Animating Cartoon Characters in Maya

Dive into the world of character animation with this comprehensive, project-based training! Perfect for experienced animators, this course delivers over 6 hours of practical instruction focused on creating dynamic toon animation.

Master the core principles of storytelling through movement and learn a complete production workflow from start to finish. You'll gain hands-on experience with techniques like squash and stretch, essential for achieving that classic toon look.

Here's a breakdown of what you'll learn:

• Animation Principles: Deep dive into fundamental principles including staging, anticipation, follow-through, creating appeal, arcs, timing and spacing, and pose to pose and straight ahead animation.
• Character Development: Infuse your characters with personality through exaggeration and secondary action. Learn to effectively use ease in and ease out for smoother, more believable movement.
• Technical Skills: Gain proficiency in essential animation tools:
  • Animating Cameras: Learn to create compelling camera movements.
  • Motion Trails: Develop fluid and natural motion.
  • Working with Storyboards: Translate storyboards into animation.
  • Key-frame Marking Menu: Efficiently manage your animation timeline.
  • Adding In-betweens: Smooth out transitions and refine movement.
  • Breakdown Keys & Muting Keys: Control pacing and focus.
  • Interacting with Props: Bring your scenes to life with dynamic interactions.
  • Proxy Cage for Characters: Streamline your workflow for complex character animation.

This course is designed for artists comfortable with Maya 8 and up (with Maya 2008 required for project files). Develop your skills in stylized toon animation and elevate your animation portfolio!