Blender is one of the preferred open source 3D animation software. Surprisingly, it doesn't take much time to start creating simple character animations. Once you have your final 3D character model, you can bring it to life using the software's numerous animation features and tools.
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For example, Blender’s rigging tools will help you achieve the desired movements for your character. Poses can also be added and manipulated using the software's pose editing feature. Alternatively, you can use the non-linear animation editor to create various independent movements.
In this article, we'll cover the basics of animation in Blender. We'll start with a discussion of the UI and key animation tools and features. We'll then explain the step-by-step process of creating a simple character animation. We'll also learn how to add sound to animations, synchronize animations, and some helpful tips for better animation.
1. User interface
There's a lot to Blender's default interface
Once you launch Blender, you'll see the default user interface. The interface is very flexible and consists of various windows that can be resized. You can easily customize it by applying a theme and changing other configurations using the preference editor.
The interface is divided into three main areas:
- The top bar (orange) is at the very top of the window. Here you can find workspaces such as animation and modeling, etc. You can switch between different workspaces from the top bar or use predefined hotkeys, which can be configured in the Keymap section of the Preferences Editor.
- The area below the top bar contains various editors such as the 3D Viewport (yellow), Outline View (green), Properties (blue), and Timeline (red). Every area is customizable and the same editor can even be opened multiple times. Blender includes a number of editors for different workspaces, but Timeline, Graph Editor, Driver Editor, Dope Sheet, and Non-Linear Animation are the animation-specific editors.
- The status bar (pink) is at the very bottom. It displays all statistics, resource information, hotkeys and warnings related to the project being worked on.
2. Important features
Where magic happens!
Now that you’re familiar with the user interface, let’s dive into the software’s most important animation features:
- Navigation in Blender can be done with the help of a tracking device such as a mouse, but if you want to navigate in 3D space faster, keyboard shortcuts can come in handy. The navigation gizmo is located in the upper right corner of the 3D viewport and allows you to pan and zoom the 3D viewport.
- 3D views help you navigate, add, edit, snap, and perform various other operations to interact with 3D scenes. Another important tool is the 3D cursor, which is a location in 3D space used for precise placement of objects. It can be used and moved with the help of snapping tools. A second type of snap operation can also be used during various transformations.
- The animation title is located at the bottom of the interface and contains the timeline, keyframe properties, and frame rate. By default, this rate is set to the standard 24 frames per second (FPS). If you want to change it to something else, open the render settings and set your desired FPS.
- Keyframes are clear locations that represent the start and end points of a specific transition. A series of such transitions makes up a complete animation. Keyframes are represented by small black squares that turn orange when selected. There is no need to fill in the remaining frames between keyframes, Blender does this for you. It produces smooth motion within such intervals, called interpolation.
The graph editor helps adjust animation curves (called F-curves). F-curves are simply the corresponding curves after adding keyframes. Using the graphics editor you can modify and monitor these to provide the desired transitions for the animation.
3. Getting Started
Rigging is the key to character animation
To start animating in Blender, you start with a default cube and animate it by any combination of scaling, rotating, changing its position, or simple transformations. Alternatively, you can use a more complex 3D model and do some rigging.
Rigging is nothing but adding controls to a model or object to provide control and detailing at selected points. Once rigged, the 3D model can be animated as needed.
In this tutorial we'll be using a rigged character in Blender Cloud to create some basic animations, which we'll break down into six steps. Make sure to follow all steps carefully, especially setting keyframes and modifying them.
Also, remember that practice makes perfect: repeating each step and trying different iterations will definitely help you become a better animator in Blender.
let's start!
3.1 Import
Can't believe Rain v2.0 is available for free!
First, we need a 3D character model to animate. Many free and paid characters are available from various websites. On Blender Cloud, Vincent and Rain v2.0 are the two most popular characters. They're completely shaded, manipulated, and best of all, free!
Here we will use Rain v2.0.
- Download the character files to a location on your computer.
- Once downloaded, open Blender and place the 3D cursor at the origin of the scene.
- Then, select Import from the File menu in the top bar and select the file format for your 3D model.
- Select the folder, select the role file, and allow the phyton script to execute.
The character will be imported into Blender, once she's fully loaded let's move on to adding keyframes.
3.2 Key frames
Adding keyframes is easy
Diamond options can be found at the bottom of the timeline; these are keyframes. The two key icons shown here will help you add keyframes to selected locations on the timeline. You can also use them to delete keyframes.
Adding keyframes is very simple:
- Open the Timeline window in the Animation Editor.
- Make sure you are on frame 1 of the timeline.
- Press "G", grab the foot bone and move it. Alternatively, you can move any other bone.
- Press "Shift+I", select channel "LocRot" (position rotation) and insert keyframes.
- Animation requires multiple keyframes. So, scroll through the timeline, go to frame 30, and follow the previous steps to add another keyframe.
