Animating Walks for DA701 PR1

"Monty" by Bucks graduate Neil Whitman

Our MA animation students' first assessed animation exercise, the assignment brief for DA701 PR1 (the first practical assignment for the first animation module), is to create a scene based on character walks. 

Character walks are one of the most important parts of the animator's toolkit. Using the online materials at Animation Apprentice, students learn how to take a basic walk cycle and, with just a few tweaks, completely change the character's mood and personality.

The students' first assessed brief is to take these character walks and turn it into an entertaining scene. 

Young Cartoonists of the Year Competition

The Young Cartoonists of the Year Competition is back. 

Hosted by the Cartoon Museum, which has at last re-opened after its long Covid-19-slumber, the annual competition seeks to reward rising cartoon talent. 

Judges include leading cartoonists such as Martin Rowson (The Guardian), Christian Adams (Evening Standard), Banx (FT), Peter Brookes (The Times), Nick Newman (Private Eye), and Matt from the Daily Telegraph. 

If you can think of a more eminent list of cartoonists, I'd like to see it. 

There are two categories: Under 18 and Under 30; the deadline is 23 November 2020, and entries should be mailed in (old school Royal Mail) to the Cartoon Museum.  

Webinar with Emmy-Award-Winning Animator Rich Jeffery on 26 October

Rich Jeffery

We're recommending our students sign up for this free animation webinar on Monday 26 October at 10am with Emmy-award-winning animator Rich Jeffery. 

Rich will be talking about his career in animation, what it has been like working on the Australian TV series "Bluey" , which won an International Emmy at the 8th International Emmy Kids Awards this year. 

Rich was animation director on "Bluey" Series One, and director on the Series Two. Rich will be sharing his insights into the animation industry, how we got where he is today, and what students and graduates need to do to succeed.

Why Animators Should Walk on a Treadmill

Our new MA Animation students are learning the art and craft of human locomotion in their first module, DA701, which teaches basic mechanics, including walks, runs and jumps. The module builds up to a character walk performance, which is due in mid-December.  Animating walk cycles can be tricky; it can be especially troublesome to get the character's feet moving backwards at a steady speed, without bumps or wobbles. This is especially true for animators animating a walk cycle "on the spot", where the body stays in place but the feet move backwards underneath the body. To help solve the problem, it makes a lot of sense to import a treadmill into the shot. The treadmill helps to clarify the mechanics of shot, and allows the animator to visualise what is going on when the feet travel backwards.