Escape Studios Animation Blog: AN4001 - Anim 1

Monday 6 January 2020

AN4001 - Anim 1 - Starts 13 January 2020

AN4001 starts with a bouncing ball

For our first year undergraduates, our core animation module - Animation 1 - starts on Monday 13th January 2020.

AN4001, as the module is officially known, is a 15 Credit module that teaches the fundamentals of character and creature animation. The module lasts four weeks, and covers all the basic principles of animation.

Introduction to Maya
AN4001 is where our students first tackle Maya, and the basics of character animation. The class starts with a bouncing ball, and builds up to complex locomotion and character actions. The tutor is Marc Stevenson, an experienced animator with considerable teaching experience and a veteran of multiple VFX hits.

AN4001 - Animation Basics
AN4001 is a 4 week "introduction to animation" module, where our first year undergraduate students explore the basics of animation, from a bouncing ball through to sophisticated motion. Assignments include walks, runs, jumps and the use of live action reference to animate complex action.

The module builds up to a final industry-related brief (you can see an example of project work below by undergraduate animator Maria Robertson, then in her first year of studies.

Marc worked on "Moon"

Tutor
We're delighted to welcome the newest member of our animation team - veteran animator Marc Stevenson.

Marc has credits on many Hollywood hit films including Fast & Furious 6, Avengers, Age of Ultron, Moon, Victor Frankenstein, Underdog, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Marmaduke.

AN4001 - Software
The software we teach is - of course - Autodesk Maya, now the global leader and industry standard for animation and visual effects.

Getting ready for AN4001
In order to make the best of the module, our advice is to have a good look at Maya before coming to class, so that the interface won't come as a complete surprise.

Marc will - of course - teach the basics of Maya from the very beginning, but it's still a good idea to come prepared. To get ready, have a look at the following YouTube links:

YouTube Animation Links

Marc Stevenson

We also have many animation video tutorials to support our students learning Maya for the first time. We have hundreds of videos available at our Vimeo Tutorial Channel. They are all password protected, so make sure to ask us for the password.

These videos form part of what we call "The Escape Method", intensive classroom teaching combined with online support and industry engagement to mimic as closely as possible the experience of working in a real animation studio.

Bouncing Ball

Introduction to Maya
Maya basics by Michael Davies
https://vimeo.com/album/5389397

Bouncing Ball - Intro to Animation
Bouncing Ball by Amanda Costa
https://vimeo.com/album/5605446
For more on the Bouncing Ball tutorial by Amanda Costa, read this blog post.

Pixo Jr Lamp hop

Luxo Lamp Hop
Luxo Lamp hop cycle and performance by Alexander Williams
https://vimeo.com/album/5793268
Also read this blog post.

Basic Walk Cycle with a Biped Primitive
Basic Walk Cycle by Amanda Costa
https://vimeo.com/album/5605446
For more on the basic walk cycle tutorial, read this blog post.

Basic Walk Cycle with a Human Biped
Basic Walk Cycle with "Heavy" from Team Fortress by Alex Williams
https://vimeo.com/showcase/6316953

Monty

Character Walks with "Monty"
Character Walks with a Biped Primitive by Alexander Williams
https://vimeo.com/album/5605446
For more on the character walks tutorial by Alex Williams, read this blog post.

How to Stop Feet Sliding in a Walk Cycle
How to stop feet sliding in a walk cycle
https://vimeo.com/showcase/5874233

Run Cycle by Amedeo Beretta

Run cycle with Rocket Girl

Run Cycle with Rocket Girl, by Amedeo Beretta
https://vimeo.com/album/5853121
For more on the Run Cycle with Rocket Girl, see this blog post.

AN4001 Weekly Schedule
Classes begin on Monday 13th January 2020 at 9.30am in Mordor, on the 2nd floor at 190 High Holborn, WC1, taught by Marc Stevenson. Classes take place from 9.30am to 12.30pm Monday through Wednesday, and all day Thursday, from 9.30am until 4.30pm. Friday is a self-study day.

AN4001 Calendar
Classes run from 13 Jan until the end of May 2020. See the calendar below for details.

Miguel Teixera (left) winning for "Golden Acorn"

Studio Assistant - Miguel Teixera
The studio assistant for AN4001 - Anim 1 is Miguel Teixera, an award-winning animator in his third year of studies at Escape Studios.

First year at Escape Studios - and 2nd, 3rd & 4th years
To see more detail about what's in the animation course at Escape Studios, follow these links:

First year of animation study at Escape Studios
Second year at Escape Studios
Third year at Escape Studios.
Fourth and final year (integrated MArt)

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our new BA/MArt, now recruiting for September 2020, follow this link. To apply, visit the official page here.

Useful Links

Monday 6 January 2020

AN4001 - Anim 1 - Starts 13 January 2020

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