Where should I go next?

[Lewis Thorpe]

I have almost finished the animation bootcamp and am thinking ahead but unsure where to go next. I know you are advised to do the body mechanics course however I feel like I would like to get some more experience before moving onto harder animations.

Would it be advisable to go back through the exercises in the bootcamp and recreate them from scratch? For example I could redo the walk cycles with a different character and redo the character ball with different actions and a more complex environment. 

I would love to hear peoples thoughts on what I should do next.

[Omar Domenech]

I’d say go through the animation courses for sure, but most importantly practice on something of your own creation, animate something you’d like to animate because you find it cool. The best way to level up is to spread your wings and fly on your own, getting into your own unique troubles, because when you can’t double check with the video, it’s when you say oh uh, I’m in deep trouble. And there’s nothing to do but fight or die, animate or stay still, sink or swim. How do you @waylow that tagging thing works only half the time.

[tanya]

Why can’t you do both.  Work on the body mechanics class, you will definitely learn many things that will help your animations and set some time aside to work on other walk cycles and animations.  Also remember to try other things than a basic walk, try skipping, fast walk, dragging your feet, zombie walk, etc.  Just keep animating something for practice and it is a lot of fun.  Good luck.

[Dwayne Savage]

I’d recommend learning the camera thru CGC’s Directing the Camera in Blender. It affects an animation on so many levels. I knew the terms before I went thru the course, but actually seeing how to apply the terms is eye opening or for me it was. I’d also recommend CGC’s Acting for Animators before moving into Body Mechanics. 

[Wayne Dixon]

Hey Thorpie,
I would recommend doing the body mechanics course and then applying that to any animations you want to plan for your own further development.

In that course you will learn the workflow (Plan, Block, Spline, Polish) which is what you will do on every animation you will do.
You will also learn about video reference which can be so helpful as a tool.  If you want to do a different walk cycle with a different character, you can!
Just film your reference, pick out your key poses, plan it, block, spline, polish.
You can even do the character ball assignment again too if you like.   You are in control of your learning 😉
If that’s what you want to do – then I say do it!

We are here to guide you – but you’re in charge.

[Author]

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