Introduction

Build on the fundamental animation skills and animation process and planning knowledge you developed in Foundations, and gain a range of key animation skills and an appreciation for key animation processes.

You’ll also explore using:

• Adobe Animate and Toon Boom to create 2D effects animation sequences, applying principles of movement, timing, design, and presentation
• Autodesk Maya to create 3D character animation, applying principles of posing, movement, timing, acting, and performance design and presentation.

This module covers four topics:

1. Animation Planning
2. Fundamental Principles of Animation
3. Effects Animation
4. Character Animation

The fine print

This module supports the following learning outcomes for you to achieve:

1. Apply a range of software tools and fundamental animation processes with precision and accuracy while creating character and effects animation sequences within a multidisciplinary animation production.
2. Manage deadlines, present progress and respond to feedback while creating impactful effects and character animation sequences in response to animation project briefs.
3. Apply and evaluate principles, techniques and processes to make improvements to character and effects animation in response to project briefs.

Choose your topics

You can choose any topic that matches your goals and interests as your entry point. Whether it’s the Animation Planning topic or the Character Animation topic, there’s a starting point for you.

Work through learning tasks in sequence

Once you select a topic, move from one learning task to the next in a logical sequence. This ensures you build upon your skills and knowledge gradually. You can dip in and out of topics, but keep to the order of learning tasks within a topic.

When you focus on a learning task, read it carefully to check when you need to use a Forum to share your coursework (e.g. image or multimedia files) with your facilitator and fellow students - you'll get specific guidance on how to do this. Using Forums is a great way of improving your animation skills through constructive feedback and helps you keep track of your progress through this module.

Manage your time

Your learning

Choose and start your first topic in your first week.

The total learning hours of this module are 300 hours. That’s 30 hours per week, over ten weeks.

This includes you:

• reading, watching, and completing learning tasks
• participating in or viewing Live Sessions
• preparing and completing assessments.

Learning hours are ‘facilitated asynchronous’, which means you complete your learning hours in your own time. However, you will need to be active in the Forums and Live Sessions.

Your assessments

You need to prepare your evidence for this module’s two assessments throughout the ten weeks. We recommend you start this preparation in your first week.

The weeks that your assessment work needs to be submitted are:

• Week 4 – Assessment 1 (Effects Sequence)
• Week 10 – Assessment 2 (Character Sequence)

Practice makes perfect

The practical nature of this module requires a high level of participation from you. Throughout your learning journey, focus on using the tools and resources in each topic as you work through the module.

Aim to complete all the learning tasks. Doing so will:

• help you practice and reinforce new skills and habits
• prepare you for the assessments
• make you feel more confident when completing assessment work.

The work you do by completing the learning tasks will prove very handy for the assessment work you need to prepare and submit.