Character Animator
About this Role
Character animators are technical artists specializing in creating realistic and expressive movements for characters in video games. They work with 3D models or 2D sprites and utilize various animation techniques to bring them to life. They use various techniques, including hand-keyed animation, motion capture, and procedural animation, to create believable and expressive movements for characters. Character animators must have a strong understanding of animation principles and a deep knowledge of character design.
Salary Resources
Key Responsibilities
- Developing character rigs.
- Creating hand-keyed animation.
- Utilizing motion capture data to accurately translate real-world movements into the game environment.
- Implementing procedural animation techniques for repetitive actions or crowd simulations.
- Collaborating with other game developers, such as designers, programmers, and artists, to ensure character animation seamlessly integrates with the game's overall aesthetic and gameplay.
- Analyzing animation scripts and character designs to understand their role and movement requirements.
- Creating and editing keyframes for animation sequences, ensuring natural and fluid motion.
Learning Resources
- Science of Character Animation course by Markus Magnusson (Motionmarkus)
- Creative Cloud Character Animator Tutorials
- An Introduction to 3D Character Animation Blog Post by Devoted CG
- Character Animation Bootcamp by School of Motion
- Character Animation Courses in Udemy
- Character Animation Courses in Domestika
- Character Animation Courses in SkillShare
- Animation Mentor Courses
Recommended Books
- The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams
- Character Animation Crash Course! by Eric Goldberg
- Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
- Acting for Animators by Ed Hooks
- The Art of Animal Drawing by Ken Hultgren
- Creating Characters with Personality by Tom Bancroft
- Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators by Michael Mattesi
- Morpho: Simplified Forms: Anatomy for Artists by Michael Lauricella
- 3D Character Development Workshop: Rigging Fundamentals for Artists and Animators by Erik Van Horn
- Story Structure and Development: A Guide for Animators, VFX Artists, Game Designers, and Virtual Reality by Craig Caldwell
Tools to Learn
You don't need to learn all of these — they are some of the more common tools for this role.
Game EnginesMayaBlenderSpineZBrushHoudiniAsepritePhotoshopAutoDesk MotionBuilderAdobe AnimateToon Boon HarmonyAdobe After EffectMixamoMetahuman CreatorSubstance PainterLive2D Cubism