Coloso - Introduction to Dynamic Body Mechanic/Camera Animation

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

"I'll teach you to create dynamic animations by mastering essential animation principles."

Easy Steps to Creating Dynamic Character Animation

Animation becomes much easier and more intuitive when you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals. 3D animator Vikram Grewal has designed this class specifically for beginner and intermediate animators, offering a strong foundation in creating dynamic, stylized character movements with effective camera tracking and flow. By breaking down complex actions into manageable, step-by-step processes, this class serves as the perfect guide to building confident and compelling animation.

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

Over the course of 20 classes, you’ll dive into essential animation principles such as weight, timing, and spacing—focusing on how these elements affect the way characters move and interact with their environment. You’ll also analyze real-world reference materials and explore effective techniques used in other animated works, learning how to apply those insights to your own animations to create believable, engaging movement. With Vikram Grewal's guidance, animation won't feel like a daunting challenge, but an enjoyable and rewarding process that brings your ideas to life.

Class Preview

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Chapter 09.

Jumps and Physical Actions

1. Animate a character performing a jump or similar action to understand force and weight: crouching anticipation, explosive takeoff, mid-air hang time, and landing impact

Class Perks

Special Gift from Vikram Grewal

Class Perks  

Exclusive Discount Code for \[Rigs from Ramon Arango\]  

- An exclusive coupon code only for students of Coloso.  

(Sharing the code with a third party or person that isn't within this class would be strictly prohibited.)  

Class Perks  

Links to Rigs  

- Files with Mannequins with body mechanics for you to practice human physical animation and texture  

Class Perks  

Links to Maya Scripts and Tools  

- Essential Maya scripts and tools for you to test and practice so you can apply it to your future projects  

Class Perks  

Links to Reference Sites  

- Reference sites you can visit to revise and make use of when creating personal projects  

Expert 3D Animator Vikram Grewal's Portfolio

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

Why Take This Class?

Building a Strong Foundation: The Key to Creating Animation

If you’re struggling with stiff or unnatural animation—or you just can’t seem to grasp how animation truly works—it might be because you’re missing a solid understanding of the fundamentals. Fortunately, that’s an easy problem to fix, and you’ve just found the perfect class to help you do it.

Vikram Grewal designed this class to ensure every student walks away with a strong foundation in animation. That’s why each step is broken down into simple, manageable parts so you never feel overwhelmed. This beginner-friendly course starts with an introduction to Maya, helping you get comfortable with the software before diving into practicing creating actual animation based on key principles. If you want to build confidence and create animations that actually move and feel right, this class is your first step in the right direction.

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9 Class Exercises

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Ball Bouncing Weight Exercise  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Walk/Run Cycle  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Camera Animation  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Weight Mechanic Test  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Constraints  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Jump Exercise  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Blocking and Splining  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Simple Environment Geo Building  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Rendering  

Final Product Examples

Rigging Assets for Future Use

Complete Animation

Character Flows in Action

Final Touch-up tips

*Above are sample images for a better understanding

Instructor

3D Animator

Vikram Grewal

Vikram Grewal is a 3D animator located in Metro Vancouver with 3+ Years of experience in the animation industry with a passion for creating and animating dynamic body mechanic. He's also known for his personal animation work shared around his socials which prominetly feature a sense of high energy camera motion and snappy character animation with strong posing techniques.

Background Images

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

3D Animator,

Vikram Grewal

[Current]

• 3D Gameplay Animator at Curiomatic

[Previous]

• 3D Animator and Layout Artist at Atomic Cartoons

• 3D Animator at Stellar Creative Lab

• Junior 3D Animator at Mainframe

Projects & Awards

X (Twitter)

Highlights

Class Highlights

How to Tag Movement Actions

Knowing how and when to sequence different body mechanic actions together to create a scene of flow throughout the animator's scene.

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

Applying Focus With the Camera

Learning to stablize the camera with ease in/out actions to frame the choreography as readable and clear to the viewer.

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

Creating Appealing Poses

Pushing character rigs to create strong key poses through the layout process.Techniques include force perspective.

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

Class Details

You'll Learn

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Learning the Fundamentals  

Learn the primary animation principles that will be used throughout the course workflow.  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Strong Character Posing  

Push character rigs in creative ways to create clean and readable silhouettes within Maya.  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Building a Scene  

Build a project scene and create simple environments to work off of.  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Understanding Choreography Techniques  

Going over different sources of animation reference from films and games to understand what goes into crafting an action scene.  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

Blocking and Splining  

Going through the process of blocking and splining after creating layouts for scenes.  

