing
        6. Gliding
        7. Thrusting
        8. Floating
    5. General Body Language
    6. Basic Body Postures
      1. Open Body Postures
      2. Closed Body Postures
      3. Forwards Body Postures
      4. Backwards Body Postures
    7. Basic Modes
      1. Responsive
      2. Reflective
      3. Fugitive
      4. Combative
    8. Palm, Hand, Arm and Leg Gestures
      1. Palm Gestures
      2. Hand Gestures
      3. Arm Crossing
      4. Leg Crossing
    9. Using Rhythm in Animation
    10. Acting Out a Scene in Animation
    11. Using Video Footage to Help Your Animation
    12. Using Rotoscoping and Motion Capture in Animation
      1. Rotoscoping
      2. Motion Capture (Mocap)
        1. Optical Systems
        2. Non-Optical Systems
        3. How to Import Motion Capture into Maya
        4. How to Import Motion Capture into 3D Studio Max
    13. The Seven Questions of Character
    14. The Different Types of Animation Acting
      1. Animated Radio
      2. Pose-to-Pose Animation Acting
      3. Full Animation Acting
      4. Mime
    15. Analysis of a Character
    16. Exercises
      1. Animating Acting in 2D
      2. Animating Acting in 3D
      3. Building a More Sophisticated Character
  16. Chapter 8 Animation of Acting – Facial Expressions
    1. Emotions
    2. The Eyes
    3. Facial Expressions
      1. Happiness
        1. Smiles
      2. Sadness
      3. Surprise
      4. Fear
      5. Anger
      6. Disgust and Contempt
      7. Interest
      8. Pain and Distress
      9. Combination of Facial Expressions
    4. Head Angle
    5. Hand-to-Face Gestures
      1. Evaluation
      2. Deceit
      3. Stress
    6. Extreme Close-Ups
    7. How to Animate a Piece of Facial Acting
    8. Exercises
      1. The Facial Expression Exercise in 2D
      2. The Facial Expression Exercise in 3D
      3. Adding a Simple Mouth and Eyebrows to Your Basic 3D Character
        1. The Eyebrows
      4. Making Mouths
        1. Creating Mouths with Blend Shapes in Maya
        2. Creating Mouths with the Morpher in 3D Studio Max
      5. Creating Facial Expressions with Your More Sophisticated Character
        1. Animating Mouths with Blend Shapes in Maya
        2. Animating Mouths with the Morpher in 3D Studio Max
  17. Chapter 9 Animation of Acting – Two or More Characters
    1. Two Characters on Screen Together
    2. Personal Space
    3. Mirroring
    4. How Characters Look at Each Other
    5. Two Characters Acting with Each Other While Talking
    6. Two Characters: Alternating from One Shot to Another
    7. A Large Group of Characters on Screen at the Same Time
    8. Exercises
      1. The Double Acting Exercise in 2D
        1. Animating It
      2. The Double Acting Exercise in 3D
        1. Loading Two Identical Characters into the Same Scene in Maya
        2. Loading Two Identical Characters into the Same Scene in 3D Studio Max
        3. Animating It
  18. Chapter 10 Lip-Sync
    1. Recording and Breaking Down a Dialog Track
    2. How We Speak
    3. Acting with Dialog
      1. Quick from Pose-to-Pose
      2. Slow from Pose-to-Pose
      3. Eractically From Pose-to-Pose
    4. Mouth Shapes
      1. Mouth-Shut Consonants
        1. ‘M’
        2. ‘B’
        3. ‘P’
        4. ‘F’
        5. ‘V’
      2. Vowels
        1. ‘Ooo’
        2. ‘O’
        3. ‘AR’
        4. ‘A’
        5. ‘EH’
        6. ‘EEE’
      3. The Quieter Vowels and Consonants
      4. Teeth
    5. Animating the Mouth Shapes Early
    6. Exercises
      1. The Lip-Sync Exercise in 2D
      2. The Lip-Sync Exercise in 3D
        1. Importing Sound into Maya
        2. Importing Sound into 3D Studio Max
        3. Animating the Mouth
        4. Mouth-Shut Consonants
        5. The Vowels
        6. The Quieter Vowels and Consonants
        7. Animating the Mouth
  19. Animation Equipment Suppliers
  20. Index

Product information

  • Title: Character Animation Fundamentals
  • Author(s): Steve Roberts
  • Release date: September 2012
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136129490