Why Your Demo Reel Needs Quadruped Gaits

Horse gallop by Mark Lawson-Hall

Most student demo reels focus on human characters, but if you are looking to get hired onto animal and creature projects, you will need to show an understanding of quadruped locomotion - one of the core skills we teach at Animation Apprentice. 

A solid walk, trot, and run cycle for a four-legged character shows range, versatility, and an understanding of animal and creature mechanics.  Layer in some acting and personality, and you have a great demo reel. 

COM7021 Locomotion Starts 30 Sept 2024

COM7021 - Animation Locomotion - is the first module that our new animation students will encounter at BNU on the MA 3D Animation for Professionals.

COM7021 starts on Monday 30 September 2024, and is taught primarily in Autodesk Maya. The module deals with animation basics, such as walks, runs and jumps.

It starts with simple actions such as a bouncing ball, and builds up to more complex physical actions. There is one assignment due: COM7021 PR1. COM7021 PR1 is due on Friday 13th December 2024 at 2pm. 

Luxo Jr. Lamp Hop by Michael Acosta

Our MA animation students are currently tackling their first Module - DA701 Locomotion and Mechanics. Part of the module is learning to animate inanimate objects - in this case the Luxo Lamp - made famous by one of Pixar's first animated shorts, Luxo Jr.  Above is a lovely example of lamp animation by MA student Michael Acosta, playfully referencing the original Pixar animation with his own twist.

DA701 Locomotion & Mechanics Starts 27 Sept

Zombie walk by Michael Davies

DA701 Animation Mechanics is the first module that our new MA animation students (those starting with us in September) will encounter at Bucks.

DA701 starts on 27 September 2021, and is taught primarily in Autodesk Maya. The module deals with animation basics, such as locomotion and mechanics.

It starts with simple actions such as a bouncing ball, and builds up to more complex physical actions, such as jumps and throws. There are two assignments due: DA701 PR1, and DA701 CW1. DA701 PR1 is due on Friday 10th December at 2pm.

How to Animate Quadruped Transitions

Free tiger rig from Truong

How do you animate quadruped transitions? That is to say, how do you animate the change from a walk to a trot to a run, and then back again?

Quadruped transitions are a tricky thing to get right, which is why all our MA students have access to video tutorials at Animation Apprentice showing step by step how to do it. 

Our MA animation students are currently tackling their third module, DA703 Animals and Creatures, mastering the art of quadruped locomotion and performance.

DA701 Locomotion & Mechanics Starts 28 Sept

Zombie Walk by Amedeo Beretta

DA701 Animation Mechanics is the first module that our new MA animation students (those starting with us in September) will encounter at Bucks.

DA701 is taught primarily in Autodesk Maya, and deals with animation basics, such locomotion and mechanics.

It starts with simple actions such as a bouncing ball, and builds up to more complex physical actions, such as jumps and throws. There are two assignments due: DA701 PR1, and DA701 CW1. DA701 PR1 is due on Friday 11th December at 11pm - don't be late!

Best Horse Rigs for Maya Animators

Right now we're encouraging all our animation students at Bucks to make sure they have plenty of horse animation on their demo reels, as one of our favourite London studios crews up for a big horse-related project.

The Animation Apprentice official site (to which all our students have access) has a series of horse video tutorials, teaching students how to animate a walk, a trot and a run.

Walks, Character Walks, and the ZigZag Walk

ZigZag walk from The Thief & The Cobbler

This month our students studying on our online animation masters' degree are tackling the first animation module DA701 - locomotion and mechanics, in which they must master motion cycles such as walks and runs.

Learning to animate a successful walk cycle is one of the fundamental skills any animator must master, in much the same way that a musician must learn to play scales on a piano. 

One of the most challenging jobs I had to do on The Thief and The Cobbler was to animate the Zig Zag walk, a complex piece of animation that introduced the villainous grand vizier.

DA701 - Animation Mechanics Starts on 30 Sept

DA701 PR1 "School Run" by Lee Caller

DA701 Animation Mechanics is the first module that our MA students will encounter at Bucks.

DA701 is taught primarily in Autodesk Maya, and deals with animation basics, such locomotion and mechanics.

It starts with simple actions such as a bouncing ball, and builds up to simple physical actions, such as jumps and throws.

Masters Students Tackle Character Walks

"Monty" character walks by MA graduate Neil Whitman

Our masters 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. 

Animation Masterclass in Turin on 24th October

This year I'm returning to the VIEW conference in Italy to run an animation masterclass.

VIEW is the 20th International VFX & Computer Graphics Conference that takes place every year in the beautiful Italian town of Torino (Turin).

Character Walks Webinar Escape Studios 5 June

"Monty" character walks

I'll be hosting a free webinar on character walks at Escape Studios at 6pm on Tuesday June 5th.

The event is completely free, and there will be plenty of time to take questions during the demonstration.

Character walks are one of the most important parts of the animator's toolkit, and I will be showing how you can take a basic walk cycle and, with just a few tweaks, completely change the character's mood and personality.

Sydney Padua at the Natural History Museum

Animating Nature by Sydney Padua

Bucks Animation lecturer Sydney Padua is giving a talk today at the Natural History Museum in London.  Sydney Padua is an accomplished animator, graphic novelist (The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage) and, of course, an animation teacher.

Sydney’s work has covered many formats including feature films and graphic novels. Join her today in London at the Natural History Museum from 6.30 to 9.30 pm for an interactive demonstration of the art of animation in the Images of Nature gallery. You can sign up for this free event here.

100 Ways to Walk by Kevin Parry

Check out the excellent "100 Ways to Walk" by Kevin Parry, a collection of walk cycles intended as inspiration for animators. The key point of the video is that the way we walk says a lot about who we are, how we are feeling, how our day has been. A great walk cycle is the entry point for character animation - can the animator describe a character simply by the way he or she moves? It's one of the first things we teach at Bucks, but a good walk cycle can remain elusive even for an experienced animator. Acting one out yourself, and filming yourself doing it, is a great way to get started.

How Do You Stop The Feet Sliding When You Animate a Walk Cycle?

How do you stop the feet sliding when you animate a walk cycle? It's a question often asked by animation students and, since the answer is a little technical, here is a free video which explains how to tackle the problem. It runs about 10 minutes, and should help explain how to get it right first time, and stop those feet from slipping around.

Animation Masterclass at Bucks on Friday 27th March

This coming Friday 27 March we welcome veteran VFX animator Marc Stevenson who will be coming to Bucks to teach a masterclass in animal locomotion. Marc's credits include Moon, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, X-Men Last Stand, and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Marc is an expert animator with a wealth of professional experience who will be teaching our students some special techniques for animal locomotion, strategies that are directly relevant to finding work in the growing VFX industry in Soho.

Lyuboslav Angelov Learns to Animate Like a Jedi

How would a Jedi walk? Animating a person walking may seem like a simple exercise, but it's a tricky thing to get right. How people move has a lot to say about their character and personality, and it's no surprise that one of the first things an animator at a studio like Disney or DreamWorks will do with a new character rig - is to create a walk cycle. How someone walks is a window into who that character is, and how they might behave.