Tutors: Brian Horgan

Date: Monday, April 20th, 2020

Duration: 6 Monday & Thursday evenings

Venue: Online

Cost: €0

Course Profile:

Screen Skills Ireland and Animation Skillnet are delighted to bring you this new online course to give participants the tools and techniques for animating walks for 2 and 4 legged characters in Maya for TV, Film and Games. This course is being offered free of charge to support the Irish creative screen industries impacted by the ongoing situation with COVID-19.

Animating walks and runs effectively is a key animation skill for games, movies, television and VR/AR animation. Creating both cycled and ‘off the spot’ versions of these animations can be challenging both artistically and technically. This course will take a deep dive into study of reference for 2 and 4 legged characters. Participants will get access to custom Maya tools developed specifically to speed up the technical aspects of creating these kinds of animations so they can focus on delivering a convincing and entertaining performance.

Course Contents:

• The fundamental poses in a walk and run for human characters.
• What to look for in reference when studying motion.
• How to apply those fundamentals to quadrupeds.
• How to work effectively in Maya when creating cycles.
• How to mirror poses using custom tools rather than doing it by eye.
• How to make cycles loop smoothly and translate through a scene without feet sliding.
• How to convincingly show weight in a walk or run.

Date & Times:

• 6 Monday & Thursday evenings from 7pm-9pm on 20th & 23rd Apr., 27th & 30th Apr., 4th & 7th May, 11th & 14th May, 25th & 28th May 2020.

Participant Profile:

As this course will be taking place online, we will provide the necessary software licences all participants, but it is expected that applicants have the equipment necessary to complete the course:

• A working PC or laptop with the minimum system requirements.
• An audio or webcam system to communicate with the tutor (you will be using Zoom).

Application Procedure:

Please apply online with a current CV by 12pm on 3 April 2020.

For any queries, please contact sorcha.scully@screenskillsireland.ie