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n this DVD Robert Kuczera guides you through his character animation process from beginning to end. He first describes how to prepare the Maya Workspace to improve and optimize your work- flow. Next, he shows how to prepare a scene for animation and animate the character. He discusses the timeline, Graph Editor, Dopesheet, layers, shelves, hot keys and MEL scripts. Robert demonstrates how to use filmed reference material to identify the key poses and place the breakdowns and in- betweens. The lecture is focused on showing you how to animate precisely and quickly through the camera. Robert presents an insider's view of how professional animators work, showing workflow and techniques with supporting discussions on the principles of animation.



Duration: 200 minutes


Topics Covered

Animation Principles Fast Animation Key Poses Breakdowns Inbetweens Animation Workflow Optimizing the Workflow

Preparing the Maya Environment Timeline Graph Editor Dope sheet Layer Shelves Hot Keys MEL Scripts

Chapters

01: Introduction
02: Preparing the Maya Environment
03: Acting out the Scene
04: Staging and Blocking - First Pass
05: Adjusting and Optimizing the Key Poses
06: Breakdown and Inbetweens, Part 1
07: Breakdown and Inbetweens, Part 2
08: Getting into the Details, Part 1
09: Getting into the Details, Part 2
10: Getting into the Details, Part 3
11: Finalizing the Animation

Click here to view a sample clip from this DVD. Note that while this clip is 800x584 the actual movie size is 1024x768 with higher quality compression. View the stills to the right to see the actual resolution.

Artist Bio

Robert Kuczera specializes in character animation for feature films and commercials. After working as a 3D artist for several TV and game productions he attended the Filmakademie Badenwuertenberg, Germany. During his studies he worked on commercials mainly for Black Mountain. After graduating with a major in Film and Animation, he worked as a freelancer focusing on character animation for many different companies such as Framestore CFC, The Mill in London and L.A., Smoke and Mirrors, Trixter, Scanline and BFC. Projects include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dragon Hunters, Lissi und der wilde Kaiser, and Donkey Xote. He is currently working as a senior animator in Munich, Germany.