There are alot of softwares out there not fully utilized to it's maximum or say 50% of it's capabilities. Probably because the means or know-how is lacking. The 3D softwares are not left out in this regard as most of us only use it to model majorly. There are other things that these softwares can do and one of them is animating.

Wikipedia describes Animation as "the process of creating motion and shape change illusion by means of the rapid display of a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other". Again we could see it as the integration of the separate entities created in frames within the 3D or 2D softwares with a mind of creating real life simulations. That is to say the integration of drawings, models, rigging, painting, texturing and animating all make up Animation. Animating is the process of breathing life into a model or an object, thereby making it move. Anything can be animated, things such as the digital mouse for your computers, cars, cartoon characters, lights for effects etc. Virtually anything that comes to mind and can be created can be animated. Though it's not that straight forward and easy but with time you get better and get used to it. Animating is no different from modelling, painting or drawing. Our creativity is limited only by what we know or can create in our minds eye.

And this could go from cartoons, games, movies etc. But first you need to know how to animate. So if you have a 3D software and you create models, that doesn't mean that you animate as your models are and remain still. This is easier to understand in the 2D environment because drawings don't move unless of course they are animated to move. Over here Animating is more of a problem than the other 3D disciplines and you have to know at least one or two of them to animate "if you are self taught". And i'ld recommend you do too so as to keep you busy, independent and versatile to certain extents depending on what your concentration is and in this case, "Animating" which in turn is the fulcrum of our topic and the problem.

Well, that part of the problem standing in your way is about to be over as i introduce to you "A Crash course on Animating". This course covers and will treat the[b]Basic Animation Principles[/b] and to some extent give pointers on how to Animate regardless of whatever software you use even though i use 3Dsmax. So you could in a way look at it as me been Morpheus handing the pills and you as Neo walking through the path. Still it isn't going to be easy but with a lot of hard work and focus, you too can start bringing anything you want to life. The period is Six weeks and will be Saturdays and Sundays which sums up to twelve days, course fee is N120k and venue will depend on the average maximum radius of the farthest participants. You can communicate here or further reach me on chimatic@gmail.com for more info as you deem sensitive a matter. Classes will begin in February with dates announced at least ten days to that time.

Here is an animation from last year [url][/url]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgnhTnzCnHE[url][/url]

So, You've bought all the animation softwares, migrated from one software to another or you originally wanted to be a very good animator or want to produce your own animated feature but for some reasons things are not working quite like you've imagined it to be. well i feel your pain but the good thing is you are not alone.

Trying really hard to stay on the Animating subject, i think it would be a lot easier if i digress or expatiate a little bit. There is a lot that comes into play when you start talking about animating. Having a great story line all lined up with story board illustrations are not enough as the end of it all would still be to bring them to life which is your goal from the on-set. Still, a lot of artists would get into wars of what software is better than the other and blablabla. And when i listen or read about these sometimes i begin to wonder which is more important? The software or the Artist? Make no mistakes as even the west where all these originated from agree that while there are softwares that are industry standards, pulling off simple animations doesn't really take all these into cognizance as the principles remain the same no matter what software is used and it all depends on the animator and how well he is able to interpret actions. But for the record and regardless of whose ox is gored not with an intent of causing any form of discomfort as i apologize in advance, MAYA & 3DSMAX stands out in the 3D Animation software category if you are talking "industry standards" and why, is a topic for another day.

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't" ― Margaret Thatcher. It means more than trying to make the software you use important, why don't you try doing something appreciable with it then the rest lies with the audience to ask "what software it is that you use or used". Fact is Africa is over a hundred years back when it comes to animations and whether you like it or not, it's not of any importance but what is, is that knowing that you are this far away from the rest of the world and looking for a way to bridge the gap is what would count. It's like the soccer clubs and i'm not trying to mention names but it's absurd when some fans argue that one Club A is better than another Club B even with all it's ground breaking accomplishments and present form. Whereas, the best way out of it would be knowing and accepting your present situation and making efforts as well as strategies on how to improve on it. What i'm trying to say is that some things cannot be argued and you can do a lot more as an artist by actually doing stuffs rather than talking about it.

