Get started on the right foot by learning basic animation skills that are 100% transferrable to more complex animation topics like character animation.
There are a lot of tools & workspaces in Blender animation and it can feel overwhelming to know where to start first. But don't worry! We got you covered. From frame rates to graph editor and a bouncing ball animation, you will master the essentials in no time.
Animation is really hard. So let's start at the start.
Welcome to CG Cookie's Fundamentals of Animation in Blender!
In this Blender course, we will teach you everything you need to know to start animating in Blender without being bogged down with having to learn character animation first.
(Don't get me wrong, character animation is great! But this course is your first step into animating in Blender 2.8x)
If you've never animated before, you can get started here, because we will take it from the very basics.
Afterward, you can create your own projects with confidence and ease
After working through this course, you'll be able to create your own animations - and have fun while doing it.
Because animation can get very difficult, very quickly...and Blender users can get demotivated by how much there is to learn.
Here's what we'll cover in this series of Blender tutorials for beginners in animation:
Mostly, you will learn how to animate objects and armatures (and the difference between the two).
Beginner animators often run into common issues, such as...
We'll learn how to avoid and resolve these.
Above all, the animation is about practice - and practice you shall get!
As part of this course, you will take on 6 small challenges, building your animation skills step by step.
First, we will simply animate your default cube, making it float around in space.
The main idea of this exercise is to practice all the ways of setting keys, using keying sets and learn to overcome a few of the mistakes that you are bound to make when you first start animating.
Our practice will get more challenging as we progress.
Next, you will work on a looping ball animation.
There are many ways to achieve this animation, however, the aim here is to practice using the graph editor.
I will ask you to use just 5 keyframes and render the viewport with the motion paths.
Finally, you will be able to animate a nice bouncing ball sequence.
This is a classic short animation that every animator has to master and will give you TONS of skills for your future CG projects.
Animation is the crown discipline of digital arts.
The essential thing is that you learn it correctly from the start, without bad habits.
So let's get started!
Once you've mastered this course you will be ready to expand those skills in Blender Animation Bootcamp
Author
Awarded on completion:
100xp
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I'd learned animation and keyframe stuff by stumbling around and getting a feel for it. I thought I was pretty comfortable with animation and I wouldn't get very much from this.
Boy was I wrong.
This course improved my confidence and familiarity with the animation tools and really solidified my foundational understanding. Wayne explains things in a careful, useful and entertaining manner. More than once I went to comment on a particularly good explanation only to see that three or four more people had already pointed it out (in particular, the explanation of parenting is perfect).
If you even slightly think you might need this course, then you need this course. It's made that slight nervous fear of not being able to avoid doing some animation into a confidence that leads to me adding animation unnecessarily.