Into Animation: Character Animation Fundamentals in Blender 3D

This class offers an introduction to animation, teaching the fundamental skills needed to get started in this rewarding and fun hobby or career. Animation is a complex combination of design, art, and filmmaking, making it both challenging and time-consuming to learn. However, this class aims to simplify the process by focusing on the essential principles of quality character animation.

By the end of the class, participants will be able to apply the 12 Principles of Animation to their own character animation. The class includes exercises that allow students to practice and apply these principles, starting with the classic bouncing ball exercise and then progressing to a simple looping bouncy bird animation. Once these exercises are completed, students will have the knowledge and skills to create their very first animation, demonstrating how to make a character jump.

It is important to note that this class requires the use of Blender, a 3D software program that can be downloaded for free from blender.org. If participants are unfamiliar with Blender, the instructor highly recommends starting with the Blender Essentials class to learn how to use the software effectively.

While this class focuses on bringing characters alive through animation, it does not cover character modeling or rigging, as these are more complex topics that require separate in-depth classes. Instead, participants will utilize a prebuilt character rig provided on the class Projects & Resources page.

Overall, this class serves as a solid foundation for anyone interested in animation, providing the necessary knowledge and skills to create various animations using Blender. Upon completion of this class, students are encouraged to explore other animation classes available on Skillshare.