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal  

General Workflow  

Understanding the general workflow within Autodesk Maya and using some tools like Studio Library and DreamWall Picker.  

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Interview with

3D Animator, Vikram Grewal

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Question.01

Is there a specific reason why you chose this specific topic/themes?

I've always had a strong passion in creating body mechanic work ever since my studies in university and from then I've been consistently attempting to improve my skill in action animation and is a role a generally get assigned to in most productions I work in both in the layout and spline process.

Question.02

What makes your class different from other classes?

This class is an attempt to concise the genreal process of laying out a dynamic scene with character body mechanics in simple and short mannor so that students can easily understand and apply the principles through the exercises and lessons.

Question.03

Could you please share how you started your journey in the industry?

I started off my journey enrolling in Capilano University to study 3D Animation and software pipelines after learning about the potenial oppurtinty of working within a field that has always intrigued me. After graduating in 2022, I started off working as a junior animator for about a year until moving around a few studios to becoming an intermediate animation artist and further learning about the industry.

Required Programs

This course will use Autodesk Maya.

Please purchase and install these program(s) for an optimized chapter experience.

*These programs and/or materials will not be provided with the chapter.

Adobe Photoshop CC

Curriculum

Curriculum

In-Depth Look

**Class release dates and content are subject to change without prior notice.

SECTION 01  

OT  

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01. Orientation and Maya Overview- Meet your instructor, Vikram Grewal and learn about the overview of this class  

SECTION 02

Core Principles of Animation

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2. Introduction to the Principles of Animation- Present the foundational animation principles (such as squash & stretch, timing, anticipation, etc.) and their importance

3. Bouncing Ball Exercise- Hands-on animation of a bouncing ball, applying squash & stretch and proper timing to convey weight (starting with a simple up-and-down bounce)

4. Bouncing Ball with Obstacles and Weight Variations- Advance the ball exercise by having the ball interact with obstacles (e.g. bouncing over a box) and adjust timing for heavy vs light balls

   5. Applying Camera Movement- Initial demonstration of Maya's camera and how to add basic camera movement in a scene

SECTION 03

Basic Animation Exercises

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6. Introduction to Character Rigs and Controls- Going over a traditional biped rig showing all general controls, IK and FK overview, introduction to studio library

7. Walk Cycle Exercise- Plan and set up the primary poses of a walk/run cycle (contact, down, passing, up positions) for a character focusing on balanced weight transfer posture

8. Run Cycle Exercise- Making a run cycle that flows easy, with efficient workflow.

   9. Jumps and Physical Actions- Animate a character performing a jump or similar action to understand force and weight: crouching anticipation, explosive takeoff, mid-air hang time, and landing impact

SECTION 04

Animation Process and Camera Workflows

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10. Constraints and Object Interaction- Techniques for animating character interacting with props (picking up/letting go of objects) when using constraints and parenting in Maya

11. What Goes into Building a Dynamic Scene- Showing examples and personal inspirations

• The idea of "tagging" actions

• Do and dont's, visual clarity/focus, and force perspective techniques

12. Creating Storyboards- Learn to sketch storyboards from the story idea: visualize key moments and camera angles in a sequence of panels to plan out the animation

13. Laying Out Your Animation Scene- Setting up your project scene and referencing your rigs to layout your initial poses and set up from your boards

14. Blocking and Solidfying Strong Character Posing Part 1- Defining poses and moving forward with the layout created

15. Blocking and Solidfying Strong Character Posing Part 2- Exploring more poses with more definition

16. Applying Inbetweens Throughout Spline Process Part 1- Creating inbetweens from the blocking phase and spining out the movement with usage of the graph editor

    17. Applying Inbetweens Throughout Spline Process Part 2- Graph editor deep dive with details and inbetweens

SECTION 05

Final Step and Next Moves

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18. Polishing Your Animation and Iteration Process- Tips for reviewing and refining your animation: seeking feedback, identifying areas to improve, and iterating to reach a polished final result

19. Rendering and Playblasting Your Work- Learn how to playblast (preview render) animation for review and output a basic render of your scene

• Discuss presentation techniques for animated shots

20. Course Conclusion and Next Steps- Recap the key takeaways from the course

• Final thoughts and advice on continued practice and learning paths in animation beyond this class