How To Animate Lipsync - With No Lips

One of the first dialogue exercises tackled by students at Escape Studios is how to animate a character speaking a line of dialogue - but with no mouth.  Students almost always look skeptical at this idea - how can you animate Lipsync - with no lips? 

The answer, of course, is that it's all in the acting and the performance.  If the body language is working, then the audience will believe that the character is speaking - even if the character itself has no mouth.

Lipsync with Monty

This why our first Lipsync exercise typically uses the free "Monty" rig, a green pea with legs - but no mouth.  To see an example of Lipsync animation with Monty, take a look at the animation by Rich Jeffrey below.

Lipsync with "Monty" by Rich Jeffrey

In Rich's animation, the body language communicates the dialogue, even though Monty has no mouth. This is the secret with all Lipsync - get the acting right, and the Lipsync will follow. In fact, many animators leave the Lipsync until (almost) the very end of a shot, focusing their efforts instead on the acting and performance. 

Dialogue Shot with No Lipsync by Charlie Aitken

To see another example of a dialogue shot using a character with no mouth, see the example by Charlie Aitken below:

 

Lipsync & Dialogue Resources

Dialogue shot by Escapee Rich Jeffery

We have many resources at Escape Studios on animating dialogue and lipsync. To find out more, follow the links below:

• Why Lipsync Needs Wide and Narrow Mouth Shapes
• Lipsync - Open Wide on the Big Vowels
• How to Block Out a Dialogue Shot
• Sesame St Sound Archive
• How to Animate Lipsync
• Animate Lipsync - The Easy Way
• Why Animators Need "Head Muppeting"
• Why Animators Should Hold Ms Bs and Ps for Two Frames
• How to Animate Lipsync - With No Lips

Lipsync Tutorials

Animation by Escapee Anand Sembhi

Also see the tutorials below on animating dialogue and lipsync:

• Lipsync Tutorial with Simone Giampaolo
• Animate Monty Singing "Oh Yeah!"
• Lipsync Tutorial with Marc Stevenson
• Dialogue Tutorial with Monty: "I'm Outta Here!"
• Animate a Sneeze with Monty: "Ah-Choo!"

Vimeo and Panopto Tutorial Channels
The Escape Studios Tutorial Libraries (Vimeo and Panopto) are our main hubs for our animation and VFX video tutorials, making it easy for our students to find tutorials to support their classroom studies.

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The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. 

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