Intro to Animation with Blender

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Introduction to Blender Animation: Master 3D Animation from Scratch

Take your first steps into the exciting world of 3D animation with our Introduction to Blender Animation course. Designed for beginners, this self-paced course covers everything from understanding Blender’s interface to creating polished animations. Whether you’re an aspiring animator or looking to expand your creative toolkit, this course is your guide to mastering the fundamentals of 3D animation using the powerful and free software, Blender.

What You’ll Learn:

Navigate Blender’s interface and 3D workspace with ease.
Create and rig simple 3D models from scratch.
Master essential animation principles such as timing, spacing, squash, stretch, and more.
Bring your animations to life using keyframing and the Graph Editor.
Apply realistic lighting, rendering, and post-production techniques to give your animations a professional finish.

Key Modules Include:

Blender Basics: A thorough introduction to Blender’s interface and essential tools.
3D Modeling & Rigging: Learn how to create and rig a simple 3D cube, building a foundation for more complex models.
Animation Fundamentals: Explore core principles such as anticipation, ease-in/ease-out, and arcs to make your animations fluid and believable.
Lighting and Rendering: Understand lighting techniques and rendering settings to create visually stunning animations.
Post-production and Editing: Discover how to composite and edit your final animation directly in Blender for a complete pipeline experience.

Meet Your Instructor: Miles Jackson

Your instructor, Miles Jackson, is an experienced character animator with over 5 years of experience working on feature films, episodic series, and games. As an alumnus of Animation Mentor, Miles brings a strong foundation in animation principles and techniques, ensuring students gain not only technical skills but also creative confidence.

Why This Course is Right for You:

This course is perfect for aspiring animators, game developers, and creative professionals who want to learn animation at their own pace. With a step-by-step approach, you’ll develop the skills to navigate Blender confidently and create your first animated scenes from scratch.

Enroll Today and Start Animating!

Ready to bring your ideas to life? Enroll now in the Introduction to Blender Animation course and take your first steps toward mastering 3D animation. Start creating stunning animations today with Blender, a free, industry-standard tool!

Course Content

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Week 1: Introduction to Blender 6 Topics

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Lesson Content

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Week 1: Introduction

Week 1: Getting Started with Blender

Week 1: Basic Object Manipulation

Week 1: Basic Modeling

Week 1: Materials

Week 1: Scene Setup

Week 2: Blender Animation Basics: Getting the Ball Bouncing 6 Topics

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Week 2: Introduction

Week 2: Tools for Animation & What is a Keyframe

Week 2: Animation Principles: Timing & Spacing

Week 2: Ease In & Ease Out

Week 2: Squash & Stretch

Week 2: The Bouncing Ball

Week 3: Blender Rigging Concepts 6 Topics

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Week 3: Introduction

Week 3: What is Rigging & Armatures

Week 3: Overlap and Follow Through

Week 3: Vertex Groups

Week 3: Bone Constraints & Squash and Stretch

Week 3: Rigging a Cube with Squash and Stretch

Week 4: Bringing our Blender Animations to Life 6 Topics

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Week 4: Introduction

Week 4: Linking Assets & Scene Layout

Week 4: Final Setup and Animation Principles

Week 4: Animation Principles – Arcs

Week 4: Planning

Week 4: Jumping Cube

Week 5: Mastering the Blender Animation Tool Kit 6 Topics

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Week 5: Introduction

Week 5: “Pose to Pose” and “Straight Ahead”

Week 5: Graph Editor & Dope Sheet

Week 5: Animating the Camera

Week 5: Creating an Animation with Character Pt. 1

Week 5: Creating an Animation with Character Pt. 2

Week 6: Post Production for Blender Animation 5 Topics

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Week 6: Introduction

Week 6: Introduction to Lighting

Week 6: Introduction to Rendering & Compositing in Blender

Week 6: Introduction to Editing in Blender

Week 6: Physics Systems

Course Materials: Introduction to Animation with Blender

Throughout this course, you will engage in various activities that involve creating and animating 3D models using Blender. Below is a comprehensive list of materials and references that will support you from start to finish.

Reference Materials:

Blender Manual: Mesh Primitives - Understand the basic building blocks in Blender.
Blender Tutorials - Explore a range of tutorials covering all aspects of Blender.
Blender Foundation YouTube Channel - Watch video tutorials to enhance your skills.

Weekly Projects:

Each week, you will be tasked with an activity designed to apply the concepts covered in the lessons. These activities will progressively build upon each other to develop your skills in 3D modeling, texturing, lighting, and animation.

General Submission Guidelines:

For each activity, you will be provided with a specific link to submit your work. Ensure your files are named appropriately, usually including your name and the week's activity (e.g., JaneDoe_Week3Texture.png).

General Feedback:

If you signed up for the mentor feedback version of the course, you can expect to receive video-based or writter feedback within 48 hours after each submission. Use this as a learning opportunity to refine your techniques and understanding of Blender.

Keep this page bookmarked as you will be referring to these materials throughout the course. Good luck, and enjoy your creative journey with Blender!