Animation II
Learn to animate 2D characters walking, running and delivering dialogue!
Teacher Artwork by Mike Wiesmeier
This class is currently unavailable. However, this class might be back in the future, if there is enough interest. You can express your interest and reserve your spot for a future term by clicking on this button.
Animation II
NOTE: This class will be conducted using the program Procreate Dreams, and is required to take this class.
In this follow-up course to Animation I, former Disney animator Mike Wiesmeier will show you the intricacies, mechanics and performance aspects involved in animating bipedal characters.
By the end of this course, you will gain a deeper understanding of the 12 principles of animation, increasing your gestural drawing skills and giving you the confidence and ability to animate lively characters with plenty of personality. You will also become proficient in the suite of tools found in Harmony Advanced, giving you the know-how to create your own complex, high-quality animations in the future.
- Course Type Inactive Classes
- Duration 10 weeks
-
Skill Level
Level 4 Level 4
This expert-level is for students who are ready to boost their portfolio and design process to a professional level.
This level is about discovering and diving deeper into new tools (such as 3D), further polishing and rendering work and exploring professional pipelines of the entertainment industry.
- Language English
Schedule
Note: This class will be offered online only
Term: TBD
Class Timings: TBD
Date of first class: TBD
Duration: 10 weeks
If you are unable to attend the class during the times listed above, you will still have access to video recordings of the class lectures and will still receive personalized feedback from your instructor.
It should be noted that students should set aside a minimum of 3 hours per week to complete assignments for this class. Students may even require a bit more time (4-5 hours per week) depending on how quickly they can work through assignments.
*Please note that this class' duration is subject to change (to either 1.5 hours or 2 hours) depending on the number of enrolled students.
These shorter class formats are conducted with more of a personalized mentorship style, allowing students to have more time devoted to their assignments' critiques and the ability to ask more questions in class, while still maintaining all of the theory and planned curriculum for the regular class length.
Prerequisites
Skill requirements
To enroll in this course you should have:
- A foundation in gesture drawing, including basic anatomy and proportions.
- Ideally completed our Figure Sketching for Animation and Animation I or have equivalent practice/experience.
If you are unsure of your skill level, please contact [email protected] for additional guidance.
Language and age requirements
You should have at least intermediate level English to take this class. Please be advised that there could be artistic nudity in our classes. Students should be 14 years old to enroll.
Required Materials
Material List:
- A desktop computer or laptop*
- A graphic tablet with pressure sensitivity (from brands such as Wacom, Huion, or Xencelabs), OR a tablet-laptop hybrid (also with Photoshop installed) with pressure sensitivity (such as the Wacom Cintiq Companion or Microsoft Surface Pro).
- Procreate Dreams (animation software)**
Important note:
Please ensure that all of your hardware and software are functioning properly before the start of the term; there will not be any time to resolve technical issues in class.
*Please consult our Tech Requirements below for more precise computer specifications.
**NOTE: This class will be conducted using the program Procreate Dreams, and is required to take this class.
Tech Requirements for Attending Syn Studio Online Classes
Minimum Requirements
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 600kbps bandwidth (up/down).
- A Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a single core processor (at least 1 GHZ processing speed) or a smartphone/tablet with equivalent processing capabilities
- Good speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser - IE7+, Safari 5+, Firefox, Chrome
- Operating System - Windows XP, Mac OS 10.6, Linux distro based on 3.0 kernel, Android 5.0, iOS 10
- Procreate Dreams
Syn Studio Recommendations
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 1.5Mbps bandwidth (up/down). You can also connect to the internet directly using your ethernet cable to improve your experience.
- Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a dual core processor with at least 2 GHZ processing speed and a 4 GB RAM
- High Quality speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser & Operating System - We recommend using the latest version of the browser and operating system for an optimal online classroom experience.
Course Outline
*Please note that the following outline is subject to change slightly at the teacher's discretion.
Weeks 1 to 3 - Biped Walk
Introduction and Review of the 12 Animation Principles.
Set up your character for the biped walk animation through an overview and analysis of popular Disney Animations. Learn the importance of the passing position so you can represent contact and movement of your biped character walk.
Gain proficiency in drawing the down, up, and in between positions of the walk to give the character walk the correct sense of weight and realism, while in motion.
Learn and apply the straight-ahead animation approach to create the follow through elements of the biped character walk animation.
Weeks 4 to 5 - Biped Run
Gain a thorough understanding of the mechanics of the biped character as well as the similarities between different character movement actions. Through tie-downs, learn to position your character ‘on-model’ and effectively depict the entire range of movements involved in biped character animation.
Weeks 6 to 9 - Character Dialog
Learn the essential principles of acting for animation using studies of Disney character dialog animation scenes from the past and listening to the dialog audio.
Understand the importance of keeping the poses simple.Plan your animation by creating a series of thumbnail drawings.
Become proficient in establishing your character’s key extreme poses as well as drawing the breakdown and IB poses so you can represent any secondary character movement that accompanies the dialog accurately and accentuate the viewing experience.
Acquire the skills required to draw fitting mouth shapes that match the dialog audio while resting the cleanup version of your character dialog animation with a high degree of realism.
Week 10 - Review and Conclusion
Review and feedback on student dialog scenes created during the class.
Questions and Assistance
Feel free to send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 514-998-7625
Please consult our FAQ; most of the commonly asked questions are answered in detail there. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please feel free to fill out the form below, or, send an email to [email protected]