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Shape layers techniques

This course is designed to level up your shape layers skills. Here you will find a different solutions to certain tasks related
to the animation of the character.

Character rig from scratch

This course covers the entire animation pipeline in After Effects. You will understand how to approach basic character animation project and organize the smooth workflow.

Animation workflow and tricks

Lessons contains an enormous number of tips and tricks based on real-world experience.
We will discuss how to deal with common problems that everybody faces in real projects and deeply understand their causes.

Course Overview

Deekay Tool: Rigging & Motion is an After Effects course focused on character rigging and animation. This course will expand the range of tools and techniques to make awesome character animation. Over this course, you will learn how to create and customize shapes. You’ll also learn the importance of parenting and expressions in rigging.

The course isn’t aimed at showing you the only correct way to work on projects, but its purpose is teaching you good practices and techniques
to form your own unique approach to projects wherever you work.

This course requires a basic knowledge of After Effects, so it’s perfect for animators and motion designers that know their way around the software but need that extra push to give more flavor to their animations.

Level

Basic

Format

Online

Lessons

28

Duration

5h+

Required Software

Adobe After Effects

Language

English

CHAPTER ONE

Free Course

LESSON #1

Jumpman: Design

Explore some cool and creative tricks to design different parts of your character’s look by using different shapes and putting them together.

LESSON #2

Jumpman: Limb Rigging

Dive into leg rigging with the Deekay Tool Light, a nifty tool that helps your character’s legs move smoothly and naturally as if they’re walking, jumping, or dancing.

LESSON #3

Jumpman: Animation vol. 1

Take the time to create movements that feel just right for your character’s body and legs, so when you watch your animation, it’s like your character is alive and moving around.

LESSON #4

Jumpman: Animation vol. 2

It’s pretty neat to see how you can make your character’s head and cap move in exciting ways, almost like they’re nodding, shaking, or looking around.

CHAPTER TWO

What will I learn?

LESSON #5

Complex shapes

Ever wondered how to draw more complex and intriguing shapes on just one layer? Well, now you can learn how to do it and make your character even more awesome.

LESSON #6

Path Rig: Setup

Let’s break down the basics of making your character’s arms and legs move in a natural way that fits the overall design.

LESSON #7

Path Rig: Points Control

Try playing around with the points on your character’s arms and legs. It’s like adjusting the strings on a puppet to make them move just how you want.

LESSON #8

Path Rig: Design

Study the process of customizing path rigging.

LESSON #9

Path Rig: Bezier Control

Discover how paths can be adjusted and changed to create different animations. You can make things move smoothly or have a fun wave effect.

LESSON #10

Rigging systems

There are two main ways to make characters move, and they’re called Forward Kinematics (FK) & Inverse Kinematics (IK). It might sound a bit fancy, but it’s actually quite simple once you get the hang of it.

LESSON #11

FK Rig: Set up

Let’s learn how to set up and control a rig that makes your character move using Forward Kinematics (FK). It’s like giving your character strings to pull so they can do different actions.

LESSON #12

IK Rig: Setup

Now, let’s switch gears and explore Inverse Kinematics (IK). It’s like solving a puzzle – you set where you want the character to move, and the rig figures out how to make it happen.

LESSON #13

IK Rig: Full Body Rigging

Dive into the world of character animation by creating a control system that makes your character’s whole body move smoothly and naturally.

LESSON #14

IK Rig: Full Body Animation

Seeing how your character comes to life when you start adding movements to their body is pretty exciting. It’s like watching a puppet show, but you’re the one pulling the strings!

LESSON #15

Pin & Bend Rig

Combine different tools like the pin tool and bending techniques to make your character’s movements look fluid and lifelike, just like they’re moving around.

LESSON #16

Face Rig: Setup

Set up a way for your character’s face to show different expressions using just one controller. It’s like magic – you change one thing, and the whole face changes!

LESSON #17

Face Rig: Control

Get ready to play with unique controls that change your character’s feelings. You can make them happy, sad, or surprised – it’s like having a bunch of buttons for emotions.

LESSON #18

Face Rig: Animation

Once you’ve set up the face controls, you can add them to animations like jumping. It’s like adding spices to a recipe – it makes everything more flavorful and exciting.

LESSON #19

Hybrid Rig: Legs design

Let’s get creative and design fantastic legs for your character that match their style and personality. It’s like picking out the perfect shoes for an outfit.

LESSON #20

Hybrid Rig: Legs Rigging

Connect the controls you’ve made to your character’s legs to make them move in a natural way that fits the overall animation.

LESSON #21

Hybrid Rig: Body Design

Shape your character’s body so it looks just how you want it to. It’s like sculpting a mini statue but in the digital world.

LESSON #22

Hybrid Rig: Body Rigging

Bring your character’s tiny details together by connecting them to the central control system. It’s like putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece.

LESSON #23

Hybrid Rig: Details Connect

Connect all the small details of the character to the rigging system.

LESSON #24

Hybrid Rig: Animation

Use the rig you made to create an animation of your character.

LESSON #25

Walk Rig: Legs

Start by making the legs move in your animation. It’s like choreographing a dance – each step and movement is carefully planned.

LESSON #26

Walk Rig: Body & Hand

Give your character’s body and hands some movement that matches their personality. It’s like telling a story through gestures and actions.

LESSON #27

Walk Rig: Head & Face

Make the character’s head and face come alive by adding movement. You can show if they’re happy, sad, or surprised – it’s like acting without words.

LESSON #28

Auto Rig: Control

Discover a nifty little technique that allows you to effortlessly animate your character’s walking motion with a single click, all thanks to the Deekay Tool. And the best part is, you’ve got a multitude of settings at your disposal to tweak and refine the final appearance to perfection.

Deekay Tool - Animation Plugin

Tips and tricks based on real experience

Character rigging from scratch

Exclusive scripts from MDS team and workflow optimization

Learn how to create built-in controllers to tweak keyframes

Create your project to upgrade your portfolio

Deekay Tool:
Rigging & Motion

After Effects course focused on character rigging and animation.

In this course, we will learn basic rigging and animation techniques to pull up on your character animation workflow!

LEVEL

You’ve already started taking the first steps in the sphere and have a basic understanding of the work principles of this soft.

Basic

LESSONS

28

DURATION

5h+

Product guarantee
100% money back guarantee

If unhappy with the course, you can request a refund within 14 days after the purchase and get every cent back. Courses purchased before the actual starting date refund can be requested up to 14 days after the first lesson becomes available. Note: not applicable if purchased with a discount coupon

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