Animation

Stop motion with live actors is often referred to as pixilation.

In motion capture sessions, movements of one or more actors are sampled many times per second. This animation data is mapped to a 3D model so that the model performs the same actions as the actor.

Camera movements can also be motion captured so that a virtual camera in the scene will pan, tilt or dolly around the stage driven by a camera operator while the actor is performing. At the same time, the motion capture system can capture the camera and props as well as the actor's performance. This allows the computer-generated characters, images and sets to have the same perspective as the video images from the camera.

Animation Tutorials

Advanced Animation

Animation Tools

Examples

Rainforest Educational Documentary

Kids' Animation | Cartoons

Pre-recorded animation snippets or backgrounds

Moving backgrounds, where appropriate, add to the animation. Use care not to overwhelm the main actor. Can animate static backgrounds for more control.

Turn Videos into animation

The Pirates, Band of Misfits

Adobe Animate Tutorial

Adobe Illustrator

Animate Minions in Procreate

Animation Program Curriculum

• Scriptwriting for Animation: Writing scripts for animated content.
• Character Development: Techniques for creating and developing characters.
• Visual Storytelling: Conveying stories through visual elements.
• Storyboard Creation: Planning and visualizing scenes and sequences.
• Animatics: Creating animated storyboards to pre-visualize sequences.

• Fundamentals of Character Design: Basics of creating appealing characters.
• Character Anatomy: Understanding human and creature anatomy.
• Character Development: Creating backstories and personalities.
• Costume and Props: Designing costumes and props for characters.
• Character Expressions: Techniques for animating facial expressions and emotions.

• Introduction to Animation Software: Overview of industry-standard tools.
• Adobe Animate: Using Adobe Animate for 2D animation.
• Autodesk Maya: Basics of 3D animation in Maya.
• Blender: Using Blender for 3D modeling and animation.
• Toon Boom Harmony: Professional 2D animation with Toon Boom.

• Drawing for Animation: Basics of drawing for motion and storytelling.
• Traditional Animation: Techniques for hand-drawn animation.
• Digital 2D Animation: Using software to create 2D animations.
• Character Rigging: Techniques for preparing 2D characters for animation.
• 2D Effects Animation: Creating special effects like smoke, fire, and water.

• 3D Modeling: Creating 3D models of characters and environments.
• Texturing and Shading: Techniques for applying textures and colors to models.
• 3D Rigging: Preparing 3D models for animation.
• 3D Animation: Bringing 3D models to life with motion.
• Lighting and Rendering: Techniques for realistic lighting and rendering.

• Introduction to Rigging: Basics of creating skeletons for animation.
• 2D Character Rigging: Techniques for rigging 2D characters.
• 3D Character Rigging: Rigging 3D characters for animation.
• Facial Rigging: Creating rigs for facial animation.
• Advanced Rigging Techniques: Complex rigs for dynamic animation.

• Introduction to Motion Graphics: Basics of motion design and key techniques.
• Typography in Motion: Creating animated text and titles.
• Visual Effects: Integrating VFX into motion graphics.
• Compositing: Combining multiple elements into a cohesive scene.
• Motion Graphics for Web: Creating animations for online use.

AI-assisted Animation

Keyframes are critical points in the movement, such as the beginning, peak, or end of a particular action (e.g., the extreme points of a jump, like takeoff, midair, and landing). Tweening interpolates the motion between Key Poses

Physics-based animation uses real-world physical rules (e.g., gravity, friction, collision detection) to simulate natural movement. Examples include cloth simulation, ragdoll physics, or hair and fur animation. Modern Use: Common in video games, movie VFX, and simulations using engines like Havok or PhysX.

Motion Capture

3d capture for game environments - Volumetric video captures real-world 3D spaces or subjects and allows for interactive playback in 3D environments. It’s often used in VR but is increasingly being applied to films and interactive media.

Motion Capture with AI Integration. Beyond traditional motion capture, AI-assisted motion capture can now enhance and predict movements, interpolate between captured frames, and even generate new animations based on existing data.

1. Unreal Engine with Live Link - Unreal Engine provides real-time motion capture and control for 3D avatars via Live Link, supporting iPhone face tracking and mocap systems like OptiTrack and Xsens.

2. Unity supports real-time avatar mapping via ARKit, ARCore, and motion capture systems like OptiTrack and Xsens, perfect for VR/AR and gaming environments.

3. DeepMotion - https://www.deepmotion.com/companion-tools/ready-player-me offers AI-powered body tracking using video footage for simple avatar control without mocap suits. Ideal for basic virtual avatars and content creation.

Lofi Girl

Multi-hour animated videos, with long looping time, and different loops with random events, original mellow music, which itself loops. Passive game. Sexy manga and anime.