3D Animation - First Steps in 3D Animation

First Steps in 3D Animation

There's a lot that goes into to the actual act of animating a character or object.

To avoid overwhelming ourselves, it's best to start small, and gradually get more complicated.
We'll eventually get to animating your cool characters! Trust the process!

Steps 1: Initial Theory

First, it's probably best to learn some theory. It can be boring, but it's necessary to succeed.

As a first step, if you haven't already, then start with The Principles of Animation.
Next, we can examine why we start with things like "the bouncing ball" or "pendulum" assignments.

Youtube | New to Animation? Start Here

By moderndayjames

Note: This video is about animation in 2D, but it still largely applies to us in 3D as well.

Youtube | Everything is a Bouncing Ball

By AnimSchool

Shows how these "basic exercises" can actually be useful to experience professionals as well. In particular, the "bouncing ball" exercise has implications for so many concepts in more advanced animation.

Steps 2: First Exercises

Once you understand some of the basic theory, it's time to test our knowledge with an exercise.

At this point, 2D Animation tends to start with the "bouncing ball" assignment.
However, 3D Animation goes in a slightly different order (and yes, the order matters):

3D Animation - First Steps in 3D Animation

First Steps in 3D Animation

Steps 1: Initial Theory

Steps 2: First Exercises

External References

Relevant Books

Relevant Youtube Channels

Additional Learning