Skip to navigation | Skip to content

Share your knowledge. Make a difference.

Learn to be a Character Animator

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 7 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Ranked #1979 in Arts , #42928 overall

Rated G. (Control what you see)

So often when people find out that I am a character animator the first response is usually, "Wow! that is so cool!" The next response is, "How did you learn to do that? Where did you go to school? How can I learn to do that? or How can my son (or daughter) learn to do what you do?"

The fact of the matter is that there is no clear path. There are, however, very specific resources and materials that are better at accelerating the process for someone who is determined to learn.

This lens is about helping those who love animation and wish to learn how, or for those who have a son or daughter, niece or nephew that need someone to point them in a direction to get them started. So whether you want to try to teach yourself at home, or go to school to learn...I believe these are resources to help you on your way.

Acquire the Tools 

Maya Animation Software
Maya is the industry standard for doing CG animation for film, TV, and most video games. It is extremely versatile and once the artist has a good working knowledge of how to use it, it is lots of fun to work in.

Learn the Principles 

These books should be the foundation and backbone of any character animator. These will provide a wealth of knowledge, not just in the beginning of your career, but even when you are a seasoned pro. Everything in animation begins and ends with...a bouncing ball.

The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation

Amazon Price: $47.04 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

The Animator's Survival Kit

Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation

Amazon Price: $37.80 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

Learn Perfomance 

The performance and acting are by far the most important things in animation. The animator is, essentially, the actor for the animated film. These are three of the best books you can read for learning how an actor/animator prepares and really becomes the character.

Acting: The First Six Lessons. (Theatre Arts Book)

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

Respect for Acting

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

Acting for Animators, Revised Edition: A Complete Guide to Performance Animation

Amazon Price: $19.75 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

Motion Reference and Study 

How can you make a convincing performace if you don't know the mechanics of how and why stuff moves?

The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal

Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

The Human Figure in Motion

Amazon Price: $26.40 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

Animals in Motion

Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 12/04/2008) Buy Now

Schools and Mentors 

Animation Mentor Online School
This is the first ever online animation school, which means you can take the courses from anywhere. The school has only been going a year but is already hugely succesful. It was started and is run by some former Pixar animators, and the teachers(mentors) are all professional animators working at top studios. They focus completely on performance and character animation...nothing else. If I was just getting into animation and wanting to go to school, this would be my choice. The program is not currently accredited in the tradional sense. However, you do get a certificate of completion and some excellent animation training.
Academy of Art
This a traditional art school located in San Francisco, California. It happens to be a hop, skip, and jump from Pixar. Because of this, many of the Pixar animators teach classes there at night. Recently, there has been a flood of animators being snatched up by the top studios when they graduate. This would be my second choice behind Animation Mentor. It would be my first choice, however, if I felt I wanted to have a BFA in Animation.
Ringling School of Art and Design
This is a traditional art school located in Sarasota, Florida. I know of many top flight animators and artists coming out of this school. You can obtain a BFA in computer animation. One great thing about Ringling is that they teach the students modeling, rigging, texturing, lighting, as well as animation. If I wanted the best well-rounded art education in CG, this would be the place.
Keith Lango Video Tutorial Service
Keith Lango has long been considered the mentor for the animation masses. His site has always had good free step by step tutorials about character animation. Now he has video training tutorials that can be downloaded for a monthly fee. Keith has always had a knack for taking hard to explain methods and principles of animation, and breaking them down into the simpliest terms. For anyone who wishes to learn animation at home without a big expense, I suggest investing in Keith's VTS tutorials.

Inspiring and Helpful Sites 

These are sites/blogs that keep aspiring animators up to date with techniques, tips, news and the general goings on in the animation industry. Not only are these sites informative, but great inspiration as well.
Animation Meat
Fantastic site to get classic animation notes written long ago by some Disney greats.
Spline Doctors Blog
Current Pixar animators unite to provide the masses with tips and inspiration.
Steward Street Blog
Great animation blog from Dreamworks animator James R. Hull.
10 Second Club
10 Second Club is a monthly character animation competition. The focus is on animation, not modeling, lighting or anything else. It's about practicing animating to a dialogue clip as you would if working for Pixar, Dreamworks or a similar animation studio.
CGchar Animation Forum
Great news and forum site, completely focused on character animation. Over 4,000 members and majority are professionals.
X
Bryan_Engram

About Bryan_Engram

The pursuit of entertaining and giving life to characters is one of my great passions. I am a character animator currently working on our second feature film project at Reel FX Creative Studios. I started as an unpaid intern and quickly worked up to character animator through hard work and love for the art...and still learning. 


www.bryanengram.com  

Bryan_Engram's Pages

See all of Bryan_Engram's pages

X

Happy holidays!

The red bow is special. Whenever you see a red bow on a Squidoo page, it means the page is raising money for charity.

Buy something from the page, and we'll automatically make a donation to charity, thanks to you.