Animating no be gragra ooo!!! You have to be with a steady mind to do that because there is a lot of thinking involved as it is dynamic in nature. How? You could say that you want somebody coming into a room, grabs a chair and sits down folding his legs. the next hour or so and while animating you could change your mind and say, Ok you want him jumping or hopping into the room and at the end lying on the chair. And it goes on and on like that. the possibilities on how to execute these actions are endless but in the end you still have to be able to Animate all these or at least think about it.

Why Animating no be gragra? Wetin dis one dey talk sef? Yeah if you are good at modelling and there comes this day that you wake up from sleep and say to your self "Hmmm, i want to do something new today, i want to animate. Good call, so you fire up your software and you come up with a three minutes story. Nice, and you begin animating. two hours later you hit a road block and you try again but the road block wont go. then you try from another perspective but it's still there staring at you in the face like "what'chya gon do about it? Then you try to cut that scene or action off, re-modelling the story and probably cutting down the duration to thirty seconds and you encounter another one, then you'll begin to appreciate this Bible chapter i've put up here for only those wey don go, na only dem truely know. At this point, you could choose to quit or become even more determined and conquer. The choice is yours and nothing is impossible because you could as well achieve this feat
by yourself if you have eight hours everyday for six years to throw away or at least fifteen hours everyday for like three years to throw away or come with me on a six week journey into Animating.

The intention is not to scare but to prepare all aspiring animators towards what they are most likely to encounter on there journey towards animating. There are no short-cuts. every move, pose and frame created has to be earned plus with a lot of patience. Keep Animating, you can do this. Also, you could visit my animation blog, it's talks generally about Animation but hinged on the nature of Animating. I would recommend that you read this as a newbie http://reidchannel..com/2014/03/character-animation-how-do-i-start.html and maybe browse through to see something that you are curious about.

The truth is that, the first thing in learning how to animate is not animating in itself. The first thing is freeing up your hard drive (mind), visiting various other blogs and maybe reading comics and just letting go of all the care in the world. Get in tune with this new found love and flow like water. Because if you don't flow like water then you'll always get stuck and maybe frustrated and probably change course. If you need help, i'm at chimatic@gmail.com. Jeeze, It's quite a long read, i think i'll put it up in my blog.

With oil prices plummeting seriously, there is a lot of uncertainty in the air as to what will keep this country afloat. Will Nigeria go down with the downward direction of the oil or will it take a U-turn and embrace the privileges of technology. Well i think it will follow technology. Why? because it's rapidly taking over the whole world. Africa will try to resist but it's already here.

2015 and up belongs to the creative mind. you want to be sought or consulted then you have to do something new. It's time to embrace animations in it's full capacity, well you could sing if you want but whizkid and Davido are somehow occupying the top spots already so savvy, that's not going to be easy. Are you employed? are you happy? is there something else you want to accomplish in life? Do you want to be the next Steve jobs? Does whatever you do relate to IT? Then this right here is for you. Grab this wonderful opportunity of learning how to animate and take back the controls to your life. If you have been using any animation softwares for more than two years and don't know how to animate, then i'm talking to you. You want to be the next Pixar in Nigeria, then i'm talking to you. Don't hide in your little corners anymore. Free yourselves, express yourselves. There is a lot out there waiting to be harvested but you have to make the first move. You want to animate as much as you want to breathe air, then send email to chimatic@gmail.com. Only if you've read the original post, digested and understood it and have resolved to learn how to animate. Keep clicking.

Poster I an animator, animation is sweeter in maya software dts what I use n dts just d professional truth. Those looking to animation as a career path its awesome n rewarding.

Animating in lay man terms is "making things move". Animation is the totality of everything that makes up the animated movie. That is modeling + rigging + texturing + animating+ lighting + rendering = Animation.

Learning Animations is like planting seeds, particularly cash crops. You sow, nurture before you harvest. It takes time but very rewarding in so many ways from building games, making films, apps, illustrations etc. The possibilities are endless and it depends on how good and deep you are into it. But make no mistakes, it takes time and is tough. For this reason, you find about 10 guys venturing into it with just one of them still hanging on in a year or two to come. Frustrating you'd say, yes and no. Because taking a broader view reveals that everything has it's own challenge but Animations and Animating, in this country, at this time is a different thing altogether.

