Pre-Order: Animation Fundamentals V1

by Beorn Leonard

We have some very exciting news today… We are announcing a brand new training series on the Fundamentals of Animation by Beorn Leonard!

Animation Fundamentals in Blender By Beorn Leonard

This new training series covers all the fundamentals of Character Animation in Blender. Some highlights include fundamental exercises, timing and spacing, working with overlapping motion, animating walk and run cycles for film or games, understanding IK and FK, using the Grease Pencil for animation sketches, and much, much more! You can view the complete chapter breakdown HERE

This series makes use of a pre-built character named Clive that many of you may already be familiar with! We asked for name suggestions on our Facebook page a while back, we liked Rhui Trickster’s  suggestion and so named him Clive :)

 

Training Overview

Beorn gives you a complete look at what he covers throughout the series in the video below; warning, it’s full of awesome! You can find complete details on what is covered, and view some sample training and animations from the series by visiting the full training page HERE

 

Who is Beorn?

Beorn is a very proficient Blender user best known for his work on Sintel, on which he did a large amount of character and creature animation. He also just recently finished working as part of the animation team on Happy Feet 2

Pre-Order Now

The series is available for pre-order today! If you pre-order between now and January 20th you receive it at 42% off the final price, we will also throw in a free upgrade to the DVD-R copy (you pay shipping) and we will give you an additional 50% off any Citizen membership! You can pre-order now by clicking the button below.

 

 

You must be logged in to upload images. Register

Discussion

70 Responses to “Pre-Order: Animation Fundamentals V1”
  1. skuub
    Posts: 12

    first

    #
    1
     Dec 20, 2011 at 12:54 pm
  2. skuub
    Posts: 12

    sounds awsome :D

    #
    2
     Dec 20, 2011 at 12:56 pm
  3. Richard Wilks
    Posts: 73

    V1…
    Version 1?
    Volume 1?!

    #
    3
     Dec 20, 2011 at 12:58 pm
  4. Dre
    Posts: 1

    Any idea how many hours of instruction we are paying for?

    #
    4
     Dec 20, 2011 at 1:19 pm
  5. thiago kolb
    Posts: 136

    V1…
    Version 1?
    Volume 1?!

    [2]

    #
    5
     Dec 20, 2011 at 1:24 pm
  6. Matthew Muldoon
    Posts: 19

    Sign me up. Looks great more animation stuff. Maybe some mograph stuff???

    #
    6
     Dec 20, 2011 at 1:36 pm
  7. Max Berends
    Posts: 169

    I’ve got a question though..
    will this series contain the knowledge necessary to create full animated scenes?
    Cause I did the “vehicle training series” and the “Kara series” and they were great!, and off course they were meant for modeling and not for animation.
    But will this series really show you “How the NLA-editor, dope-sheet etc. work and how to make your characters interact with their environment, how to make them walk along a path and not just a “walk cycle straight ahead in place”, how to make him jump a obstacle on the way or punch someone in the face, how to put things like that together on a professional way ( so not like I do by just key-framing every step in the timeline without the complicated stuff because I never learned how they work)
    Modeling,texturing, composting since I started using blender a year ago I’ve been getting the hang of it. but a Image that’s just a un-moving mesh
    however beautifully put together, is nothing compared to a moving animation
    for if you just wanted a moving picture why not make a realistic drawing, that takes way less time :)
    Blender’s magic is bringing your imagination to life, so the question is, will this series show us “how”? Creating the baby is one thing, but will this series show the kid how to walk ? :D

    #
    7
     Dec 20, 2011 at 3:05 pm
    • Beorn Leonard
      Posts: 16

      It’s great that you’re so enthusiastic about learning animation! The series should definitely help you out with bringing your creations to life. (Of course you’ll need to learn some rigging as well… but that’s another topic)

      It does indeed cover how to use the dope sheet and graph editor. It also covers the basics of how to do a walk and a run by explaining the mechanics of how they work, so you can animate a character walking however you want, and have it look physically correct.

      The idea is to cover the fundamentals and show you how to plan and execute an animated performance efficiently. It doesn’t cover the NLA, path based walk cycles and so on, which are specialised workflows. It does however, start at the beginning and show you how to apply the principles of animation to produce a performance using Blender’s great animation toolset.

