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A Beginners Guide for Learning 3D Animation

Liza Brown

Originally published Jan 17, 22, updated Feb 29, 24

A Beginners Guide for Learning 3D Animation

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“I am still finding it difficult to go into animation even after covering some basic concepts of animation, hardware, software, books, and courses. Is there a way I can learn 3D animation and graphic design courses quickly and easily?”

This guide will show you what professional 3D animators go through and share how you can start your animation career. Sit back and enjoy this all-encompassing and educating guide to learn 3D Animation for beginners!

Part 1 Should You Study 3D Animation?

3D animation is a graphic design technique that uses motions to bring props, characters, objects, etc., to life. For a long time, 3D animation has created TV shows, films, and games, but now it is widely used to create materials for businesses that help them advertise their services and products. The most common usage of 3D animation is creating three-dimensional moving objects and placing them in a digital environment. There is software used to generate these objects specifically for 3D animation with 3D animation courses online for free to learn how to use such software. This software helps 3D animators to create the illusion of movement needed to bring these objects to life.

As the popularity of 3D animation begins to grow, its usage also increases. 3D animation can be useful for the following:

● Many businesses use 3D animation for presentation and more examples and graphics.

● 3D animation is used in real estate as many apartment complexes use it to create interior and exterior renders for their properties. 3D animation allows renters or buyers to view the property without visiting it.

● 3D animation can also be valuable in the medical industry to create exciting graphics for presentation.

You can divide the process of 3D animation into three primary phases:

● Modeling: The modeling stage is how characters or objects get created. This stage can include scanning natural objects into a computer or using a modeling tool. Both methods are helpful and outstanding. When you scan real-world objects into your computer, it saves a lot of time; creating a model entirely by yourself using a tool will give you control over the entire look. Irrespective of the methods used, textures must be added to the character or objects before moving to the next stage.

● Animation and layout: At this stage, the created models are animated and positioned into a particular scene, first determining a layout by creating a set and adding objects into it. The characters and things must be animated by assigning animation variables, and then models within the scene can be given life through motion capture and keyframing.

● Rendering: This stage is where the scene generates into the finished image by using a specific software as the process of rendering cannot be handled by a typical computer

For learning 3D animation, practice, to make yourself perfect for getting your 3D animation as smooth and precise as you would like it to take some time. If your set goal is to create 3D characters, you first need to know how to recreate people in a digital form. According to the 3D animation forum, it takes at least eight months to learn how to animate if only you spend about three to four hours every day. It takes firm dedication to learn 3D animation and graphic design courses.

Part 2 Top 5 Programs for 3D Animation

Aside from the three basic phases involved in 3D animation, there are other individual steps that and needed in 3D animation and 3D animation graphic design courses which include:

● Step 1: creating the story and conceptualizing

● Step 2: making the 3D models

● Step 3: rigging, texturing, and animation

● Step 4: setting up the cameras and lightning

● Step 5: rendering

● Step 6: applying special effects and compositing

● Step 7: editing, music, and Foley

● Step 8: the final output

The best part of 3D animation is finding free animation programs without watermarks that are very useful for creating content on Windows and Mac. These best 3D animation courses include:

01Filmora

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For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

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For macOS 10.12 or later

Wondershare Filmora Video Editor is a straightforward and powerful animation software to create 3D animated text, shapes, elements, or transitions you want for your videos with its 800+ stunning effects. This software comes with a keyframing, green screen, video stabilization, color tuning, split and zoom, amongst others, that help you create precise and smooth animation effects. Filmora program works perfectly on your Windows and Mac computer.

02Blender

Blender is an open-source, powerful 3D animation software for professional users. This animation software does not easily make an image and mission since it focuses on 3D. It takes your animation projects to a whole new level as this program works perfectly on your Mac computer.

03DAZ Studio

DAZ Studio is a potent and completely free tool for 3D animation creation that lets you create short videos whether you are using this for pleasure or business. This 3D animation creator is complicated to use, and 3D effects are at the core focus of this software. This software is highly compatible with Windows 64 bit, and you can build a model, render, and pose animation within the skin texture level.

04Terragen

Terragen is a completely free 3D animation program for Windows tablets and computers. It allows you to create a photo-realistic CG environment and 3D animation that you want. The featured image gallery on this software homepage will give you a profound idea of the outcome when you use the program.

05Anim8or

Anim8or Easy free 3D animation program supports 3D modeler and Truetype fonts to meet your advanced needs. This program is difficult for beginners but allows you to create a unique work according to your needs.

Part 3 The Best 10 Online Courses to Learn 3D Animation for Beginners

There are online 3D animation courses for beginners to learn from and these courses include: