My Animation Workflow
My Animation Workflow shows how I bring a shot to life, from initial references to the final playblast. Each step demonstrates my approach to timing, poses, and polishing for clarity and impact.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Gathering References: I like to find references that are close to what I’m aiming for, but not exact. This lets me stay inspired by real movement while keeping the focus on creating, not copying. In this case, I needed animation reference that focused on running, jumping, and ledge dangling.
Ledge Pull-Up Reference
Reference video by Ryan Ford.
Used for educational study and animation research purposes.
After gathering all of my references, the next step is preparing the scene. This involves selecting a character and an environment for the animation. Fortunately, TurboSquid and ProRigs made this process much easier, helping me set up a solid foundation for the project.
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After I had all of the assets, I began by setting up the scene. The first thing I like to do once the scene is set up in Maya is map out the animation in Photoshop or by using a screen drawing overlay. First I draw the beginning and end, then I draw the basics of the pathing and the most likely places I'll need keyframes, and then I get the character situated within the scene and the textures loaded.
Office Building model by Marc Mons, via TurboSquid (Standard License).
Used as part of animation study / environment in this project.
Character model “Frank” by ProRigs.
Used for animation study and practice in this project.
Once the scene and references are ready, I use them to guide my poses and the animation blockout process. At this stage, my goal is to establish all the key poses in their proper locations, create a solid foundation for timing, and ensure that each pose is clear and easy to read.
At this point, the animation blockout is complete, and I move on to the animation phase: from stepped to spline and from blocking to full animation. My first goal is to convert the animation and address any difficulties or problems that arise during this process, such as timing issues, floating poses, or broken movements and rotations. This is a major stage, so my focus is on bringing the animation to a comfortable, editable state rather than trying to create a “perfect” animation straight out of blockout.
Remember those color notes I created back at step two? This is where I analyze the animation, using the color notes to visually break down what needs fixing. I go through the animation at both normal speed and 25% speed to more easily spot areas for improvement. I look for spots that need additional key poses to create better arcs or reduce floaty movement, as well as anything broken that I missed earlier. Parts of the animation with broken movement logic or general clunkiness are the starting point. Often, the changes are small, like making sure the feet shoot backward after lifting when running or adding a subtle pause between poses to prevent the character from floating from one pose to another.
Starting with the notes I left myself, I go through the animation and complete them one by one. After I've completed all of the notes, I work on finalizing the animation, trying to catch any details that I might have missed. Lastly, I prepare the animation for rendering (or in this case just a playblast) and take a moment to reflect on what I've made. The final animation.
Sprint & Jump Reference
Reference video by James “Steve” Brent.
Used for educational study and animation research purposes.