1 - Analyzing Moving Objects

All art is communication, and the struggle of motion art is to communicate the story of objects on the go. In the first lecture, we examine the pivotal concepts of physics that help us understand how to recreate real world motion in the minds of our viewers. We'll explore different forms of energy and force and the relationships between them. We'll also touch on Newton's three laws of motion, terminal velocity, and equilibrium.

Project - Motion capture

2 - The Motion Artist's Media

Once we start to understand how motion works, we face the choice of how to communicate it. In Lecture Two, we'll explore different categories of motion art, including motion in a single image, sequential art, low frame rate motion, and full motion video. We'll then look at techniques for achieving motion in those categories, highlighting the manipulation of position, scale, rotation, and distortion, as well as options for combining multiple techniques.

Project - Sequential art and stop motion

3 - The Shoulders of Giants

After studying why and how things move, and the different forms at our disposal for communicating movement in art, we will finish up the course by discussing time-tested principles for achieving believable and appealing motion art. We'll look at 12 canonized principles of animation, and we'll then examine how to apply these principles to actual animation workflows, with definitions and explanations of key terms and concepts like poses, blocking, key frames, breakdowns, and tweening.

Project - Flour sack animation

Students in this course can expect to learn to:

• Relate concepts of physics (including energy, force, and motion) to the communication of movement in art.
• Analyze the physics at work in examples of live motion.
• Distinguish between four overarching categories of motion art: motion in a single image, sequential art, low frame rate motion, and full motion video.
• Achieve motion on a 2D plane using the techniques of position, scale, rotation, and distortion, as well as combination techniques, such as parallax.
• Use a webcam or digital camera to create single image, sequential, and full motion stop motion animation.
• Build animated GIFs and full motion videos in MOV and MP4 formats.
• Apply 12 traditional principles of animation in both 2D and 3D motion art.
• Set up a pose-to-pose animation workflow with key frames, breakdowns, and tweening.
• Create appealing and believable animations based on traditional techniques.

Interested in this course? Scheduled and self-paced enrollment options are available. Ask Admissions about taking this course as part of a degree or certificate program.

Software and Supplies

To take this course you'll need:

• Computer with Internet connection (broadband recommended).
• Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, and Animate or equivalent programs.
• Access to a webcam or digital video camera and ability to connect it to a computer to capture footage.
• Basic experience in the above software.