Hey everyone, I’m not so new to Blender, I’ve used it back in June of 2013, and kinda procrastinated with using it.
Anyhow, Like my title suggest I want to be a animator and (hopefully) work in the game industry someday, but with that being said, what kind of advice would you guys give for someone like me who wants to be a animator?
I’ve already started getting back into learning with Blender, Infact i’m using Lynda.com to kinda give me a kick in the right direction.
if your just interested in games practice with simple walk cycles and other simple movements in the action editor. (part of the dope sheet window) you’ll need to learn rigging as well
If you’re still learning, then my advice is to first get some quality learning material on basic animation principles. They are the same regardless of software or media (3d or 2d) and are a very good place to start with animation. I learned a lot from the Animation Fundamentals DVD you can get from the Blender store and would really recommend it to anyone who wants to get into animation.
Rigging is useful to know as well, it’s the hidden half of 3d animation. While it’s not strictly necessary to know as an animator (especially in bigger teams where they have dedicated riggers), it’s a very good skill to have or at least understand what it’s about. Humane Rigging can teach you that.
for sure, animation fundamentals is a great resource to purchase, though it might need updating as it was made in 2.5
the techniques are the same but some of the buttons have shifted around a little.
If you want to be an animator, learn all the fundamentals first, then practice them in blender.
Better yet, practice first, then learn the fundamentals. It doesn’t make a lick of a difference either way.
^ fair. I guess the point is, there are no Blender Animators, there are animators who use Blender. You have to know how to create the art, your tools don’t matter as much as the art.
Don’t forget the books: The Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams and The Illusion of Lifeby Thomas and Johnston.
There’s a lot of good advice in here so I’ll just add a few things:
You are an animator. Think that way, it’s subtle but important.
Check out CGCookie for a lot of good workflows; a full disclosure: I have a subscription and it’s helped me get up to speed.
Draw a lot
I’m also going to share my own tutorial video, it’s how to animate a character running. I hope it helps you 