Advanced Body Mechanics

Tell a story through dynamic movement

Jump Into Action

In the Advanced Body Mechanics animation course, build on your skills from previous courses to animate increasingly physical shots. Pick a character and create your own action sequence, using cuts to help tell your story.

Whether you want to send your character barreling through a wall or jumping out of a plane, Advanced Body Mechanics will teach you the necessary skills to animate believable physicality and body mechanics.

12-WEEK COURSE

$2,499 USD

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Pro Animators Mentor You to Be Successful

Our mentors are the heart and soul of Animation Mentor. They are professional, working animators from studios like Pixar, DreamWorks, and Industrial Light & Magic, who will teach you the ins and outs of production-level animation. Keep the momentum going in the Advanced Body Mechanics course, the third of our Core Character Animation Courses.

Drew Adams

Animator
DreamWorks Animation

Drew Adams has been a professional animator since 2001 and is currently an animator at DreamWorks Animation. He started as an in-between 2D animator on Atlantis: The Lost Empire and transitioned to 3D animation on DreamWorks films including How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

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Ray Chase

Senior Animator
id Software

Ray Chase has been a professional animator since 2000 and is currently a senior animator at id Software, known for the DOOM video game franchise. He previously worked at Reel FX, known for their work on the theme park ride Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem and Jorge Gutierrez’s beautiful film The Book of Life.

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Mario Orlando

Senior Animator
Industrial Light & Magic

Mario Orlando has been a professional animator since 2005 and is currently a senior animator at Industrial Light & Magic. He was previously at ILMxLab, a Lucasfilm immersive entertainment studio that creates interactive, virtual storytelling. Mario is a 2015 graduate of Animation Mentor.

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Choose Your Mentor

Once you've applied and been accepted into Animation Mentor, you can choose your mentor and register for class.

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Studios that Hire Our Character Animation Students

On-Going Rig Access

PINKY

ROCK

TWIG

SARGE

FUZZBOT

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Personalized Mentorship

Our mentors are working professionals with years of experience under their belts, and they’re passionate about training the next generation of animators. In this course, you will learn from your mentor in live sessions as they share insights about what studios are working on and what qualities they look for in an animator. Your mentor will work directly with you to grow your skills, sharing weekly 1:1 feedback and reviews to help you improve your animation.

Studio-Level Animation Tools and Assets

We teach our students how to work in a studio environment so they are ready for jobs when they graduate. This training starts from day one, with exclusive access to professionally designed assets and character rigs. We ensure that they learn using the same tools and animation workflows that professionals use in their day-to-day work.

Course Requirements for Advanced Body Mechanics

Course Details

LIVE Q&As | Weekly 1-Hour Q&As

LECTURES | 12 Pre-recorded Lectures

ASSIGNMENTS | 3 Animation Exercises

ACCESS |Over 150 hours of additional content

SOFTWARE | Autodesk Maya

HARDWARE | Meet Minimum Requirements

AGE | 18 Years or Older

LANGUAGE | Taught in English

Skills You Need Before You Start

This character animation course requires you to have a working understanding of, and experience with, Autodesk Maya software. If you don’t you can take our Maya Basics Workshop.

What You’ll Learn

Now that you have the basics down, it’s time to focus on Body Mechanics. In this course you will:

Use staging and composition to tell a story and help your audience understand the narrative progression
Plan a 3-shot action sequence that utilizes dynamic movement to tell an appealing story
Learn advanced techniques to make your characters pirouette across a stage, scale the rigging of a pirate ship, or backflip out a window
Combine body mechanics principles into a powerful tool set which you’ll use to create more believable motion in your characters
Incorporate different types and sources of video reference and use them to enhance your animation

Animation Mentor Interest-Free Payment Plans

Animation Mentor offers interest-free payment plans. Payment Plans allow students to distribute the $2,499 USD tuition into flexible payments throughout the school term.

^$333
Per Month

$500 to save your seat and
6 monthly installments of $333.

^$500
Per Month

$500 to save your seat and
4 monthly installments of $500.

^$625
Per Month

$624 to save your seat and
3 monthly installments of $625.

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FAQ for Advanced Body Mechanics

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What is staging in animation?

Staging is one of the 12 Principles of Animation. In animation, staging can refer to anything from the camera angle, to the timing, or the environment. All of these elements should work together to direct the attention of the audience and make sure that the story is being conveyed in a clear manner. For more information, check out our blog post on staging in animation.

What is exaggeration in animation?

Exaggeration in animation is when certain character movements push slightly past the bounds of reality in order to support the storytelling. Exaggeration is used to make characters feel more powerful and make their actions more impactful.

What is composition in animation?

Composition is the act of intentionally placing your character relative to the background. When you are thinking about composition, you have to make sure that your character is correctly positioned on screen and that they are being viewed from the right distance. This way, your audience can easily follow the action without feeling confused or overwhelmed.

What Advanced Body Mechanics Students are Saying

By Far the Best School

I am really impressed with Animation Mentor! I got to see that AM is indeed the original animation online school and by far the best. It was an awesome experience. Thank you!

The Q&As Were Always Amazing

I loved the mentor I had this term. I found him to be both encouraging and challenging, which I really enjoyed. I also really enjoyed his thoughts and opinions on the craft. His Q&A’s were always amazing.

The Best Teacher I've Ever Had

The mentor I had was really good and was one of the best teachers I have ever had. He opened my eyes to my weaknesses and patiently taught me so much.

The Support is 10/10

The community is amazing. The support team is a 10/10. Every time I had to deal with something they were on it in no time. Super helpful.

A "Lightbulb" Moment

This course was a big “light bulb” moment and I’m starting to really understand what an animator needs to be successful. It could have been because of my mentor, who explained in a way I could truly understand.

Learn an Amazing Art Form

Thank you, Animation Mentor, for expanding my knowledge about animation, the physics of movement, and the mechanics of the body. And a big THANK YOU for giving me this opportunity to learn this amazing form of art, animation.

Completing a Complicated Sequence

My highlight was seeing how far I could take all my shots. I didn’t think I’d be able to ever complete a sequence with such complicated body mechanics. I was terrified of props and constraints too. My mentor really gave me a lot of confidence and guided me. He helped me with everything I asked for.