Digital Academy, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk 3DS Max, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk MotionBuilder, Unreal Engine 4 (UE4), Motion Capture Stage, IS and Faculty laboratories with Internet access, and Blackboard.

Kitiagwa, M. (2008) MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture.
Liverman, M. (2004) The Animator's Motion Capture Guide: Organizing, Managing, and Editing. Charles River Media.
Menache, A. (2011) Understanding Motion Capture for Computer Animation 2nd Edition. Morgan Kaufman.
White, T. (1988) The Animator's Workbook. White Watson-Guptill.
Williams, R. (2002) The Animator's Survival Kit. Faber & Faber.

22 hours per week. The module will be delivered using a combination of lectures, demonstrations and supervised tutorials. The majority of the work will be of a practical nature and students are expected to use their independent study time undertake further study as well as practise taught techniques.

This module covers the skills required to produce game ready animations with the use of Motion Capture and Keyframe Animation.

Students will study:
• Motion Capture clean up techniques
• Creation of Animations suitable for use in games
• Export of Animations suitable for import into a games engine
• Implementation of animation systems in a games engine
• Process for creation of hand animated cycles
• Process for creation of hand animated character animations

1. DEMONSTRATE A CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING OF 3D CHARACTER ANIMATION, MOTION CAPTURE DATA HANDLING & GAMES ENGINE PIPELINE TOOLS AND PROCESSES.
[Knowledge and Understanding]

2. DEVELOP ANIMATIONS APPROPRIATE FOR USE WITHIN A GAMES ENGINE.
[Application]

3. CRITICALLY REVIEW THE ANIMATION AND MOTION CAPTURE PROCESSES EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF FINAL PRODUCT COMPARED TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.
[Reflection]

4. PRODUCE VIDEOS AND TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS TO COMMUNICATE UNDERSTANDING AND REASONS BEHIND CHOSEN TECHNIQUES.
[Communication]

5. ANALYSE A VARIETY OF REFERENCE FOOTAGE IN ORDER TO DEVELOP PLANNING SHEETS FOR ANIMATIONS.
[Analysis]

Assignment 1: A showreel demonstrating a set of animations built for a playable character in a games engine. The animations will include all basic movements, attacks, interactions and other animations as required to build a full animation system. (Learning Outcomes 1,2 and 3) 35% weighting

Assignment 2: A video demonstration showing a selection of rigged character meshes. The models should be rigged using appropriate tools and techniques producing a resulting rig suitable for export into a games engine. (Learning Outcomes 2 and 4) 30% weighting

Assignment 3: A showreel of hand keyed character animations with accompanying reflective discussion. The showreel will comprise of a variety of locomotion and body mechanics animations with background audio. (Learning Outcomes 1, 3 and 5) 35% weighting

This module focuses on the study of character animation. The work looks at locomotion cycles, body mechanics and blending of animations. The module also features the use of motion capture data to produce animations for a playable character in a games engine.