From Previs to Final Animation – Composition, Lenses, Shot Design and Animation with Elaina Scott

In this tutorial, Senior Animator Elaina Scott shares her workflow for creating a full-cg shot for Visual Effects, from previs to final animation. In the initial chapters she discusses shot language, lenses and how to create dynamic poses for superhero animation. She begins by taking an existing animation and sets up a very rough set and some lights, so that she can illustrate how quickly one can create a narrative using camera lenses, movement and lighting. She then starts the superhero portion of the tutorial using rigs by Truong CG Artist with characters made by Dan Eder and Péter Józsa. Elaina teaches how to find great Superhero reference, and how to use that reference to create appealing and dynamic poses for the shot. In the following chapter, she talks about the differences between animating realistic fighting mechanics and super-heroic fight mechanics. After that, she incorporates the superhero punch animation into a city setting and demonstrates how to capture the moment cinematically through camera work. Lastly, she blocks in the fight in a cityscape and polishes the initial camera moves and final fight animation. For those looking to develop their ability to create dynamic animation within full-cg sets, this title provides valuable lessons that apply to the Television, Film, Game Cinematic and Previs industries.