Best way to learn 3D animation?

DataDragon

Hi, I was wondering what the polycount community thought, regarding how to go about learning animation.

- What are the best tutorials/books you have encountered?
- What's the best advice for a beginner to hear?
- What are some good acting/body language resources that are good and relevant for an animator?


Thanks

Deathstick

get to know your curve editor, and make 500 bouncing balls

slipsius

Dont get ahead of yourself with body acting. As deathstick said, ball bounces. Learn the basics through simple animation tests. dont jump into a walk cycle or acting piece yet. do a bouncing ball. then a ball bouncing across the screen. one dropping and settling. pendelum swinging. that sort of stuff to learn the principles of animation

pior

The best animators I have ever had the chance to work with all created their animations as stepped keys first in order to get the timing and flow right, and then only later enabled interpolation and proceeded to curve editing.

That doesn't mean that this approach is the only way to do things, but it certainly has many merits.

kanga

The Animator's survival kit is a good reference. I think also studying the animationmentor student clips is a great inspiration as well.

linwail

Definitely get the Animator's survival kit. Watch a lot of beginner videos on youtube as well. I personally found it very difficult to learn on my own so I am taking classes for it now.

clinington

kanga wrote: »

The Animator's survival kit is a good reference

Probably the best animation book around. Buy it and keep it on your desk, it's a life saver!

Lamoot

I got my breakthrough after getting the Blender Animation Fundamentals DVD. Obviously it's Blender specific, but it gave me solid animation foundations on which to build on. It's available from:
https://cgcookie.com/course/blender-animation-fundamentals/

The rest is then animating, practice, animating, checking all sorts of tutorials and practice some more, to go from theory to feeling an animation.