Animation Mechanics Demo Reel

For our Animation Masters Students at BNU, taught in partnership with Animation Apprentice, the next module - COM7022 - Animation Mechanics - started on 8 January 2024.  In Animation Mechanics, BNU students create one or more physical actions and combine them into a single shot to create a performance.  Exclusively for our students, we have hundreds of video tutorials to support the study of the art and craft of animation.  Above is a compilation of some of the best animation mechanics work done by our post-graduate animators at BNU. 

Infinity Curves with Offset in Maya

In this very short tutorial (just two minutes long) we show how to use "Infinity Curves with Offset" in Maya.  Let's say you animate a character taking two steps across the screen, and you want to replicate the action. By using Infinity Curves with Offset, you can replicate the motion automatically, and have the character take as many steps as you like.  Once you're done, you can bake your curves, and then edit the shot.  

How to Animate a Neon Sign in Maya

In this free tutorial we show how to animate a neon sign in Maya. The idea is to create a personal logo for your demo reel, something that has a little more style and invention than a simple title card.  Start by creating a logo for your animation reel, then import the logo into Maya, and use the technique described above to turn your logo into neon letters. From there, you can easily animate the letters, render some images, and create a movie file for your demo reel. 

Animate a "Sneaky Walk" With "Monty"

Sneaky Monty

In the video tutorial below we show how to animate a sneaky walk with "Monty" the green pea.

To complete the tutorial, first start with a Basic Walk with "Monty" - which you can learn how to do here.

Then, as with our other character walks tutorials, adapt the basic walk to give it character and personality - in this case a "sneak".