AN4001 Starts 4th January 2021

Robot Bug by Edoardo Sartori

For our first year undergraduates, our core animation module - Animation 1 - starts on Monday 4th January 2021.

AN4001 is a 15 Credit module that teaches the fundamentals of character and creature animation. 

The module, which is taught by veteran animation Marc Stevenson, lasts for four weeks, and covers all the basic principles of animation.

Introduction to Maya

Body mechanics by Chan Sagoo

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 module covers the basic principles of animation, and includes walks, character walks, runs, weight & flexibility, and body mechanics. 

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"

Marc Stevenson
We're delighted to welcome back 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 Autodesk Maya, the 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 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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62UfGJRvRs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvTLOvAWe6A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q54XbeGspD4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n89UOtMI_Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvsN5GzxoHo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmuf2M9Nvp0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okaC2_NxPYQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V7yz8Twi8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnZLpoD5NqQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdf2kwdc36Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtF9XsAD5mg

Arnold
Students will also need to learn the basics of Maya's Arnold renderer, to understand the fundamentals of lighting and rendering.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06I1ypyokQU

Escape Studios YouTube Playlist
Escape Studios also has a Maya basics playlist (36 videos) which you can work through, which shows all the key tools in Maya, and what they do, in a series of very short videos.

Vimeo Channel

We also have 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, available for our current students and recent Escapees, so make sure to ask us for the password. You can email me at alex.williams1@pearson.com

Escape Method

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

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 2021, follow this link.   To apply, visit the official page here.