Animating for Feature Films

Animation Techniques using Maya & animBot with Mike Wilson

Walk through the creation of an animation shot from beginning to end with Senior Animator Mike Wilson, who breaks the process down into manageable sections. This insightful workshop not only provides practical techniques for you to improve your Maya workflow but also takes a broad look at the feature film industry, detailing exactly what you can expect to encounter as a professional 3D animator. 

Mike Wilson offers a glimpse of what being an animator entails, and discusses what it can take to get there. Once you land a job as a professional animator, what is expected of you next? With this workshop, you’ll follow along as Mike sets up a shot to maximize time and resources so that deadlines can be met. You’ll discover how to use references to gather information from the real world and translate that into your animations. You’ll then learn how to block out an animation quickly, how to approach revisions, and how to polish and finalize a professional shot.

This workshop discusses how the role of an animator on a feature film is just a single part in a large apparatus and explains the importance of working in tandem with others on a team and complimenting departments. Artists can expect to gain a macro view of a feature film studio production while learning about the expected tasks of an animator. 

Mike’s tutorial provides techniques and advice for any artist looking to break into feature film animation; however, it is recommended that artists have some understanding of the fundamental principles of animation to benefit fully from this workshop. The shot demonstrated in this workshop provides techniques that can be used time and again in your own shots. 

Mike utilized the Adult Elephant from ProRigs which you can find here.