      #
      7.1
       Dec 20, 2011 at 3:27 pm
      • Max Berends
        Posts: 169

        Thanks for your reply :) , This answers my question :D

        #
        7.1.1
         Dec 21, 2011 at 12:23 am
  8. Eyal Iaroslavitz
    Posts: 3

    WOW! just what I need. any idea when its gonna be available?

    #
    8
     Dec 20, 2011 at 3:17 pm
  9. Ashleigh Xeltentat
    Posts: 37

    Awesome!

    #
    9
     Dec 20, 2011 at 4:05 pm
  10. Valentin Belev
    Posts: 4

    I want to resubscribe for one year Citizen Membership. Do I receive 50% off if I pre-order Animation Fundamentals between now and January 20th.

    #
    10
     Dec 20, 2011 at 4:10 pm
    • Richard Wilks
      Posts: 73

      I assume you mean do you get 50% off the price of 1 year Citizen; in which case yes (bought my 1 year citizen today with 50% off coupon).

      If you meant “can I get the 50% off coupon between now and 20th January”, then I’d assume the answer to be yes if the coupon is valid until that date.

      #
      10.1
       Dec 20, 2011 at 4:28 pm
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      Yep!

      #
      10.2
       Dec 20, 2011 at 5:21 pm
  11. Brian Dowling
    Posts: 8

    I can’t wait!

    #
    11
     Dec 20, 2011 at 4:24 pm
  12. Christopher Archer
    Posts: 29

    Do you get the 50% Citizen Discount code when you place your order or when the series is available for download ?

    #
    12
     Dec 20, 2011 at 9:56 pm
  13. Andy Southwell
    Posts: 6

    Hi Jonathan,

    I’m excited about this training, and ready to sign up right away, but the order form asks me to decide whether I want the physical DVD sent, but gives no indication how much this would cost me (I’m in the UK). If I tick the box (for physical DVD) and then find out later it’s going to cost a bomb, will I be able to revert to the standard downloadable version at that point, if I prefer to?

    #
    13
     Dec 21, 2011 at 3:14 am
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      Hi Borrus,

      When you select the DVD it should add the price for shipping to the right side. Shipping to the U.S. is 6USD and anywhere else is 15USD.

      -Jonathan

      #
      13.1
       Dec 21, 2011 at 8:43 am
  14. zunova40
    Posts: 9

    I’m in!

    And a years worth of membership to support the site ;)

    #
    14
     Dec 21, 2011 at 7:03 am
  15. Daniel Fournier
    Posts: 9

    I’m already a citizen with a recurring membership. How would I go to get the discount ? Should I cancel the existing membership and then apply for a new one ?
    This is not clear for those who are already recurring members…

    #
    15
     Dec 21, 2011 at 8:28 am
  16. Jonathan Fluck
    Posts: 10

    This looks great! I like the fact that the price is extremely low. It makes the decision much easier.

    #
    16
     Dec 21, 2011 at 11:05 am
    • Jeff Bessette
      Posts: 256

      I agree! They make everything affordable and that is why Cg Cookie is my main education fix. I have to wait till other educational suppliers have a sale/discount code to make them more reasonable then I’ll splurged on them. But Cg Cookie makes it so I can afford to do both. I’m about to put in my pre-order.

      #
      16.1
       Dec 23, 2011 at 4:50 am
    • Matthew Morris
      Posts: 91

      Agreed!

      #
      16.2
       Dec 25, 2011 at 11:00 pm
  17. Jack Jacinto
    Posts: 11

    I can’t find the option to cancel the current membership to aply for a new one, any help please.

    Thanks in advance

    #
    17
     Dec 21, 2011 at 11:54 am
  18. Jack Jacinto
    Posts: 11

    OHHHH MMYY GOD, I am doomed , i canceled my membership, and I can’t renew it, what will be of me :( boohooo help me please :(

    #
    18
     Dec 21, 2011 at 12:05 pm
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      Hi Jack,

      What is your username? I’ll be happy to look up your account and get it all straightened out :)

      #
      18.1
       Dec 21, 2011 at 12:13 pm
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      Hi Jack,

      What is your username? I’ll be happy to look up your account and get it all straightened out :)

      #
      18.2
       Dec 21, 2011 at 12:13 pm
  19. Jack Jacinto
    Posts: 11

    Hi Jonathan

    My username is Jack Jacinto (necromanteion)
    thanks

    #
    19
     Dec 21, 2011 at 12:33 pm
  20. Cobac Cristian
    Posts: 2

    I have an unrelated question : does mr Beorn use blender for happy feet 2 or does he use maya or 3dsmax ? Hard to believe theyd let you use non-industry standard software , still aniamtion in any software is the same as long as you know the software :) ?

