Uploaded February 2016 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Do you want to know more? Visit 2danimation101.com/art-of-character-animation
Hi, Sydney here for 2danimation101.com And today I will share with you the 4 things you can do to improve your performance in the 3 steps to do awesome character animation.
If you haven’t checked my other 2 videos,
Please do so, because… you will go like: “What the heck is this girl talking about?”
So, please check those before you watch this…
Ok. So here are the 4 things you can do to improve your character animation.
First. Study and understand the basic 12 principles of animation.
If you are not using them, then at least you need to understand then and have a clear explanation of why you don’t need some of the principles.
But don’t be an animator who doesn’t use the 12 principles because you don’t know them.
At least be someone who knows about them, but are choosing not to apply them. Maybe some of the principles don’t apply to your style.
Either case. Study them and understand them. Then make a choice.
Second. Act your character before animating.
The best animators out there stand up and try to do what the character is doing in the scene. They try to be the character in real life, try to understand what would the character do if it had those emotions.
They do faces in front of a mirror, they get up, they walk around, they do stuff.
For this, you might need to learn a little about acting. So, if you are not an actress, or actor, then consider doing some research about it to at least have some techniques and have your characters perform better when they express emotions.
Just google “Acting techniques” and check some articles on the internet.
Third. Once you know a bit about acting techniques, dive deeper into body language.
Hey, if we are talking about expressing emotions, knowing about body language is a big must.
It’s the science of how people express emotions without talking.
So consider also googling “Body Language”
There are very good books on the subject.
In the description for this video, you can see some of the books I recommend reading. They will help you a lot.
Forth. Use references.
This one is the most important of all…
Have references.
If you don’t have references when doing character animation, you won’t be able to be very good.
Especially if you are starting out.
What are references?
References are videos of people doing the stuff that your character is supposed to be doing.
If you want a funny walk, just record yourself, or a friend, doing a funny walk, import that video to your animation software and make your characters move with the same motion.
Ok. That’s it for today.
Remember to subscribe to our channel if you like it, or unsubscribe if you find these videos annoying. Hey, you can do either one FOR FREE! Right?
So do whatever you want :)
For those of you still interested, follow me on my next video, in which I will talk a bit more about the 3rd step.
Expressing emotions with your characters.
Do you want to know more? Visit 2danimation101.com/art-of-character-animation
Hi, Sydney here for 2danimation101.com And today I will share with you the 4 things you can do to improve your performance in the 3 steps to do awesome character animation.
If you haven’t checked my other 2 videos,
Please do so, because… you will go like: “What the heck is this girl talking about?”
So, please check those before you watch this…
Ok. So here are the 4 things you can do to improve your character animation.
First. Study and understand the basic 12 principles of animation.
If you are not using them, then at least you need to understand then and have a clear explanation of why you don’t need some of the principles.
But don’t be an animator who doesn’t use the 12 principles because you don’t know them.
At least be someone who knows about them, but are choosing not to apply them. Maybe some of the principles don’t apply to your style.
Either case. Study them and understand them. Then make a choice.
Second. Act your character before animating.
The best animators out there stand up and try to do what the character is doing in the scene. They try to be the character in real life, try to understand what would the character do if it had those emotions.
They do faces in front of a mirror, they get up, they walk around, they do stuff.
For this, you might need to learn a little about acting. So, if you are not an actress, or actor, then consider doing some research about it to at least have some techniques and have your characters perform better when they express emotions.
Just google “Acting techniques” and check some articles on the internet.
Third. Once you know a bit about acting techniques, dive deeper into body language.
Hey, if we are talking about expressing emotions, knowing about body language is a big must.
It’s the science of how people express emotions without talking.
So consider also googling “Body Language”
There are very good books on the subject.
In the description for this video, you can see some of the books I recommend reading. They will help you a lot.
Forth. Use references.
This one is the most important of all…
Have references.
If you don’t have references when doing character animation, you won’t be able to be very good.
Especially if you are starting out.
What are references?
References are videos of people doing the stuff that your character is supposed to be doing.
If you want a funny walk, just record yourself, or a friend, doing a funny walk, import that video to your animation software and make your characters move with the same motion.
Ok. That’s it for today.
Remember to subscribe to our channel if you like it, or unsubscribe if you find these videos annoying. Hey, you can do either one FOR FREE! Right?
So do whatever you want :)
For those of you still interested, follow me on my next video, in which I will talk a bit more about the 3rd step.
Expressing emotions with your characters.
