2D Character Animation
Unlock the magic of frame-by-frame animation. Transform your sketches into captivating stories with our intensive course. Master timing, spacing, and character movement to create polished, professional animations for games, film, and web.
Rig and animate your first 2D character in our intensive 4-week course
Designed for aspiring 2D animators, this comprehensive four-week course on Seed LMS guides you step-by-step through Adobe After Effects, Duik Ángela, and modern AI workflows. You will develop the essential skills of artwork preparation, layer hierarchy, inverse kinematics (IK), facial rigging, and procedural walk cycles while building a professional 2D animation pipeline. Beyond the core four weeks, you’ll receive a full month of free, one-on-one mentorship to polish your final animations, troubleshoot your expressions in real-time, and confidently build your 2D portfolio. Choose from our curated pool of 10 exciting rigging briefs, refine your skills, and graduate with a portfolio-ready character animation.
Course Outline
Week 1: The Foundation – Art Prep & Hierarchy
Topic A: Preparing Artwork for Rigging
- Layer Separation: How to cut up a character in Illustrator (Head, Torso, Upper Arm, Lower Arm, Hand).
- Naming Conventions: Why “L_Arm_Lower” is better than “Layer 1”.
- Importing: Importing as “Composition – Retain Layer Sizes”.
Topic B: The Anchor Point & Parenting
- Joint Placement: Using the Pan Behind Tool (Y) to place anchor points exactly where joints rotate (Elbows, Knees, Neck).
- Parenting Chains: The logic of hierarchy (Hand is a child of Lower Arm, Lower Arm is a child of Upper Arm).
- FK (Forward Kinematics) Basics: Rotating the shoulder to move the whole arm.
Topic C: Introduction to Duik Ángela
- Installation: Installing the script into the AE ScriptsUI folder.
- Interface Tour: Understanding the “Rigging” vs. “Animation” panels.
- Structures: creating Duik’s built-in “Bones” to visual the skeleton.
Week 2: The Auto-Rig & Inverse Kinematics (IK)
Topic A: Creating Structures (Bones)
- Hominoid Structures: Adding a pre-made human skeleton structure in Duik.
- Aligning Bones: Snapping the Duik bones to your artwork layers.
- Parenting to Bones: Linking the artwork to the skeleton.
Topic B: Auto-Rig & IK
- The Auto-Rig Button: Generating controllers automatically.
- IK vs. FK: Understanding the difference.
- FK (Forward Kinematics): Rotate shoulder -> Rotate Elbow (Good for waving).
- IK (Inverse Kinematics): Move Hand -> Arm follows (Good for push-ups/walking).
- Controllers: Customising the size, colour, and icon of the controllers.
Topic C: Cleaning the Rig
- Zeroing: Ensuring all controllers start at Position 0,0.
- Locking & Hiding: Hiding the bones and artwork layers so the animator only touches the controllers.
Week 3: Advanced Rigging (Face & Body)
Topic A: The Spine & Neck
- Puppet Pins: Using the Puppet Position Pin tool for organic bending (e.g., a rubbery torso).
- Duik Bones on Pins: Converting Puppet Pins into Duik Bones to control them.
Topic B: Foot Roll & Mechanics
- The Foot Roll: Setting up a rig that allows the heel to lift while the toe stays planted.
- Plantigrade vs. Digitigrade: Rigging a human foot vs. a dog leg.
Topic C: Facial Rigging (Connectors)
- The Connector: Creating a slider to control multiple properties.
- Head Turn: Setting up a “Fake 3D” head turn using a slider.
- Blink Rig: Using a slider to open/close eyelids.
Week 4: AI Workflow, Animation & Polish
Topic A: Innovative AI Workflow (Using Gemini)
- Expression Troubleshooting: Pasting broken Duik expressions into Gemini to fix errors.
- Prompt Example: “My After Effects expression is returning ‘Error at line 1’. Here is the code. Fix it so the layer loops.”
- Character Backstory: Using Gemini to generate a personality profile to inform the acting.
- Prompt Example: “Write a 3-sentence backstory for a nervous robot character. How does he walk?”
- Walk Cycle Reference: Using Gemini to describe the key frames of a specific walk type (e.g., “Sneak”).
Topic B: The Walk Cycle
- Contact, Recoil, Passing, High Point: The 4 key poses of a walk.
- Looping: Creating a seamless walk cycle using the Duik “Walk Cycle” procedural tool (and how to adjust it manually).
Topic C: Final Polish & Export
- Anticipation & Follow Through: Adding weight to the movement.
- Exporting: Rendering the animation with an Alpha Channel (ProRes 4444) or H.264.
What’s Inside?
1-on-1 Mentorship
One full month of dedicated expert guidance tailored to your specific goals.
Seed LMS Access
Lifetime access to the Student Portal, hosting all your modules and resources.
Weekly Interactive Quizzes
Test your skills and track progress with gamified assignments and feedback.
Official Certification
Validate your expertise with a digital certificate recognized by industry leaders.
What You Will Learn
- Prepare and import layered character artwork with precise anchor points and hierarchies
- Generate advanced skeletal structures and Auto-Rigs using the Duik Ángela script
- Apply Inverse Kinematics (IK) to create realistic joint articulation for limbs
- Construct complex facial rigs using custom sliders and connector setups
- Rig flexible spines and execute professional foot roll mechanics
- Animate seamless walk cycles focusing on contact, recoil, passing, and high point poses
- Utilise AI tools to troubleshoot After Effects expressions and develop character backstories
