Game Animation Course:
Fundamentals
Pro Animators Mentor You to Be Successful
Our Game Animation course gives you the team, practice, and gear to break into the games industry. Learn from pros currently working at top game studios who share insights about studio working environments, and who help you build a portfolio that gets you hired.
Why Take Game Animation Fundamentals at Animation Mentor
Mentored by Game-Studio Pros
Learn from animators currently working at top game studios who share insights about the real working environment and help you grow your craft.
Animate for Real-Time Engines
Go beyond film workflows. Take your animation from Maya into Unreal Engine and learn how characters come to life in a real-time game.
Live Weekly Q&As
Join weekly live Q&A sessions with your mentor, with all session times shown in Pacific time, plus 1-on-1 feedback on your shots.
On-Going Rig Access
Keep access to the Riley game rig so you can continue practicing and building your game-animation reel after the workshop.
What You'll Be Able to Do
- Understand how game animation differs from film and linear animation
- Work within the limitations and constraints of real-time game engines
- Animate a game-ready character and import it into the Unreal Engine
- Get your animated character moving and reacting inside a live game environment
- Polish your animation to a clean, professional, game-ready finish
- Bring it all together by breathing life into your character through variation
- Build a game-animation portfolio piece that helps you get hired
Skills You'll Gain
What You'll Build
Across six weeks you'll take a game character from a Maya animation all the way into the Unreal Engine, finishing with a polished, game-ready shot for your demo reel.
A Game-Ready Character Shot
Animate a real-time game character in Maya, working within the limitations and constraints of a game engine.
An In-Engine Import
Bring your animated character into the Unreal Engine and see it come alive inside a live game environment.
A Polished Reel Piece
Refine and add variation to your shot for a clean, professional, game-ready piece for your portfolio.
The Game Animation Fundamentals Curriculum
Understanding Game Animation
Get introduced to game animation and how it differs from film and other forms of linear animation.
- How game animation differs from film
- The role of the animator on a game team
- What real-time animation demands
Understanding Limitations and Constraints
Get insight into the techniques game animators use to work within the limits of a real-time engine.
- Engine limitations and constraints
- Game-specific animation techniques
- Designing shots that work in-engine
Put Your Animated Characters in the Game
Get an overview of how the Unreal Engine works and import your character into the game.
- How the Unreal Engine works
- Importing your animated character
- Seeing your shot inside the game
Polishing Your Animation
Once you see your animation in play, it's time to polish it and add the additional touches that make the game pop.
- Cleaning up and polishing your shot
- Additional touches that make the game pop
- Game-ready presentation
Breathing Life Through Variation: Bringing It All Together
Import all the animations you created into the Unreal Engine and control your character through a basic game build.
- Breathing life into your character through variation
- Controlling your character through a basic game build
- Pulling all your work together into one reel-ready shot
Ready to Start Animating?
Game Animation Fundamentals is a 6-week, mentor-led workshop in Maya and Unreal Engine. Enroll at Animation Mentor.
- 6-week mentor-led workshop
- Weekly live Q&As + feedback
- Taught in Maya + Unreal Engine
- $899 USD
Frequently Asked Questions
Game animation brings characters to life inside a real-time engine. Unlike film, where every frame is locked, game animation has to react to player input and work from any camera angle. This workshop introduces how that works and how to animate for it.
Film animation is linear and rendered frame by frame, while game animation runs in real time inside an engine like Unreal and must respect the engine's limitations and constraints. You'll learn the game-specific techniques animators use to make characters move convincingly in-engine.
Game Animation Fundamentals assumes you have a working knowledge of, and experience with, Autodesk Maya. If you're new to Maya, start with our Maya Workshop: Animation Basics first, then come back for this workshop. You do not need prior Unreal Engine experience.
You'll use Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine, plus a computer that meets the minimum requirements. The workshop is taught in English. Live Q&A times are shown in Pacific time.
Game Animation Fundamentals is a 6-week, mentor-led workshop with weekly 1-hour live Q&As, lectures, and animation assignments. You review available mentors and all Q&A times before you choose.
This workshop uses open registration. There's no application. Register now at Animation Mentor for the upcoming start date and you're in.