    #
    20
     Dec 21, 2011 at 5:58 pm
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      I believe he used Maya on Happy Feet 2.

      #
      20.1
       Dec 21, 2011 at 6:42 pm
      • Cobac Cristian
        Posts: 2

        That’s discouraging … well , time to get 3ds max,softimage and mudbox and learn those 2 :)

        #
        20.1.1
         Dec 21, 2011 at 7:35 pm
    • Beorn Leonard
      Posts: 27

      That’s right; it was Maya. If you want to be a professional animator, you have to be flexible. As it says in the description above, Blender is my “weapon of choice”, but sometimes you don’t get the choice.

      The fact that that I’ve used Maya (and Max) professionally, and Blender is still my favorite should be encouraging to Blender users.

      The most important point is it’s not about the software, it’s about the principles.

      #
      20.2
       Dec 22, 2011 at 5:31 am
  21. Jeffrey Scott
    Posts: 16

    I think this is great. I hope it lives up to expectations and that more advanced animation tutorials will come to build upon what we learn.

    #
    21
     Dec 21, 2011 at 6:36 pm
  22. Steven Zilkie
    Posts: 12

    Any chance we can get an idea into what V2 may hold? Like facial animation, lip sync, acting, body mechanics???

    #
    22
     Dec 21, 2011 at 9:32 pm
  23. Clark Son
    Posts: 7

    omg!!! entered wrong address ah!!!!!! -_-

    #
    23
     Dec 22, 2011 at 12:18 am
  24. lesterdor
    Posts: 6

    Hey,

    is there the opportunity to combine 2 coupons?

    I have a 15% discount coupon from the Low-Poly-Character serie and 50 % by pre-ordering this serie

    #
    24
     Dec 22, 2011 at 12:26 pm
    • Wes Burke
      Posts: 429

      Hi David,

      Mainly due the restriction of our software we are unable to combine coupon codes. Thank you for the huge support with the Low Poly and this series, very cool!

      #
      24.1
       Dec 22, 2011 at 1:46 pm
  25. Jeff Bessette
    Posts: 256

    Just put in my preorder!

    Is Clive exclusive to the series or is he an Open character like Mancandy? I have some extra time off because of the holidays and would like to start messing around with him if I could. If not that is fine too – I can start by doing the ball exercises. I remember David Ward did a tutorial on rigging one for squash and stretch. I guess I’m just eager to get started! :D

    #
    25
     Dec 23, 2011 at 5:06 am
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      I hope you like it! Clive comes with the series and so as a purchaser you can do most anything you want with him :)

      -Jonathan

      #
      25.1
       Dec 23, 2011 at 8:53 am
  26. Marco Anderson
    Posts: 9

    Preorded! :D Now I am happy :)

    #
    26
     Dec 25, 2011 at 11:32 am
  27. William Wittman
    Posts: 12

    Pre-ordered for a post Christmas present from my wife and the citizen discount is just a bonus for the awesome available to us!

    #
    27
     Dec 25, 2011 at 9:53 pm
  28. John Casko
    Posts: 6

    Just placed the order and renewed my recurring membership – thanks for the discount. To be honest, membership was already a very good deal even without the discount.

    #
    28
     Dec 26, 2011 at 3:51 pm
  29. ernesttx
    Posts: 2

    Ok, I’d like to pre-order this. However, I’m not a member yet. Do I create a membership first (and get 50% discount) and then pre-order DVD? Or can all that be handled when I pre-order the DVD? Thank you.

    #
    29
     Dec 28, 2011 at 2:28 pm
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      After pre-ordering you will get a discount code and so I would wait to sign up until you order it.

      Cheers

      -Jonathan

      #
      29.1
       Dec 28, 2011 at 6:01 pm
  30. Jesse Werner
    Posts: 66

    Can not wait for this. I already purchased mine. When do we get a part 2?

    #
    30
     Jan 8, 2012 at 2:28 am
  31. Daniel m
    Posts: 25

    Hey Jonathan,
    I have a question about this training package; a small Blender community I am a part of has been doing competitions where we offer prizes to the entrants. This time around it was suggested to offer this DVD as a prize.

    We are wondering if it would be possible for us to purchase a “gift code” as it were which we can present to a lucky winner which he/she will then be able to redeem by perhaps sending y’all an email.

    Do you think you could work something like this out?
    Thank you for your time,
    Daniel

    #
    31
     Jan 17, 2012 at 2:15 pm
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      Hi Daniel,

      Were you thinking of gifting a physical DVD or download version? We can definitely work something out!

      #
      31.1
       Jan 17, 2012 at 2:30 pm
      • Daniel m
        Posts: 25

        As a baseline, it would be nice to have at least a download available to the winner. For those who have less favorable internet plans, the physical copy might be nice, but as someone pointed out to me, that’s likely also the demographic that is less likely to be able to view DVDs (CD only hardware).

        Also, I’m not sure if y’all will ship to every far corner of the earth, so a just a download should be fine.
        Even if it takes longer, everyone should be able to use the media then.

        #
        31.1.1
         Jan 17, 2012 at 3:21 pm
      • Jonathan Williamson
        Posts: 2965

        That sounds good. Perhaps the easiest way to do it is for you to run the contest and then let us know when the winner is chosen. At that point we can send you a manual invoice and email the download link to the winner.

        #
         Jan 17, 2012 at 4:34 pm
      • Daniel m
        Posts: 25

        Great! The only niggle I have is that the contest will end after the deadline for the pre-purchase; will we be charged the full price?

        #
        31.1.2
         Jan 17, 2012 at 5:36 pm
      • Jonathan Williamson
        Posts: 2965

        If you would like we can send you an invoice now so that you can get the pre-order price.

        #
         Jan 17, 2012 at 6:07 pm
      • Daniel m
        Posts: 25

        Yeah, that would be fantastic.
        Thank you very much.

        #
        31.1.3
         Jan 17, 2012 at 7:19 pm
      • Daniel m
        Posts: 25

        How would you like to proceed? Would you like to contact me on the email I have linked with this account?
        (g[...]@live.com)

        #
        31.1.4
         Jan 18, 2012 at 12:21 pm
  32. bodenarr
    Posts: 4

    well, I have payed – where can I get/download Animation Fundamentals V1 ?

    please help me

    #
    32
     Jan 23, 2012 at 4:06 pm
    • Daniel m
      Posts: 25

      @bodenarr, you should have received an email with a download link several days ago.

      #
      32.1
       Jan 23, 2012 at 7:44 pm
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      I’ve just sent you the download links :)

      #
      32.2
       Jan 23, 2012 at 7:57 pm
      • bodenarr
        Posts: 4

        thank you for sending me the download link

        #
        32.2.1
         Jan 24, 2012 at 1:43 pm
  33. Stephen Foster
    Posts: 4

    I can see the pre-order period is over as you guys are shipping it.. Just out of curiosity what was the pre-order pricing?
    Its just my luck that I get side tracked off in the web-everse and comeback to see I’ve missed out.. (Not that the current price isn’t favourable) I think cgcookie’s content is world class as it is, so I’m tempted to buy this.

    #
    33
     Feb 20, 2012 at 6:47 am
    • Jonathan Williamson
      Posts: 2965

      The pre-order price was $28 USD. So glad to hear you like our content, there’s much more coming!

      #
      33.1
       Feb 20, 2012 at 10:33 am
      • Stephen Foster
        Posts: 4

        Thanks for the quick response Jonathan… cgcookie is by far the best resource I’ve found and I’ve spent many an hour following yours and everyone elses tut’s.. I’ve freeloaded off you guys for too long so I’ve purchased the digital DL as at $48.

        The only bits I’ve always felt lacking (for my skill level) is that basic workflow front to back, hopefully this tut will point me in the right direction and I can use blender more..

        .. Guess I’ll have to keep coming back more frequently if I want to catch the bargain basement prices. ;)

        great site… spread the word.!!

        #
        33.1.1
         Feb 20, 2012 at 10:44 am

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.