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Realizing 3D Animation in Blender

Name: Realizing 3D Animation in Blender
Author: Sam Brubaker
ISBN: 9781801077217

by Sam Brubaker

July 2024

Intermediate to advanced

456 pages

11h

English

Packt Publishing

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Realizing 3D Animation in Blender
Contributors
About the authorAbout the reviewer
Preface
Who this book is forWhat you need to get startedYour animation workstationPrerequisite knowledgeBlenderWhat this book coversGetting the most out of this bookShare your thoughtsDownload a free PDF copy of this book
Part 1: Introduction to Blender and the Fundamentals of Animation
Chapter 1: Basic Keyframes in the Timeline
Technical requirementsNavigating the TimelineMoving through timeSetting the frame rangeAdjusting the Timeline viewAnimation playbackCreating simple movement with keyframesKeying the initial locationThe keyed propertyKeying the second locationPrinciples of keyingKeying rotationEditing keyframes in the TimelineBasic keyframe editingDuplicating keyframesHolding a positionEditing the timing of your animationAnimating nearly any property in BlenderOther keying methodsKeying the material colorSummaryQuestions
Chapter 2: The Graph Editor
Technical requirementsGetting the ball rollingNavigating the Graph EditorBringing up the Graph EditorThe X and Y axes in the Graph EditorAnimation channelsAdjusting the Graph Editor viewInterpolation and easingSetting the interpolation modeSetting the easing typeMaking the ball bounceLinear interpolation for objects in mid-airAdding bouncing keyframes in the Graph EditorF-curve extrapolationLinear extrapolationCyclic extrapolationSummaryQuestions
Chapter 3: Bezier Keyframes
Technical requirementsOne tired animatorThe connected parts of our unicyclekeying the course checkpointsA novel method for inserting keyframes in the Graph EditorBezier handle typesExposing keyframe handlesOverview of Bezier handle typesAutomatic and Auto Clamped Bezier handlesVector and Aligned handlesCombining Vector and Aligned handlesEditing Bezier handlesSmooth movement with Aligned handlesBounces with Free handlesHeading, weight, and balanceMotion paths as a visual guideTilting while turningLeaning into itCopying keyframes to another channelCopying keyframesKeying a single propertyPasting keyframesScaling keyframe valuesSummaryQuestions
Chapter 4: Looking into Object Relationships
Technical requirementsUnderstanding object originsThe truth about objects and originsCentering the originGrabbing the originParenting objectsThe parent/child relationshipUnderstanding constraintsAdding a constraintWorld space versus local spaceCopying constraintsFollowing a pathEditing the animation pathAdding a Follow Path constraintAnimating the pathDriversAdding a driverEditing a driverDriver F-curvesThe final chart of object relationshipsSummaryQuestions
Chapter 5: Rendering an Animation
Technical requirementsSetting up the cameraAdding a camera to the sceneCamera view-findingThe animated cameraRendering basicsWhat is rendering, really?Controls for renderingSetting up our scene for renderingPredicting and managing render performanceRendering an image sequenceWhy output an image sequence and not a video?Output settingsPre-render checklistRendering the animationViewing the rendered framesConverting an image sequence to a videoThe Video Sequence EditorOutput settings for video exportOutputting a videoSummaryQuestions
Part 2: Character Animation

Chapter 6: Linking and Posing a Character
Technical requirementsLinking a character in a new sceneLinked librariesMaking a library overrideUnderstanding Rain’s armatureThe art of rigging RainThe CloudRig interfacePosing an armaturePose modeIK bonesFK bonesFingers, faces, and other accessoriesCreating a library of posesThe Asset BrowserCreating a pose assetPracticing posesSummaryQuestions
Chapter 7: Basic Character Animation
Technical requirementsPreparing Rain in a new sceneA brief recap on linking Rain into a new projectUsing a pose assetSetting bone relationships for an animationHiding bonesKeying pose bonesBlocking or roughing the animationReviewing our key posesThe Dope SheetIntroduction to the Dope SheetOrganizing the Dope SheetGoing further into animating this characterTwo more in-between posesIn-between operators for posingWavingPolishing the animationUsing the Graph Editor on bonesAnimating Rain’s accessoriesSummaryQuestions
Chapter 8: The Walk Cycle
Technical requirementsPreparing the walk cycle sceneThe timeline of a walk cycleTimeline markersGetting Rain ready to walkMoving forward on the Y axisEstablishing the stride lengthLooping the animationPutting Rain on a treadmillUsing a preview playback rangeAdding more periodic motionTorso movementSwaying from side to sideThe Action EditorMore torso animation with sine wavesAdvanced footworkRolling the footPicking up the feetCorrecting the motion of the legsCopying animation from the left foot to the right footFinishing the walk cycleFK toesFK armsFinal touches?SummaryQuestions
Chapter 9: Sound and Lip-Syncing
Technical requirementsUsing sound in BlenderImporting audio files into the Video SequencerUsing sound stripsTimeline settings for working with soundActing without speakingKey facial expressionsAutomatic keyframing and keying setsThe science of lip-syncingPhonetics for animatorsAnimating the mouthSummaryQuestions
Chapter 10: Prop Interaction with Dynamic Constraints
Technical requirementsTouching the objectSetting up the shotReaching for an objectSetting up an object-to-bone relationshipDummy bones – a smarter way to rigThe Copy Transforms constraintConstraints with animated influenceKeying the influence of a constraintReleasing the ballAnimating a throwing/tossing motionAnimating the ball being thrownSummaryQuestions
Part 3: Advanced Tools and Techniques
Chapter 11: F-Curve Modifiers
Technical requirementsWhere to find F-curve modifiersAdding our first F-curve modifierGetting fancy with F-curve modifiersThe Stepped Interpolation modifierThe Built-In Function modifierSetting the clock with mathUsing the Noise modifierAdding the Noise modifierCopying modifiersMore fun with Noise modifiersUsing a Noise modifier to simulate an explosionRestricting the frame range of a modifierSummaryQuestions
Chapter 12: Rigid Body Physics
Technical requirementsCreating a rigid body worldOur first rigid body simulationActive and passive rigid bodiesRigid body collisionThe smashing-junk-together algorithmCollision shapesSelecting rigid body collision shapesDestroying a wallBuilding a wallDestroying the wallBaking the simulationSummaryQuestions
Chapter 13: Animating with Multiple Cameras
Technical requirementsReady camera twoSetting up multiple camerasThe active cameraSwitching cameras in the TimelineCamera overridesViewing with a local cameraUsing multiple cameras in the Video SequencerSummaryQuestions
Chapter 14: Nonlinear Animation
Technical requirementsReusing actionsAppending the walk cycleAssigning an action in the Action EditorA hard lesson in forgotten settingsThe action stripIntroduction to the Nonlinear Animation editorActions in the NLALayering actionsAppending the second actionAnimated Strip TimeThe Strip Time propertySummaryQuestions
Index
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Content preview from Realizing 3D Animation in Blender

2 The Graph Editor

In the previous chapter, we created a rudimentary animation while limiting our keyframe editing to Blender’s Timeline. While this was necessary to keep things simple at first, we concealed some important animation workflows for the sake of brevity. For most animations, using only the Timeline would be very frustrating!

The next most important tool for 3D animation in Blender is the Graph Editor. In addition to doing almost anything the Timeline can do, the Graph Editor displays both the time and value of keyframes, along with the resulting animated property they affect, on a 2D graph.

To learn about the Graph Editor and what makes it so useful, we’ll put it to practice in this chapter by animating one of the most popular case ...

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Realizing 3D Animation in Blender

by Sam Brubaker

2

The Graph Editor

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
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