3-Step Guide For Great 3D Character Animation - mages

Is your creative head filled with fun, quirky and lovable characters? Do you dream of breathing life into them and make them believable?

Art and motion have always been fascinating to humans. We love images and we love them more if they’re beautiful and moving.

Our fascination with imagery and movement has fuelled the rise of a million-dollar industry that’s thriving even more with technology. Animations are everywhere. Whether it’s films or video games or commercial advertising. The demand for animators is high.

But in a world where access to technology and learning material is wide and pervasive, how do you stand out as an aspiring animator? How do you ensure you make it big in this highly coveted and extremely competitive industry?

Here’s our 3-step guide to ensuring you stand out as a 3D animator!

1.   Observe, Observe, Observe

Bringing drawings to life is one thing. Making them believable is another!

Making 3D animated characters is not an easy task and making them convincing is a whole different thing. Observing real-life beings in detail helps add nuance to your character.

Observe how people talk and interact. How they walk and move and run. How they display emotions to one another. Real-life examples show us what brings depth to human interactions and activities.

They are important in learning about timing, movement, weight and other things essential to adding depth to your character. It makes your character relatable, credible and amazing.

Consider this to be the research aspect of your work. If you want to make really convincing character animations, you have to get your research done and dusted thoroughly!

2. Choose The Right Software

Choosing the right software is amongst the most important things as far as making awesome character animations is concerned.

There’s no dearth of animation software in the 21st century (MAYA, Blender and so on).

But this makes it difficult to decide which one suits you best. So before you make this utterly important decision, always be mindful of your:

  • Style
  • Budget
  • Skill level (beginner, intermediate, pro)

Think along these lines and try to come up with a quick decision to get started. There’s no “single best” animation software out there. You have to decide which one works for you best.

3. Don’t Rush

Doing things in haste can lead to a colossal waste of time and effort. Things get rushed when you don’t plan ahead.

Creating an awesome 3D animated character is a long and detailed process. There are plenty of things to think of. Most of them involve:

  • Storyboards and concepts
  • 3D models
  • Lighting
  • Rigging
  • Texturing
  • Rendering
  • Compositing
  • VFX

…and other edits.

From choosing your team to delegating tasks, managing details of your character (or characters) to bring them all together to a successful culmination – your work demands patience and great attention to little things.

Final Thoughts

As simple and understated these steps might sound, they’re not easy to follow.

Sometimes animators don’t give enough attention to real-life figures around them. Sometimes they base what they wish to create a little too much on their imagination. Which reflects in their work in the form of “zero depth and zero believability”.

Sometimes animators try to ignore their needs and level of skill and go for whatever the internet says is the best 3D animation software. Which makes the character-making process difficult.

And sometimes they try to do everything in a hurry. Which just messes things up eventually.

To stand out, doing simple things efficiently matters a lot. Along with passion and of course, the right guidance!

Having a hard time figuring out how to begin your journey in animation?

You don’t have to learn things alone. At MAGES, industry professionals help you take your first steps as a 3D animator. Check out MAGES’ 3D Animation Diploma Course to begin your creative journey now!

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