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Where to find an awesome animation tutorial?
So you’ve decided that you want to become an animator, but you have no idea which animation
tutorial is the best to help you along your way? (I know, there are a lot of them and
have names for snow. As you look through the different sites that are available, you should
watch out for a few key things.
First Thing To Look For In An Animation Tutorial...
Don’t just start watching anim tutorial videos and doing each one! That’s a crazy
time-suck. You need to know why you’re gong to be studying that particular animation tutorial.
I figure you’re either trying to learn how to animate a specific thing (like a walk cycle,
bouncing ball, or a flag blowing in the breeze) OR you’re trying to figure out a particular
piece of software.
Be warned about trying to follow an animation tutorial video that’s trying to show you
how to do something in Maya while you’re using ToonBoom. That’s going to really confuse
you!
You also want to make sure that person teaching the tutorial knows what they’re talking
about. I’ve stumbled upon a bunch of videos made by total amateurs...following them is
going to do more harm than good. I know, I know...it can be hard to find the perfect
animation tutorial. However, if you do find one, be sure to post the link in the comments
section below! (You’re now part of the Successful Animator community, so you gotta help out
your fellow animation nerds and share all the cool animation tutorials you find).
Some of the better 2D animation tutorial sites out there
One of my favorite 2D animation tutorial sites is Idleworm. It is a great site because it
has a lot of different tutorials that focus on different aspects of animation. The site
also has a blog and a links section that can help you find other great sites.
Let’s say that you are looking for a great animation tutorial to help you create that
figure walking down the street whistling. The second lesson on Idleworm deals with The
Walk Cycle: “Most people can’t wait to make a character
walk. It’s advanced, but I’ve tried to simplify it, showing the 4 main poses of a
walk cycle, and how to build the walk around them.”
Thanks to Dermot O’Connor at Idleworm for this quote!
Here’s a fun anim tutorial I like:
Another one of my favorite 2D animation tutorial sites is Cartoonster. This site is a great
resource because it focuses on teaching animation to both adults and children.
“Cartoonster’s free online tutorial teaches you, step by step, how to draw and animate
– the easy and fun way! We even reveal some shortcuts and animators’ secrets along the
way!”
Thanks to Andrew Fei at Cartoonster for this quote!
And for some really cool animation tutorials, check out Angry Animator.com. They’ve got
bouncing balls, walk cycles, lip sync, and even a Flash animation walk cycle. Jack-pot!