Character Animation Development for 2D and 3D Training

Learning Outcomes

• Analyse character design briefs to determine artistic and technical requirements for 2D and 3D animation.
• Design original characters with consideration for anatomy, proportions, and expressive features.
• Apply modelling techniques to create 3D characters using industry-standard software.
• Demonstrate rigging skills to prepare characters for animation, including skeleton and control setup.
• Evaluate character models for consistency, functionality, and adherence to production specifications.
• Implement texture mapping and shading to enhance visual appeal and realism of characters.

Target Audience

This course is ideal for aspiring animators, graphic designers, and multimedia artists seeking to specialise in character development for animation. It is also suitable for professionals in the film, gaming, and advertising industries who wish to enhance their character creation skills.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment. Basic computer literacy is recommended.

Course Outline

Practicals

Overview

Practical sessions form the core of this course, allowing learners to apply animation principles through hands-on exercises using industry-standard software. Each practical reinforces theoretical concepts and builds a portfolio-ready project.

Practical Activities

• Practical 1: Bouncing Ball and Simple Shape Animation — Learners animate a bouncing ball in both 2D and 3D, applying squash, stretch, timing, and spacing. They also animate a simple pendulum to practice arcs and easing. (8h)
• Practical 2: Walk and Run Cycles — Learners create a walk cycle and a run cycle for a character, focusing on weight, balance, and personality. They refine the cycles using key poses and breakdowns. (8h)
• Practical 3: Facial Animation and Lip Sync — Learners rig a simple face, animate visemes to match dialogue audio, and add emotional expressions. They also animate eye movements and blinks for realism. (8h)
• Practical 4: Acting and Body Mechanics Sequence — Learners animate a short acting scene (e.g., character reacting to an event) and a body mechanics sequence (e.g., lifting a heavy object). They use reference video and apply acting principles. (8h)
• Practical 5: Final Portfolio Project — Learners choose a character and create a polished 10-15 second animation incorporating all principles learned. They receive peer feedback and refine their work for their demo reel. (8h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total

Component	Out of	Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored)	100%	30%
Daily Average (multiple choice)	100%	20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice)	100%	50%
Final Total	—	100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

How it works

• Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
• Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
• You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
• If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.

Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates	Discount
5	3% off
10	6% off
15	9% off
20	12% off
25	15% off
30	18% off
50	30% off
75	35% off
100	40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.