Student’s Animation Portfolio
I had a student, Tom, who had recently completed his animation portfolio. I am very proud of him and I would like to acknowledge his effort in this post. Over the past 2 years, with consistent 2 hours weekly of contribution to his animation skill, Tom started out learning animation from zero to newbie animator. Tom began learning animation as a hobby as he likes watching anime. Even if it is a passion for him, it was not an easy journey because he tends to get confused very often. Every week, he stretches and challenges his capability of doing things that he is not comfortable or familiar with. He starts to realize that short cuts without much prior planning do not really produce good results. Thorough understanding of a subject is very crucial in learning. Without a clear fundamental understanding of the learning subject, we might not build a solid and stable foundation for our building. Over time, Tom got used to such stimulating exercises that makes him search and try different solutions to overcome his technical problems. When an approach does not work, doing it repeatedly will never produce a new result. Be open and learn to find new solutions to any problem. Eventually Tom becomes proficient in his animation skills and he is able to handle most of the basic animation exercises on his own. Most importantly, he did not give up whenever he meets a new challenges. It takes time for one to be good at anything and giving up is never a solution. Giving yourself time to reflect and time to learn is more important than...Animator’s Starter Kit – Ebook progress
It’s been sometime since I last posted and yes, I was busy. I’m busy writing out a e-book, titled Animators Starter Kit Learn to Animate with Observation. The name is not confirmed yet but feel free to give suggestion if you have a better name! I’ve given a lot of thoughts for this book as I really want to share my ten years experience in becoming an animator from scratch. This ebook is going out to help friends or animators wannabes who wish to learn and create their own animation from the fundamentals. This is the juice of the book but that is easily available on the net! Thus, I’ve also included topics that even animators themselves sometimes do not learn in school. Ten years back in school, I wish I had learn all these topics in school on top of learning digital animation in softwares. Topics such as observation skills, self assessment, motivation, etc. From what I can recall from memory, my teachers basically teach us how to draw in Photoshop or Flash without basic understanding of drawing. Worst, we were not taught how to generate concepts for our topics and our assignment grades us on our creativity. Is this still happening to you? I certainly hope not but for some unfortunate students who has this experience, I really hope to give you more insights and depth to your animation and the creativity within. For a start, here are the contents I’ve included in my e-book and it is still under construction. Much of the contents has been written and is still undergoing polishing. What...
Beginner’s Guide To 3D Animation
Beginner's Guide To 3D Animation This is a continuation from the previous blog on Bouncing Ball Animation with Maya : 4 Factors to Create Good Animation. In beginner's guide to 3d animation, I'll explain from how to setup your computer with recommendations and brief introduction to using 3d software. Before we start learning animation, we have some technical aspect to cover. 1. Operationg System (O/S) Mac operating system (O/S) is generally more stable and processes much faster in graphics compared to Windows O/S. If you are using Windows O/S, just note that the Command Key is mapped as Control Key in Windows. 2. Maya Software Maya Software is available in educational license at Autodesk Educational Institution website. If you are a student, they allow you to download an educational copy free for 3 years. All you need to do is register with them. Register for free and select the latest Maya software to install. If you are not a student, you might want to borrow your friend’s copy to try it out before you purchase it. Maya is available for both Mac and Windows O/S. 3. Bouncing Ball Rig This is the maya file that we will use for the bouncing ball tutorial. I’ve created this rig for your convenience and feel free to download it for your own use. 4. Mouse Selection I have to recommend buying a 3 button mouse with scrolling middle mouse button. 3D softwares needs 3 buttons for navigation so investing in a good mouse will gives you a piece of mind when animating. I’m currently using a wireless USB mouse by Logitech (Model M185) which I bought...
4 Factors to Create Realistic Animation
4 factors to create realistic animation There are many methods that will make your audience goes 'WOW!' when they see your animation. Making an object moves is an animation, but making an object comes alive is the toughest challenge and it can be very rewarding and satisfying. Here are 4 factors to create realistic animation, references, target, knowledge and pipeline. In this article, I'll use bouncing ball as an example. 1. We need to find references Art is subjective and we must find some references that will provide us a benchmark on a good looking animation. In this tutorial, we need to create a bouncing ball, so all we have to do is to go Youtube and type in the words ‘bouncing ball’ and we will many real life sample video references to compare with. 2. We need to set a target We need to know how we want our animation to look like even before we create it. This applies to all animation created in the industry. Big or small companies still practice creating storyboards and animatics to define their targeted animation outcome. In this tutorial, our target is to create a bouncing ball similar to a real basketball bouncing. 3. We need 2 good knowledge In animation context, we need to know principal of animation and software’s operation skill to achieve our target. This 2 knowledge are the critical factors to creating a good animation and they both need to work hand in hand. Principal of animation makes an animation realistic and believable because of the way human’s eyes perceive movement. Software skills are considered...Useful Resources
About Nash Lin
Nash is a self taught animator, a fanatic gamer and a digital media coach. He has created many types of 2D and 3D animation. You will get to learn effective animation skills and tips with Nash. Continue reading...
