Tutorial: Animating for Feature Films
The Gnomon Workshop has released Animating for Feature Films, a guide to professional character animation, recorded by Emmy Award-winning animator Mike Wilson.
The workshop, which is aimed at artists with some prior understanding of the principles of animation, provides over two and a half hours of video training in Maya and the animBot plugin.
A practical guide to the realities of life as a 3D animator in the movie industry
In the workshop, Wilson walks through the process of creating a typical shot from an animated feature from start to finish, breaking the process down into manageable sections.
These include gather referencing from the real world to translate into animation, how to block out an animation quickly, how to approach revisions, and how to polish and finalize the shot.
Wilson also explores how to set up a shot to optimize use of time and resources in order to meet deadlines.
In addition, the workshop takes a broader look at the realities of life as a professional 3D animator within the movie industry.
Wilson discusses what being an animator entails, what it takes to land your first professional job, and what is expected of animators at large studios, working in tandem with other departments.
The workshop uses ProRigs’ commercial Adult Elephant rig.
About the artist
Mike Wilson is an Emmy Award-winning Character Animator who has been working in the industry since 2008.
He began his career working on the first computer animated show that Sesame Street produced and has since worked for over 20 other studio, including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Blue Sky Studios, Digital Domain, ILM and Tippett Studio.
Pricing and availability
Animating for Feature Films is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.
Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available.
Read more about Animating for Feature Films on The Gnomon Workshop’s website
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