The Beginner's Guide to Animation (Unity 5 to 2020+)

Unlock the power of character animation in Unity with this comprehensive guide to Mecanim! Perfect for both animators and Unity developers, this course provides a complete introduction to bringing your game characters to life. You'll master the Mecanim system without needing external modeling or animation skills – all models and animations are provided.

Learn everything you need to know about animation in Unity, from fundamental concepts like physics and keyframing to advanced techniques like curves, forward and inverse kinematics, and animation state machines. We'll also explore how to integrate with third-party assets.

This course introduces essential C# coding for dynamic animations and runtime character behavior, allowing you to create engaging and responsive character animations. Benefit from Penny's internationally acclaimed teaching style and over 25 years of experience in games and computer graphics.

Key Skills You'll Master:

• Mecanim Timeline: Understand and utilize the core of Unity's animation system.
• Curve and Keyframe Editors: Precisely control animation timing and movement.
• Animation Events: Trigger code to control character actions.
• Root Motion: Implement realistic character movement.
• Imported Animations: Work with animations from third-party packages.
• Animation State Machines: Design complex and efficient animation workflows.
• Blending Animations: Create smooth transitions and unique movement sets.
• Adjusting Curves: Fine-tune animation speed and timing for optimal results.
• Motion Capture Integration: Learn to place and utilize motion capture data with free tools.

Course Content & Overview:

This course starts with the fundamentals of the Unity interface and delves deep into all Mecanim components, including the Animation, Animator, DopeSheet, and Curve windows. The curriculum emphasizes hands-on workshops, guiding you through a range of animation techniques – from simple animations like a bouncing ball to complex animations for characters performing advanced actions like wall climbing.

Animated models and starter projects are included, making it accessible even if you're not experienced in creating your own assets.

By the end of this course, you'll have a thorough understanding of the Mecanim system and the ability to develop C# code to control all aspects of 3D game animation. This course has been updated to cover Unity versions 5 to 2020 and includes 5 hours of additional content with new challenges and projects.