Doc:Tutorials/Animation/BSoD/Character Animation/Intro

From BlenderWiki

[[{{{2}}}|      ]]>

[[{{{3}}}|      ]]>

Blender Summer of Documentation: Contents | Manual | Blender Version 2.42

[edit] About this character animation tutorial

This tutorial is designed to teach you the more advanced tools available in Blender. It's written in the spirit of "Gus the Gingerbread Man" tutorial: no prior knowledge is assumed. In other words you'll be able to follow this tutorial without any prior Blender experience.

Gus the Gingerbread Man

Gus the Gingerbread Man tutorial - Is a very well known Blender beginners tutorial teaching the basics of using Blender to model a simple gingerbread man with basic rigging and animation techniques included.

[edit] Why should I do this tutorial?

Upon completion, you will have a fully rigged character (with facial expressions and a skeleton) and an animation - lip synched to sound, starring your character. You'll end up with the tools and knowledge to make your own character and make it do whatever you want. It's your one-stop-shop for learning many of the tools in Blender.

[edit] How long will it take?

Depending on your prior experience and how quickly you work, it could take anywhere from a single day to a month. Take your time and don't worry about finishing it within some time limit.

It's not about the destination, it's about the journey: don't try to speed through this tutorial. Take the time to learn Blender -- it will pay back in the long run, when you'll be able to finish your own projects quickly and efficiently.

[edit] Isn't this information available elsewhere?

It sure is! I've repeated things that are found throughout the Blender manual, in other tutorials, and around the web. If I've used someone else's work for reference, I've cited that in the text. The advantage of this tutorial is that it compiles all of that knowledge into a single step-by-step guide.

[edit] Format of the tutorial

[edit] Main body

The main body of the tutorial consists of steps to carry out and accompanying screenshots. Individual steps are indicated by bulleted items.

• Step one, with some explanatory text
• Step two
• Step three, and why we did it that way.

If a screenshot is too small, you can always click on it for a larger view. In the text, I've tried to explain why you're doing a particular step as well as how to do it.

[edit] Side notes

To accommodate the widest range of skills, I've tried to assume as little as possible on the part of the reader. To prevent beginning users from becoming lost and more advanced users from getting bored, I will introduce new topics and concepts as side notes that beginners can read and advanced users can easily skip over.

[edit] Keyboard commands, mouse controls, and menu items

At the beginning of the tutorial, I've tried to include the hotkey or menu item for each command. It's easy enough to skip over them if you know them already, but they'll be helpful if you take a break and come back later. You won't have to page back looking for the hotkey if you forget.

Later on in the tutorial, I won't spell out often-used commands, since you'll have already learned them.

[edit] Notes

Periodically you'll see a note like this:

[edit] Downloadable files

At the end of each major section, you can find a .blend file to download. If you get stuck, or want to skip some sections, feel free to download the file and start from that point.

[edit] Prerequisites

I've assumed little to no prior knowledge of Blender. As such, I take the time at the beginning of the tutorial to explain common tools and commands. An experienced user can cruise right through the first few sections quickly, while a beginning user should take the time to read the explanations.

As supplementary material, check out the one-page Blender QuickStart Guide.

Don't worry about memorizing all those commands. At each step throughout the tutorial, I'll remind you of the hotkeys or menu commands. With enough practice, you'll memorize the commands that are worth memorizing without even trying.

[edit] Caveats

Please keep in mind that this is only one way of doing things. There are many different work flows, and I'm only showing you the way I do it.

I've tried to strike a balance between keeping the character simple enough so that a beginner can follow along, but complex enough so that you can learn more advanced techniques. Feel free to add more detail, make more complex materials and textures, or make a more complex rig. Consider this tutorial as a guideline for your own creations.

Next: Setting up the mesh

Previous: Index

Back to Index