DA 227 Character Design and Animation

School of Arts and Technology

DA 227 Character Design and Animation takes an exhaustive approach to character design, character creation, rigging and animation. Students explore character design and assembly, rigging, and voice and mouth-shape synchronization. They use various methods of character animation to produce professional-quality animated shorts.

Prerequisites: DA 112, DA 121 and DA 122 all with a minimum grade of 50%

Accessibility Services Notice

Students who would like an academic accommodation and who have a documented disability should contact Accessibility Services, if they have not already done so.

Transfer Agreements

Course to Course transfer – NoBlock Transfer – Yesbctransferguide.ca
Course Details
Total number of weeks15
Total Credits
Total Hours60
Typical hours per week breakdown
Lecture3
Lab (lab, field, computer)1

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the learner will be able to:

  1. Explain terms, theories and concepts related to animation
  2. Apply the principles of animation
  3. Incorporate self-assessment techniques
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of different character-rigging techniques
  5. Create characters using various software applications
  6. Produce short video clips utilizing a variety of animation methods
  7. Demonstrate how the use of camera shots can improve the outcome of a scene
  8. Communicate actions, emotion and stories using animation
  9. Create short animated films that follow best practices of the digital arts industry

Teaching and Learning Approach

A combination of theory-based lecture and context-based demonstration, with regular opportunity for hands-on participation.

Learning Resources

Required: None Recommended: None

Detailed Course Content, Topics, and Sequence Covered

1. Review principles of animation, symbols, keyframes and the Adobe Animate library 2. Animation styles overview, Pivot points, Tweens and the Asset Warp Tool 3. Character creation and layout, setting up character templates and importing files from other programs 4. Character creation and layout continued from previous week and a discussion of the pros and cons of using different animation techniques 5. Character rigging, parenting workflow setup and bones workflow setup 6. Character rigging continued 7. Walk Cycles, Standard walk cycle poses and timing keyframes, using standard walk cycle charts 8. Using reference, importing video, setting up a armature and a discussion of the importance of using reference 9. Lip sync, frame picker automated and manual lip sync workflows, mouth charts 10. Lip sync continued 11. Character Animator Basics 12. Character Animator continued if time permits 13. Lab/TBA 14. Lab/TBA 15. Final animation project presentations

Assessment

TitleLearning OutcomesValue
Assignment 1: Bouncing Ball Animations2, 5, 6, 85%
Assignment 2: Falling Brick Animations2, 4, 5, 6, 810%
Assignment 3: Character Design Sheet Assignment 3: Character Rigging and Test3, 510%
Animation2, 4, 5, 6, 810%
Assignment 4: Walk Cycle Animation2, 4, 5, 6, 815%
Assignment 5: Video Reference Animation2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 815%
Assignment 6: Lip Sync Animation2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 910%
Final Project Animation, with Self Assessment1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 925%
Total100%

Grading Table

Standard Academic and Career Programs Grading Table

Percentage Letter Grade GPA
90-100 A+ 4.33
85-89 A 4.00
80-84 A- 3.67
76-79 B+ 3.33
72-75 B 3.00
68-71 B- 2.67
64-67 C+ 2.33
60-63 C 2.00
55-59 C- 1.67
50-54 P 1.00
0-49 F 0.00
  DNW 0.00

See the Academic Calendar for General Information including how to withdraw from course(s) and other regulations.

Disclaimer

Information contained in this course outline is correct at the time of publication. Content of the course is revised on an ongoing basis to ensure relevance to changing educational, employment and market needs. The instructor will endeavor to provide notice of changes to students as soon as possible. The instructor reserves the right to add or delete material from courses.