Creature animation is a MUST on your demo reel! (part 2)

Your animation demo reel needs to show variety in your skillset and one of the ways to stand out is to incorporate creature animation. But it doesn't have to be what you think! Creatures can be animated multiple ways, showcasing different styles, personalities and body mechanics, resulting in a reel that will make you stand out from the crowd! 

This is part 2 of the multi-part series! Here is part 1. 

Here's the playlist of all my other FNA lectures.

Creature animation is a MUST on your demo reel! (part 1)

Your animation demo reel needs to show variety in your skillset and one of the ways to stand out is to incorporate creature animation. But it doesn't have to be what you think! Creatures can be animated multiple ways, showcasing different styles, personalities and body mechanics, resulting in a reel that will make you stand out from the crowd!

Bird Flight for Animators

Bird Flight for Animators from Stephen Cunnane on Vimeo.

Konstantinos Zacharakis Animation Showreel 2019

Great having sound fx in there too!

Showreel 2019 from Konstantinos Zacharakis on Vimeo.

Six-legged creature study by HUBERT J. DANIEL

Six-legged creature study from HUBERT J. DANIEL on Vimeo.

Super Slow Motion Birds

On All Fours: Creating Realistic Quadruped Motion

CGI & VFX Demos: "Horse R&D Project - A Breakdown" - by Lonnie Kraatz

I thought this was a cool breakdown of all the separate elements.

Horse reference

A horse on a treadmill!

Horse Gaits -- Footfall: Emphasis on the Diagonal

Good reference!

Five Step Quadruped Method - Daniel Fotheringham

This is a fantastic write up! Head over to Daniel Fotheringham's post to read more!

Dog animation test - Sofia Grigoreva

So nice!

Dog animation test from Sofia Grigoreva on Vimeo.

Joel Sartore - Animal Reference

On Joel Sartore's vimeo page you have a lot of very cool and very specific animal clips, which might come in handy reference wise to someone out there.

Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata) at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota. from Joel Sartore on Vimeo.

Marine Life - Eye reference

This gif of different marine life eyes is awesome reference for both animators and new behemoth ideas:https://t.co/LBzGYoa3l5

— Simon Unger (@Simonunger) May 28, 2017

Animal Gaits for Animators

Super helpful!

Animal Gaits for Animators from Stephen Cunnane on Vimeo.

Bird and Insect Wing Patterns

Squid Attack Reference

There's always a bigger ... fish.

How the BBC makes Planet Earth look like a Hollywood movie

Besides awesome animal reference this is also a cool overview of the camera work that's been done for it.

Dragon Walk from Ramon Arango

Dragon Walk from Ramon Arango on Vimeo.

Creature Shot from Ramon Arango

This shot was part of the 2 weeks creature workshop at LuMAA taught by Michael Aerni and myself. Roman did a really good job and we were all really impressed. Watch out for this animator! Going places!

Creature Shot from Ramon Arango on Vimeo.