How-To Guide: 3D Character Animation Essentials For Beginners

With the developing technologies in the animation industry, there is nothing that can stop the growth of 3D Animation. Disney has already announced the release of 8 new movies for the year 2019, each which involves different types and degrees of 3D animation. 3D animation is a field of professional art that brings life to drawings.

Are you an animation enthusiast? Do you dream of bringing remarkable characters to life? If animated movies interest you, and you feel you have the creativity and skill to create one, 3D Character animation is the right field for you. Here are a few pro tips for a newbie into animation that can bring out the best animator in you!

A. Start from the basics

Just as we move from ABCs to words to sentences, go step by step even for animation. Familiarize yourself with every bit and pieces of the basics. Do a good amount of research and reading and look at the works of famous Animators. This way, you can be aware of where you could go wrong or do blunders, and how to correct them.

Visit a library and search for good books in animation. YouTube has a large selection of videos that can help you through your learning process. Animation for Beginners by Morr Meroz is the best read for familiarizing and getting the basics well rooted. The Illusion of Life written by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of the 12 famous Animators of Disney, is another valuable read. The book talks about the evolution of Animation over time.

B. Get working

You won’t learn animation by just watching videos or by reading about it. Sit with a system and try out everything that you see. This manner you will learn new tools faster, and eventually, discover your own techniques and tricks. The more you practice, the more you get familiar with the software. It is also a good practice to take notes of each step and procedures involved to get a particular output, so you can always look back and refer.

C. Step- by- step

Once you start working on a project, go one step at a time. You cannot achieve perfect animations in the first try, and don’t let this demotivate you. The best animations known to date are work that took years to make and made by professionals who have been doing it for years.

Take it slow on your project. Start off by making conceptual sketches of your idea. Sketching is the best and probably the best way to convey your ideas and help you make your ideas better. If you aren’t good at sketching, it’s perfectly okay! The only motive behind sketching is to bring out your idea. Directly starting your project on software will limit your design to the tools you are familiar with in the software. Sketching will let you explore the tools in the software more.

D. Document and Re-cycle

Always make it a habit to keep a record of all your works. Maintain a sketchbook so that none of your drawings are lost. No idea is a bad or wasted idea. It is just that you may not particularly need it now. It could probably be the perfect solution for a problem you get stuck with later on. Organize and save all your trial animations. As you learn and progress, you can look back at your older work and rank your progress. This will definitely tell you where to work harder and which areas to develop.

About The Author

Kavya gajjar is a Marketing Manager at AIS Technolabs which is Web design and Development Company, helping global businesses to grow by 3D Character Animation Services  . I would love to share thoughts on Social Media Marketing Services and Game Design Development etc.

How-To Guide: 3D Character Animation Essentials For Beginners