Body Mechanics and Shot Building Fundamentals, Part 2

Taught by Toby Winder

Course Number:
ANI202
Software Version:
2018 
Original Run Date:
April 2020 
Duration:
8 hours 36 minutes 
3D
new
This course, taught by Toby Winder, is the second part of an extensive two-part offering. It focuses on continuing the work on a short sequence that was started in ANI201. Participants will have the opportunity to finish the remaining shots in the sequence and spend time working on the cameras and editing of the sequence.



Ideally, you should watch ANI201 ( link here ) before watching this course.

During the classes, Toby shows the animation process in real-time so you can see first-hand what it entails instead of cutting out various parts of the process. This is very much on purpose for the course. Using the fxphd player, you may tailor the speed to your liking and focus on the areas which are most important to you.

This course is taught by Toby Winder, a Senior Animator currently based in Montreal. He has been in the animation and visual Effects industry since 2006 and has contributed to many projects such as Batman: The Dark Knight, Dr. Strange, and Alien Covenant. Toby has animation experience in high-end VFX, television, commercials, and games.


 
Body Mechanics and Shot Building Fundamentals, Part 2
Watch our overview of the course

Class Listing

Class 1: Introduction & Shot Two

We start working on the second shot of our sequence But first, we work on improving the blend from the new camera position.  We also do some tweaks to the run cycle to make it work a little better in the shot.

Class 2: Shot Two - Camera Animation

Building camera animation for the second shot in the sequence.

Class 3: Shot Three - Reference

We begin shot three by analyzing reference...looking at what works, what doesn’t, and how we can use this as a jumping-off point. Also, a discussion about blending between different references for different parts of the motion.

Class 4: Shot Three - Blocking Key Poses, Part 1

We begin to block the key poses of the shot with the help of our reference for posing and timing. We discuss some deficiencies in our reference and how to overcome these.

Class 5: Shot Three - Blocking Key Poses, Part 2

Refining the animation of the limbs and torso of the character.

Class 6: Shot 3 - Refining the Spine

A focus on cleaning and refining the mechanics of the spine and main centre of mass of the character.

Class 7: Shot 3 - Refining the arms, Part 1

Finishing our work on the spine and moving onto cleaning up the arms of the character, working to improve arcs and spacing.

Class 8: Shot 3 - Refining the arms, Part 2

Continuing work on the arms, aiming to refine the overall performance.

Class 9: Shot 3 (Camera refinement)

We adjust the camera to work better in our sequence. We also make the necessary tweaks to our animation to work better with the new camera animation.

Class 10: Sequence Work

A look at the whole sequence from a camera/editing point of view, and working to improve the motion of the cameras to better tell the story of our sequence.

Class 11: Final Cleanup

Fixing small issues in all of our shots and a general pass of clean-up and adjustment. We discuss what changes could be made to push the shots further as well as possible options for relocks/large changes to the idea that could be even cooler.