Animating 3D Cartoon Characters in Blender

Acting is one of the most important tools in animation, as it reveals a character's thoughts and feelings through their behavior. In this online course, learn how to exaggerate actions and expressions to shape imaginary individuals and scenes that still fit within the realm of credibility.

Animator and 3D artist Ulises Cervantes teaches you how to bring cartoon-style characters to life in Blender, following the principles of acting. He shows you a fun and efficient approach to animation and how to amaze viewers through the movements and gestures of your characters in an animated take.

Get to know Ulises Cervantes as he tells you about his career, his influences, and the artists that inspire him. He also discusses the most common obstacles people encounter on the road to becoming professional character animators.

Next, learn the basic concepts of cartoon-style animation and start working on your final project, approaching it as if it were a real commission from a studio. Create a storyboard for your animation with a sequence of thumbnails and find out how to structure the timing for the actions in your scene to match the audio. Then, draw your characters in 2D using Blender's Grease Pencil tool.

Now it's time to bring your characters to life in 3D. Explore the rigging process alongside your teacher and see how to work with Splines, paying close attention to both the physical and emotional traits of your characters to ensure their actions are in line with their personality. Discover how to effectively use the graph editor, as well as how to control interactions with constraints and animate secondary movements.

Once you've got a decent take, Ulises shows you how to fine-tune your animation and achieve a more prominent cartoon look. Finally, create a basic lighting set-up for your render and get some tips on how to seamlessly incorporate your animation into the studio's workflow.

Create an animated take with 3D characters in Blender, applying the principles of acting.

Anyone interested in streamlining their animation processes, regardless of their style.
This course is also ideal for 3D artists who know how to work with Blender on a basic level, as well as artists who use other programs and would like to explore Blender with a simple and easy approach.

Basic notions of 3D programs are required to take this course.

In terms of materials, you need:

- a notebook
- a pen or pencil
- a camera or smartphone
- screenshot software
- a media player or video program
- blender 3.0 or later (you can download it for free from the website)