Course Overview

• 

  Kyle Kenworthy

  Kyle Kenworthy has been an animator in the industry for 7 years. He currently works at Schell Games in Pittsburgh PA. He has work...

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• What you'll learn

  
  

  This course will teach you how to animate some of the most common video game animations: cycles, transitions & introductions. 5-8 hours of video lessons each week will go over step by step how Kyle creates each of these animations. Outside of the video lessons, the course will require about 6-15 hours per week depending on skill level. Each week there will also be a 2 hr live Q&A where Kyle will critique assignments and answer questions.

  In week 1 we’ll be covering cycles. Cycles are any animations that are able to loop & repeat themselves. We’ll go over how to create these quickly and still be able to bring life into the character.

  Week 2 will cover transitions. Transitions are animations that connect different player states. Standing to crouching, taking a weapon out, getting into a vehicle, the list goes on and on.  We’ll go over workflows for creating these quickly & efficiently and how to add some character to them.

  Week 3 is character introductions. You’ve just gotten to the end of the Dungeon Level, you’ve defeated all the enemies and you think you’re home free, when all of a sudden a giant troll busts down a door and gives a giant roar! That’s a character introduction. We’ll be using all the tips & tricks we’ve learned to create a cinematic character introduction animation.

  Got questions? Contact Kyle at kylekenworthy@gmail.com

• Week by week outline

  
  

  Week 1

  Lesson: Cycles

  Animating for Games

  Personality in a Walk

  Phases of a Walk

  Maya Animation Basics

  Layered Workflow

  Creating Walk Cycle

  Phases of a Run

  Creating Run Cycle

  Secondary: Hotkeys

  
  

  Assignment: Cycles

  Choose from one of the pre approved rigs.

  Animate 2 Cycles

  1. 1. - Walk Cycle
     2. - Run Cycle
     Create 3 playblasts of each animation

  1. 1. - Back
     2. - Side
     3. - ¾ Quarter

  Submit your videos in the week 1 assignment forum

   

  
  

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  Week 2

  Lesson: Transitions

  What are Transitions?

  Gathering Video Reference & How To Use It

  Pose To Pose Workflow

  Animating Taking a Weapon Out

  Timing Techniques

  Animating Getting on a Mount (horse, vehicle, etc)

  Secondary: Ergonomics & Keeping Healthy

  Assignment: Transitions

  Choose from one of the pre approved rigs.

  Animate 2 Transitions from the list provided

  1. Create 3 playblasts of each animation

  1. 1. - Back
     2. - Side
     3. - ¾ Quarter

  Submit your videos in the week 2 assignment forum

  
  

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  Week 3

  Lesson: Character Introduction

  NPC Animation

  Camera & Composition

  Layout

  Blocking

  Polish

  Secondary: How To Stay Inspired

  Assignment: Chararter Introduction

  Choose from one of the pre approved rigs.

  Animate 1 Character Introduction Animation

  Create 1 playblast from chosen camera angle

  Submit your video in the week 3 assignment forum

  
  
  

• Student requirements

  
  

  Minimum Skills

  Intermediate knowledge of Maya & Animation and a passion for bringing characters to life.

  Minimum Software

  Maya 2010 or later

  Quicktime Pro or video editing software for converting playblasts to h.264 & converting videos to image sequences to be imported into Maya (premiere, after effects, etc)

  Video Camera for filming reference (not required, but recommended)