In summary, learning steadily and from a proper channel would help alot plus the earlier the better as you'll still need to practice, practice and practice to get good. Invest whatever it is you can, if you are coming this way. It is very tasking hence requires a lot of focus and determination. You have to love cartoons to be able to animate and not necessarily drawing very well, otherwise all very good artists would be able to animate which of course, is not the case. You want to learn how to Animate? Email: chimatic@gmail.com for more info.

Hello Guys and welcome back to the thread that talks about "learning how to animate". Ok so it's been quite a while since i last dropped anything on this thread but i've some how found the time to do this right here [url][/url]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iRY7prvz5E[url][/url]. It's the intro to an Animation fight shot. I don't have enough time right now but will definitely get back to this thread soonest and as usual, i can be reached on chimatic@gmail.com for further inquiries. Have fun.

Over the years, these below are the principles that has guided me from my first reel to the last posted here.

Focus on what you are animating. Don't fill up the scene with things that wont matter in the name of beautification.
Put all your time into it now, or spend all of your time on it, all your time till you turn like 50 and get tired. It could get worse.
If you are on a 4gig ram, try not to choke the scene up. You could stay in the 25k poly region to avoid a drag.
Get as much videos as you can and watch every single one. It might not be helpful now but the time for it will come.
MOCAP will make you lazy. It's only good when you can animate. My take? Stay away from MOCAP.
Watch alot of cartoons, Movies and observe everything.
If you've been on how to Animate for more that four years and cant still animate at least a walk cycle properly then you should consider changing your tactics or approach to it. And not necessarily Quitting.
Keep everything really simple, and build on it gradually.
You have to love what you are doing mhen and not the potential cash you could make from it.
Always look for and follow the guys that are way ahead of you, whether you like them or not. Ego has no place in whatever you want to achieve.
Challenge yourself.All the time. Know yourself and tell yourself the truth ALL the time even if you love to lie.

Ok, that's about all i can think of right now. I'm cooking up an anime shot and will likely post it this week when i'm done. Yeah after that, i can move on with my life. See you guys.

Hello guys and welcome back to this thread. Yup, i've been busy like a lot of you but finally found the time to churn out this video as promised even though it was done in a rush. And that tells you how cumbersome the process of churning animations is. Even as i'm trying to keep everything simple and on the low. As usual, it was an awesome experience doing something a little different using the 3dsmax CAT rigs and i hope to come up with a better Part 2 and it's not political because i'm not a fan. Anyways, here is the link [url][/url]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f73kM3Zg6X0[url][/url].

Ok, so with this My "Learn how to Animate" crash course will begin next week and registrations will end on Thursday. If interested mail chimatic@gmail.com for the know hows.

Thanks a bunch.

The learn how to animate program promo has been over for a while and i'm sorry i didn't notify u guys. Any ways here is something artists would call a WIP that i'm working on. It's just plain nude at this time and still need some cleaning ups. No sound or textures just raw animation. "Animate".
Check it out. I think it's about 6mb so have no fears.

P.s: The actual video is longer so you could call this an extract.

[url][/url]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_xThHX6WwM [url][/url]

Nice thread. Really want to be an animator
FOLLOWING

funnysaint:
Nice thread. Really want to be an animator
FOLLOWING

If you desire it, you can be it with a lot of hard work, passion and dedication to the course. It's rewarding, it will be rewarding and will stay rewarding because it's young and entertaining amongst other things. It's what Africa has been waiting for. If you find the right learning channel and you've got the right attitude to it, i'll advice you get on the train fast, because it's a very looooonnng and bumpy ride. Happy Animating.

Ooooooookaaaaayyy! So this is the completed version of the WIP i posted a week ago. It's done in 3dsmax from start to finish and rigged with 3dsmax Cat. The thing is, if you can animate with the CAT or it's equivalent from any other programme, then animating a character well set up with custom bones should be a lot easier. Keep Animating.

[url][/url]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y7EG8X4a0k[url][/url]

abuja, area 11, opp. fcda, suite 2