2D Animation Intro

CAMPUS / 2 TOTAL PROJECTS / ACCESS TO PORTFOLIO STUDENTS ONLY

In-person class of 4 hours on lecture and revision, plus at least four hours of studio time w/all-access Discord online support.

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Course Mission

Students will be introduced to the 12 principles of animation along with basic software knowledge in the production of 2D animation. During the course, learners will plan, draft as well as participate in hands-on exercises in the production of their custom short animations. By going through the entire production process ranging from character design, background design to animation and post editing, learners can expect challenges to their existing knowledge base.

Course Summary

Students will be introduced to the importance of design in character animation. Line, shape, negative space, volume, and colour will be studied. The relationships of these elements (proximity, balance, rhythm/repetition, proportion, variety and size) will be emphasised. Three dimensional models will be created to understand structure. Through drawn exercises, students will learn to create strong character poses that communicate effectively with the audience. Students will study various artistic styles in animation and work individually and as part of a team to create effective, original character models.

Classes Info

Term(s): Ongoing
Course Name: 2D Animation Intro

Instructor(s):
Studio Classroom: Rmd Classroom 2
Scheduled Days: Saturdays
Weekly Hour(s): 4 + studio hours *
Total Projects: 2
Project Upload Link:
Class Resource Link:

*Access to portfolio students only
Course Format: In person w/ all access Discord online support

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to…

Understanding of 12 principles of animation
Basic navigation of Photoshop and procreate dreams
Create a simple original animation including exploring, timing, anticipation, appeal, and more.
Staying on model with the provided model or original character designed by students.
Draw the character packs in multiple perspectives
Learn editing basics through Premier
Learn the basics knowledge of background layout design

Required Materials

Hardware

Laptop ( RTX GPUs Recommended)

Graphic Display or Pro Tablets

Studio Workstations

*Access to portfolio students only

Required Texts

The Animator’s Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators (Richard E. WIlliam)

Software

Intro to 2D Animation

Course Content with Each Project

Story brainstorming, main character rough-out, and sequence confirmed

– 1 Week

——————————–

In the first week, the instructor will help students finalize their story and idea of the project. The instructor will also introduce the 12 principles of animation.

REQ. READING: pg 338-339, 35-60

Rough character turntable, background, and sequence analysis

– 1 Week

The instructor will go through how animation works with the background and the concept of perspective and horizontal line. This week, students have to finish their reference sequence analysis or key frames drawn if they’re working on an original plot. A set of the main character rough with color is also required by the end of the class.

REQ. READING: 61-69, 78-79

Keyframes and style frames – 2 Weeks

In the first week, the instructor will explain what timing is in animation and will work with the students to finalize the style frame of the animation. In the second week, the instructor will help students rough out their keyframes plus set a rough timing.

REQ. READING: 84-101

REQ. READING W4: 102-135

OPT. READING W4: 136-155

Rough in-between and background – 2 Weeks

With the characters and keyframes all ready, we will, based on the timing given by the instructor, start adding rough in-betweens. The instructor will make sure to go over how to properly do in-betweens at the beginning of class. The background linework needs to be finished as well.

REQ. READING W5: 156-166

OPT. READING W5: 167-175

REQ. READING W6: 176-200

Keyframe cleaning and timing – 2 Weeks

With the rough animation done, timing & scene planning all revised by the instructor. Students will start rough cleaning their animation sequences starting with the keyframes. We expect more rounds of revisions of timing and poses in this phase, not just tracing the rough.

REQ. READING W7: 201-208, 212-216

OPT. READING W7: 209-211

REQ. READING W8: 217-230

Background coloring and composing the current files – 2 Weeks

WIth the animation rough clean sequences all ready and rough background ready, we will do another composing and double check if the animation is working with the background. Once it’s approved by the instructor, Students will move on and start rendering the background. Fine-line it and coloring.

REQ. READING W9: 231-245

REQ. READING W10: 246-255

flat coloring all animation frames – 3 Weeks

Once the background rendering is done, we will start working on coloring the character animations.

REQ. READING W11: 256-272

REQ. READING W12: 273-284

REQ. READING W13: 285-296

Finalizing and timing revision – 2 Weeks

At this point the animation should already be 80% done. This phase is to let everyone catch up. Students that’s good on track and do another round of revision and tweaking. No major changes, just any small fixes that can help the overall animation.

REQ. READING W14: 297-303

OPT. READING W14: 304-314

REQ. READING W15: 315-326

OPT. READING W15: 327-332