Animation FUNdamentals
Brought to you by DigiCel and Larry's Toon Institute!

FUNdamental Animation Lessons:

Here's a look at the lessons we're preparing. You get an overview of the animation process from concept to storyboards, character design, layouts, animation, effects animation, art direction, camera, editing, sound, progression reels and distribution, animated film structure - film to sequences to scenes.

After you order a lesson we will email you the link to the lesson material.

1. Shape Change/Metamorphosis         
This first lesson is an easy one to help get you started and let you see some quick results. In this lesson you will learn how to morph from a square to a star.

 

 2. A Simple Head Turn         
In this lesson you will learn how to how to do a simple head turn
with arcs and timing (slo-outs and slo-ins).

 

3. The Bouncing Ball          
A ball bounces across the frame. The exercise depicts: arcs (path of action), key drawings, in-betweens, momentum (slo-outs and slo-ins), weight (squash), speed (stretch), maintaining volumes, and the importance of planning and opposite actions.
 

 

4. The Bouncing Ball Vertical Jump            
This lesson uses the
concept of the the bouncing ball in lesson three and adds a simple pair of legs to create a character jumping up and down. It also includes anticipation and recovery.

 

5. Character Design - Part 1  
Part one of the character design lessons covers simple character construction through the creation of model sheets.

6.   Character Design - Part 2   
Part two of the character design lessons covers more complex character construction.

7. Model sheet

8. Full Body whip
A simple character cracks a whip (in a cycle), this shows wave action, lead and follow action, overlapping action and secondary action.

Full Body whip

9 Character Walk with Emotion
A character anticipates and then displays emotion as he/she takes 2 or 3 strides and then compensates for their momentum and stops.

Character Walk with Emotion

10 Tarzan
A simple character, almost a stick character is on a ledge and needs to swing to a lower butte across the page. While doing this movement the character anticipates (antics) jumps up, antics and grabs a vine swinging toward him. While in the air he antics with his arms and grabs the rope again. He is dragged across the frame; he lets go, drifts on and then lands on the lower butte (which is made of rubber). This shows arcs, anticipations, drag action, delayed action, leading and following action, weight, speed & recovery.

Tarzan

11. Character Jump
A fat character, a roman soldier or muse (wearing a tunic)  stands, ponders his next movement, anticipates and jumps over to a three foot high box or pedestal and recovers.

Character Jump

12  Character Weight Lift
A character is standing by a 120 lb. box. The character looks at the box and thinks about what to do. He positions himself behind the box, antics, grabs the box, does a full body lift and cradles the box (a cushion). He antics again and thrusts the box onto a 5 foot shelf then releases the box and recovers. Note the character can be successful or unsuccessful.

Character Weight Lift

13. The Sidestep
A tall thin character, standing on a fence post, anticipates and then sidesteps 4-5 feet to another fence post and recovers.

The Sidestep

14. Emotional Sack
A half filled sack of flour enters the frame exhibiting emotion. The sack can not have eyes, ears or any other objects no real hands or feet- only the bids at the ends of the sack. He expresses 3 emotions through strong posing, acting, timing and thinking time. A character always thinks before he acts.

Emotional Sack
   

BONUS ASSIGNMENT: Man and Object
A character  enters the frame (with emotion) and sees an object - the object can be alive (animated). The character looks at the object, thinks about the object and then proceeds to encounter the object. Is it a love relationship or an adversarial relationship…whatever….you resolve the story.