Keying pose bones

For the 5-second animation in this exercise, Rain will begin by standing idle. A couple of seconds later, someone off-screen will catch her attention, and Rain will peer through the distance to identify the person. When she recognizes her friend, Rain will wave at them with excitement.

Exactly who Rain sees will be left to the imagination. Rain won’t interact with anything or go anywhere. Her hands won’t touch anything, and her feet will remain planted on the ground. It’s not an ambitious scene, but even a short one like this requires careful attention.

So, where do we start? At the beginning? Perhaps, but not necessarily...

Blocking or roughing the animation

Throughout the character animation process, there are two guidelines we should keep in mind:

• Create and key the most important poses first. These are the “extreme” poses that, when seen by themselves, clearly convey the sequence of things our character feels...