Now, scroll through frames 1 to 30 in the timeline and you should see the action you just created. Moving keyframes will adjust the speed of the motion. Try moving the keyframe to frame 20, 40, or any other frame. You'll notice that moving the keyframe to frame 20 speeds up the motion, while moving the keyframe to frame 40 slows down the motion.
3.3 References
Try using your own images as reference images
It's difficult to add natural movement to a character using your imagination alone, so reference images or videos are often used to get the correct movement. There are tons of reference images on the internet. For video reference, you can record a video of yourself or a friend, or you can get inspiration from YouTube.
Once you have the reference material you need, you can display it on a second screen or add it to the 3D space as a background image. Add as follows:
- Press "Shift + A" to open the "Add" menu.
- Select "Image" from the drop-down list, then select "Background."
- Once loaded, scale the reference image to match the character.
You can choose to animate your character exactly as the reference image is, or blow it up for more dynamic movement.
3.4 Fine-tuning
Adjust keyframes in a dope sheet
You can use in-between frames and keyframes to implement basic movements in animation. As the name suggests, an in-between frame is the middle frame between two key frames. They help create smooth transitions between major keyframes.
However, for professional-looking animations, you'll also want to consider further tweaking keyframes in dope sheets and graphics editors. When you first use these animation editors, it can seem quite intimidating. But with practice, you'll find them very useful.
You can use the Dope Sheet for advanced editing of keyframes. Using it is simple:
- Split the window horizontally.
- Switch to Dope Sheet under the Animation tab.
- You will see keyframes for all axes. Enlarge them.
Now you can make the changes you want, such as slowing down or moving the bone on a certain axis.
Fine-tune keyframes in the graph editor
The Graph Editor is the most advanced keyframe manipulator in Blender. It helps further fine-tune the visualization of keyframes and animation curves. You can use it to directly view and edit motion curves.
On the left side of this editor you will find the channels and keyframes assigned to specific channels. Each keyframe has a handle that allows you to adjust the curve by moving, shrinking, or stretching it. The diagram editor can be used in the following ways:
- Split the window and switch to "Graphics Editor" under the "Animation" tab. Alternatively, you can hover over "Dope Sheet" and press "Ctrl + Tab."
- Left-click on any channel to select it.
- Use "Shift + H" to hide the rest of the channel. You can unhide them at any time using "Alt + H".
- Select any handle and perform the desired action.
3.5 Sound
Sound adds life to animation
To add dynamism to your animation, you can try adding sound. It can be a full background music or simply different sound effects. It's also possible to record your own audio and import it into Blender. Let's see how to do this and synchronize it with the character's movements.
- Download the required audio file or record your own.
- In Blender, drag to split the screen and open the Video Sequencer.
- Press "Shift + A" to open the Add menu and select "Sounds."
- Now, browse the list and select the sound you want to add.
To apply a sound to a specific part of the animation, just click and drag it to the appropriate location. Repeat these steps to add more audio files. You can also change "No Sync" to "Av Sync" in the playback drop-down menu for better sync. Volume and tone can be modified in the additional sidebar.
3.6 Rendering
Rendering lets you share your animations with the world
Before you render your animation, there is one key render setting you need to configure: you need to make sure you select the correct frame rate. You can choose standard 24 FPS or any other, but before adding keyframes please choose the same FPS you want. This will help you avoid unwanted rendering.
Once the correct frame rate is set, rendering the animation is easy:
- Open Scene, select a file location, and then select a File Extension to save.
- Choose the file format and your preferred color: BW, RBG or RGBA.
- Set the encoding container to "WebM" and the video codec to "WEBM/VP9".
- If you add sound to the animation, set the audio codec to "Vorbis".
- You can also choose your desired output quality and encoding speed.
When you are satisfied with the configuration, select Rendering from the top bar and click Render Animation.
Congratulations, you have successfully animated a character in Blender! Now that you understand the basic workflow, practice more and become a pro. In the next section, we’ll cover some helpful tips to help you become a pro faster.
3.7 Tips
Pro Tip: Turn off unused bones
It's common to make mistakes as a beginner, but some of them can be avoided by following a few simple tips:
- Turn off unused bones to tidy up the screen. You can always turn them on when needed and close them again when the work is done. This results in a cleaner looking workflow.
- Turning on automatic keyframes will automatically insert keyframes for bone and object insertion. Not only does this save a lot of time, but it's also very useful when you forget to add any keyframes between animations.
- Optimizing rendering memory is important because rendering can take longer than you think. This may even cause the software to crash. It's wise to always make sure you have appropriate space available on your device.
- Simply set a lower frame rate for faster rendering. This will help you save a lot of time. Additionally, you can lower the resolution to further increase rendering speed.
Original link: A brief tutorial on Blender animation—BimAnt