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Animating with Adobe Character Animator (2023 Edition)

  • Course
  • 47 Lessons

Adobe Character Animator is a unique app that can produce animated characters with ease. With a few clicks to setup, you can control a cartoon character with your mouse and keyboard. Not only that, you can use your microphone and web cam to create true motion captured characters that come to life with a wide range of assigned behaviors. This course will get you up and running with the application.

Contents

Download Course Files Here

This section contains all the course files you'll need to follow along.

Ch2003ToonFiles.zip

Welcome to Character Animator!

This section focused on getting started with the app and exploring some basic features.

What You Will Learn in this Course
System Requirements for Character Animator
Accessing the Course Exercise Files
Character Animator Starter Mode
Playing with the Sample Files
Using the Puppet Maker
Animating Yourself with Characterizer

Setting Up a Simple Character in Photoshop

We begin the Character Animator process by properly setting up a character inside of Adobe Photoshop. The includes proper layer structure, setting independence and more.

Naming and Ordering Your Layers in Photoshop
Setting Up Eyes and Eyebrows
Setting Independence and Groups for Optimal Rigging
Clearing Unneeded Workspace
Grouping Your Character Layers

Tagging and Rigging a Simple Character

With some tags and handles, we can get a character moving on screen with some basic controls.

Creating a Scene
Tagging the Head
Tagging the Body
Independence, Draggers and Fixed Handles
Refining Limbs with the Stick Tool

Refining with Behaviors and Triggers

Behaviors are applied to our rigs to create animation (such as web cam and microphone tracking). Triggers can be used to swap layers in and out. Swap Sets are like Triggers, but use multiple layers. All of this is discussed in this section.

Creating Triggers
Creating Swap Sets
Setting Up Controls
Adding and Modifying Behaviors
Adding Physics and Other Modifiers
Correcting and Polishing the Rig

Recording a Simple Animation

Using the rig we set up in the previous sections, we will record an animation using our webcam, microphone, mouse and keyboard. We will also edit some actions on the timeline.

Setting Up the Scene and Background
Auto Lip Syncing and Correcting
Animating Arms, Hands and Coffee Mug
Editing Actions on the Timeline

Recording a Complex Scene

With a simple scene recorded, we will take what we have learned and animate two puppets, one of which will be motion tracked. The scene will be setup to be taken further for advanced editing in Premiere or After Effects.

Building a PSD for Head and Body Turns
Tagging Head and Body Poses
Tracking Head and Body Turns
Adding Body Behavior for Full Tracking
Recording Body Tracking
Adding a Walk Cycle
Animating a Walk Cycle
Lip Syncing with External Audio
Editing and Refining the Animation

Editing and Exporting Animated Scenes

Here we look at different Adobe apps to enhance the animation we have created.

Exporting Your Scenes for Editing
Adding Effects with After Effects
Putting the Clips Together in Premiere

Other Character Animator Features

Here we go over a list of features that didn't fit into the main lessons. This includes different behaviors, tweening behaviors and using the Stream tab.

Animating Eyelids
Creating a Nut Cracker Jaw
Breathe Behavior
Animating Behavior Keys
Cycling PNGs
Using the Stream Tab
Final Thoughts