Animal Gaits for Animators by Stephen Cunnane

Animal Gaits for Animators from Stephen Cunnane on Vimeo.

Links, enlaces et liens - GDC 2017 Edition

www.animstate.com/free-gdc-2017-animation-talks/
A list of all animation talks from GDC2017.

http://www.animstate.com/animation-exchange-2017-recording-feedback/
The link above contains links to each section of the excellent #ANIMX talk that was held during the latest GDC. Below is the full stream (8+ hours!) in case you want to watch the whole thing (as I did).


Watch live video from TwitchOffice on www.twitch.tv

Quadruped Locomotion Tutorial by Felix Sputnik

Quadruped Locomotion Tutorial from Felix Sputnik on Vimeo.

Tips and Tricks for Multiple Space Switch in Maya - By Manoanim

Maya Tutorial - Tips Tricks Multiple Space Switch Using SDK from Manoanim on Vimeo.

Animation tips from Twitter and the GDC Tricks of the Trade talk

Rigging Dojo Animation Tips from Twitter and GDC Tricks of the Trade from Rigging Dojo on Vimeo.

Below is the link for the Trick of the Trade talk that happened on the last GDC (2016):

http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1023479/Animation-Bootcamp-Tricks-of-the

 Enjoy! Tons of info in this post :)

Change rotation curve colors in Maya

When I was working with mocap data at Ubisoft, one useful thing that I found when I was using Motionbuilder was that it was possible to change the colors of the curves in the F-Curve editor. You could change any curve color, either it was a custom parameter or the X rotation axis.

The most important benefit for doing this is that by changing the color of the most important parameters, they automatically become more recognizable.

Since working at Larian Studios here in Quebec I've been working exclusively in Maya, and I missed having this option. Not really because I have tons of custom attributes, but when I see the Graph Editor, it's hard for me to quickly recognize which curves are Translation and which Rotation. For example, in the image below, you can't really tell which is which.

Lucky me, there is a way to change the colors in Maya.

The only thing you have to do is (in the Graph Editor) select the attribute you want to change and then click on Edit and select "Set Curve Colors..."

This option will open a dialog with to panes or sides: One contains the attribute you selected and the other one the new color. Click on the color picker and select the color that you want for that attribute.

If you want to modify the color of additional attributes, just select them in the Graph Editor and click on the "Add" button in the Curve Colors dialog window.

Once you have change the colors, just close the dialog. In my case, after changing all rotation attributes, the result looks like this:

As you can see, now I know which are my rotation curves just by looking at the Graph Editor.

Some remarks:

• These changes are part of your Maya environment now. This means that, in my case, the rotation curves will always show this colors, no matter the object selected or which scene I'm working on.
• In the case of the rotation colors, I recommend changing to something similar than the precious red green and blue colors. This because the rotation manipulator will not change the colors to match this new setup, so in order to keep some link between the curves and the manipulator, is better to things similar.

I hope this helps.

Cheers!

P.D.- The rig shown in the images is the Joe Rig. You can find it here.

Max Script For Character Rigging by Paul Neale

Intro To Character Rigging by Paul Neale

This is a long video but totally worth it. The video explains rigging in 3dsmax, but a lot of things are applicable to other 3D packages.

And if you're not following Paul in Youtube or Twitter, you're missing a lot of cool tips.

akeytsu demo

I love the graph editor!

Links, enlaces et liens

http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020639/Technical-Artist-Bootcamp-Hacking-MotionBuilder
Great tips and trick for Motionbuilder by Brad Clark. You will need a GDC Vault user to watch it though.

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/filmmaker-transforms-nintendo-power-glove-into-awesome-1679408095
Cool gadget!! Not sure how it will be useful for a 3D program like Maya, but cool nevertheless.

http://www.cgmeetup.net/forums/files/file/67-pink-panther/
Pink Panther rig!!

http://www.3dfiggins.com/writeups/fastAction/
Great breakdown on an action shot by Kiel Figgins.

Links, enlaces et liens

http://elusiveideas.com/2014/11/animation-layers-issue.html
A quick fix for Maya's animation layers.

https://vimeo.com/user6854833
Be sure to follow this guy! Great animation!

http://www.creativebloq.com/software/elegant-app-puts-posable-models-your-fingertips-111413480
Great tool for artists!

http://au.autodesk.com/au-online/classes-on-demand/class-catalog/2014/3ds-max/vi5392
Paul Neale's procedural animation class for 3ds max.

http://www.riggingdojo.com/2012/04/29/interview-martin-orlowski/
A bit long but full of information.

https://screencast.autodesk.com/main/details/f438489b-71b8-49ba-8be4-090258524bec
Great tutorial from Brad Clark for working with constraints and story.

Robocoaster animation demo- Inventor workflow to 3ds Max Design 2012

This tutorial has a little bit of everything, I believe. Technical and artistical. Worth watching.

Pose Controls - Erik Svensson

Great tutorial on how to work with the Pose Control tool in Motion Builder. It has some other tips worth watching.



Pose Controls from Erik Svensson on Vimeo.

Alvise Avati animation tutorials

These are very entertaining. :)




Found via Splinebomb

Frozen Progression Reel - Daniel Peixe

Great progression reel, from storyboard to final render.


ShotProgressionSven from Daniel Peixe on Vimeo.

Found via SplineBomb

Ted Ty Masterclass - PIXEL Animation 2014

I just came from Ted Ty's masterclass on Animation Performance at the PIXEL Animation in Quebec City.

I have to say that Ted Ty is a HELL of a speaker. He gives his lecture in such a passionate way that it's inspiring just to hear him talk. There is no doubt that he loves animation and that he wants you to love it as much as he does.

During his class, Ted analyzed some movie clips and explained some details that might be obvious, but make A LOT of sense when viewed with a different approach. Why the actor is doing a smirk? Why is he lifting a brow? What is the character thinking? All those questions are answered during his lecture. And from time to time, he gives some golden nuggets of information that are priceless, and those alone would make the price of the ticket totally worthy.

In addition to what Ted showed, Jalil Sadool and Pierre Perifel joined the second part of the class and they added some relevant comments on the subjects Ted was doing. That is what I call a BONUS feature...

If you have a chance to listen to any of Ted lectures, go. The amount of information you will get will surprise you. And you won't be the same animator after one of Ted classes, I can guarantee you that.

Cheers!

3ds Max tips and tricks: Cheating your Animation with Procedural Noise

Great little video on how to cheat animation using the procedural noise.



Cheers!

Basic Blink and Eye Dart tutorial by Chris Sokalofsy

This is one of the best tutorials about blinks and eye darts I've seen. Short and to the point.


Basic Blink and Eye Dart Tutorial from Chris Sokalofsky on Vimeo.

Be sure to check Chris's Vimeo page, there is lots of great tutorials.

Cheers!

Links, enlaces et liens

http://ldunham.blogspot.ca/2012/01/ldanimateme-v100.html
Animation tool for Maya. I saw it in a tutorial for a quadruped walk cycle, and it looks useful for offsetting keys and create fast tail movements. It has other applications too, so check it out!

http://kienwei80.blogspot.in/2013/09/jamaal-bradley-wise-say.html
Some inspirational words from Jamaal Bradley.

http://www.animatorisland.com/how-fast-should-you-animate/
An answer to a typical question. My short answer: Always animate as fast as you can with the best quality possible. Don't bother about the rest.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-394834.html
Not sure if I have already post this, but I'll put it here anyways since lately I came across with a rig without the proper axis rotations.

http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/louis/switching_cameras_in_an_animation_in_3ds_max
Finally, a tutorial to setup a camera switcher in 3ds Max. I don't know if the latest version has something like this already implemented, but for those working on previous versions, this should be GOLD!

Cheers!

Links, enlaces and liens

http://www.gameanim.com/2013/09/11/seamless-mocap-cycles-tutorial/
Nice tutorial on how to improve your mocap sessions.

http://www.splinebomb.com/panicked-winners/
Winners of the Splinebomb contest.

http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/ultimate-rigs-maya-rigs-maya-character-rigs-free-maya-rigs/
Some free Maya rigs available for download!

http://www.speakingofanimation.com/2013/10/podcast-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-double-feature/
Podcast with some animators that worked on Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs 1 and 2.