Advanced Body
Mechanics
Pro Animators Mentor You to Be Successful
Once you've applied and been accepted into Animation Mentor, you can choose your mentor and register for class. Our mentors are veteran studio animators from DreamWorks, Industrial Light & Magic and beyond, who work with you 1:1 every week.
Why Take Advanced Body Mechanics at Animation Mentor
Personalized Mentorship
Our mentors are working professionals with years of experience under their belts, and they're passionate about training the next generation of animators. In this course, you will learn 1:1 from your mentor in live sessions as they share insights about what studios are working on and what to expect from the craft.
Studio-Level Animation Tools & Assets
We teach our students how to work in a studio environment so they are ready for jobs when they graduate. This training starts from day one, with exclusive access to professionally designed assets and character rigs in Autodesk Maya.
Live Weekly Q&As
Join weekly 1-hour live Q&A sessions with your mentor, on top of on-demand lectures and animation assignments with weekly 1:1 feedback to grow your craft.
Ongoing Rig Access
Keep access to the studio-quality character rigs (including Pinky, Rock, Twig, Sarge and Fuzzbot) so you can keep building physical, action-driven shots for your reel.
What You'll Be Able to Do
- Build on the body mechanics skills you've developed in earlier courses
- Animate increasingly physical, dynamic shots with confidence
- Pick a character and create your own action sequence from scratch
- Block out and refine an action shot using studio-style workflows
- Learn advanced techniques to make your characters pirouette across a stage, scale the rigging of a pirate ship, or backflip out a window
- Combine body mechanics principles into a powerful tool set you can use to create more believable motion in your characters
- Incorporate different types and sources of video reference and use them to enhance your animation
Skills You'll Gain
Reel Pieces You'll Walk Away With
Advanced Body Mechanics is built around hands-on, physically demanding shots, each one a polished, action-driven piece for your demo reel.
Your Own Action Sequence
Pick a character and create an original action sequence from scratch, using everything you've learned to bring dynamic movement to life.
A Dynamic Physical Shot
A reel-ready shot of physical action: a pirouette across a stage, a climb up a ship's rigging, or a backflip out a window.
Reference-Driven Performance
A refined shot that incorporates video reference to ground its physicality and make the motion believable.
The Advanced Body Mechanics Curriculum
Jump Into Action
Build on your skills from previous courses to start animating increasingly physical shots.
Lay the groundwork for dynamic, physical animation.
- Reviewing core body mechanics
- Planning a physical shot
- Choosing a character and an action
Build Your Action Sequence
Pick a character and create your own action sequence, blocking out the major beats of the shot.
Bring your idea to life through strong blocking.
- Blocking the action sequence
- Staging and composition
- Studio-style workflow
Advanced Techniques & Reference
Learn advanced techniques and use video reference to make physical movement believable.
Push the physicality and realism of your shot.
- Advanced body mechanics techniques
- Working with different types of video reference
- Conveying weight and force
Refine & Polish
Refine and polish your action sequence into a reel-ready shot.
Turn your blocked shot into a finished performance.
- Refining timing and spacing
- Polishing the action
- Finalizing a reel-ready piece
Ready to Start Animating?
Advanced Body Mechanics is a 12-week, mentor-led course. Apply at Animation Mentor, choose your mentor, and register for class.
- 12-week mentor-led course
- Weekly live Q&As + 1:1 feedback
- Taught in Autodesk Maya
- $2,499 USD
Frequently Asked Questions
Staging is the art of presenting an idea so it's completely clear to the audience, directing attention to what matters in a shot through posing, composition, and timing. You'll apply staging to make your action sequences read clearly.
Exaggeration pushes a pose, action, or expression beyond reality to make movement more dynamic and believable on screen. In this course you'll use it to give your physical shots more energy and impact.
Composition is how the elements of a shot are arranged within the frame to guide the viewer's eye and support the story. You'll use composition to stage your own action sequence effectively.
Yes. This course builds on the body mechanics skills from earlier courses, so you should have a working understanding of Autodesk Maya and the fundamentals of animation before you start.
12 weeks, mentor-led: 12 pre-recorded lectures, weekly 1-hour live Q&As, and animation assignments with weekly 1:1 feedback from your mentor.
Working studio animators from studios like DreamWorks, id Software, and Industrial Light & Magic. You choose your mentor after you're accepted.
