3D Character Acting
Transform static models into compelling actors with our intensive 3D character acting course. Master emotional nuance, body language, and believable performance techniques to make your characters connect with audiences on a human level.
Bring your 3D Character to life in 8 weeks!
In this intermediate training series of 8 weeks from basics to portfolio you will develop the artistic and technical skills needed to be successful as a character animator. We will provide you with hands-on instruction and valuable industry insights. You’ll start the course by learning how to animate a bouncing ball and finish with full body acting.
You will learn the critical principles of animation like weight and overlapping action, convey emotions effectively like joy, devastation and concern, learn to express different weights, create a stylized walk cycle to showcase personality and emotion. When you graduate you will receive a Certificate of Completion and leave with an exciting 12 second demo reel!
This course is for intermediate users of Autodesk Maya who want to make a career in 3D character animation. Learn from our proven, trusted Character Acting curriculum – based on what is taught in big international studios. The training goes beyond the theory to help you truly understand the art and craft of animation. Work with industry quality characters and assets and create an amazing demo reel full and then prepare yourself to apply for a job as a character animator.
Course Outline
Week 1: The Physics of Motion (Balls & Pendulums)
Topic A: Maya for Animators
- Interface: Timeline, Graph Editor, and Viewport 2.0.
- Keyframing: Set Key (S), Auto-Key, and deleting keys.
- Tangents: Auto, Spline, Linear, and Stepped (Blocking) tangents.
Topic B: Timing & Spacing
- The Concept: Timing is when it happens; Spacing is how it moves.
- Slow In & Slow Out: Using the Graph Editor curves to create acceleration and deceleration.
Topic C: Squash & Stretch
- Volume Preservation: Ensuring the object doesn’t grow or shrink magically.
- Materiality: How a rubber ball deforms vs. a bowling ball (No deformation).
Week 2: Overlap & Follow Through (The Tail)
Topic A: Arcs
- Natural Motion: Why organic movement follows curved paths (Arcs).
- Tracking: Using Motion Trails in Maya to visualize and polish arcs.
Topic B: Follow Through & Overlapping Action
- The Drag Principle: The tip of the tail follows the base.
- The Wave Principle: Creating fluid motion in whips, tails, and hair.
Topic C: Secondary Action
- Definition: Gestures that support the main action (e.g., a character whistling while walking).
Week 3: Body Mechanics I (The Lower Body)
Topic A: The Walk Cycle
- The 4 Key Poses: Contact, Down (Recoil), Passing, and Up (High Point).
- Foot Roll: Animating the heel-strike to toe-off.
Topic B: Weight & Balance
- Center of Gravity (COG): Keeping the character balanced over their feet.
- Hips: The engine of the walk. Hip rotation and up/down movement.
Topic C: Solid Drawing (in 3D)
- Posing: Avoiding “twinning” (symmetry). creating strong silhouettes.
Week 4: Body Mechanics II (Physicality)
Topic A: Anticipation
- Telegraphing: Preparing the audience for an action (e.g., bending down before jumping).
- Exaggeration: Pushing the pose to make it readable, not just realistic.
Topic B: The Run Cycle
- Air Time: The difference between a walk (always one foot on the ground) and a run (both feet leave the ground).
- Lean & Force: Leaning into the direction of travel.
Topic C: Staging
- Camera Angles: presenting the action clearly.
- Silhouette: Ensuring the pose reads clearly even in black and white.
Week 5: Pantomime Acting (Story without Words)
Topic A: Acting for Animators
- Thought Process: Seeing the character “think” before they move.
- Eye Darts: How eyes move when processing information.
Topic B: Blocking vs. Splining
- Stepped Mode: Focusing on the “Golden Poses” first without letting the computer interpolate.
- Retiming: Adjusting the timing of the block out to create “Snap.”
Topic C: Appeal
- Charisma: Making the character interesting to look at (not necessarily “good looking”).
- Rhythm: Varying the timing (fast/slow) to avoid robotic motion.
Week 6: Introduction to Dialogue & Lip Sync
Topic A: Jaw Mechanics
- Open & Shut: The jaw drives the mouth. Animating the jaw bone first.
- Vowels vs. Consonants: O, A, E (Open) vs. M, B, P (Closed).
Topic B: Mouth Shapes (Visemes)
- Wide/Narrow: Simplifying shapes. You don’t need a shape for every letter.
- The “M” Pop: Compressing the lips before an M/B/P sound.
Topic C: Acting with Audio
- Listening: Animating the character listening, not just talking.
- Accents & Beats: Hitting the key gestures on the stressed words.
Week 7: Facial Performance & Micro-Expressions
Topic A: The Brows
- Emotion Center: Squeeze (Anger), Raise (Surprise), Inner Raise (Sadness).
- Asymmetry: One brow raised vs. both.
Topic B: The Eyes & Lids
- Blinks: Using blinks to reset the gaze or show a shift in thought.
- Lid Follow: The eyelids must follow the pupil as it looks up and down.
Topic C: Subtext
- Saying vs. Meaning: Animating what the character feels, not just what they say.
Week 8: AI Workflow, Polish & Final Sprint
Topic A: Innovative AI Workflow (Using Gemini)
- Subtext Analysis: pasting the dialogue script into Gemini to get a psychological breakdown of the character’s hidden motives.
- Prompt Example: “Analyse this line of dialogue: ‘I’m fine, really.’ The character is actually lying. Suggest 3 physical gestures that would reveal they are lying.”
- Backstory Generation: Creating a deep history for the character to inform why they move a certain way.
- Reference Ideation: Asking Gemini for video reference ideas.
- Prompt Example: “List 5 classic movie scenes where a character is trying to hide their laughter.”
Topic B: Final Polish
- Moving Hold: Adding life (breath, slight sway) to static poses so the character doesn’t die.
- Knee Pops & Jitters: Fixing technical errors in the Graph Editor.
