Juan Cervilla's workshop teaches the essential best practices for beginning any character animation project in Maya. Juan shows that by properly referencing rigs and organizing the workspace, animators can work more efficiently and avoid common technical problems.

Duration: 4m 59s

Understanding the fundamental mechanics of a walk cycle provides a solid foundation that can be adapted to different styles. Artists learn that by establishing the four key poses with proper weight distribution and hip rotation, animators create believable forward motion.

Duration: 11m 57s

The walk cycle animation is an iterative process requiring attention to body mechanics and timing. Artists learn that successful blocking comes from understanding how each body part relates to others during different phases while remaining flexible enough to adjust poses.

Duration: 34m

This lesson demonstrates that professional walk cycles rely on systematic layering and technical precision. Juan shows that by focusing on one body region at a time, animators can transform a blocked-out walk cycle into a polished performance.

Duration: 34m 1s

Creating believable run cycles requires breaking down animation into four essential poses that capture mechanical extremes. Juan teaches that the differences from walk cycles, such as airtime and leading arms, form the foundation for creating runs.

Duration: 10m 52s

Artists learn a professional approach to creating a dynamic run cycle through careful blocking of key poses. Juan highlights that effective animations come from establishing strong foundational poses with clear silhouettes before moving to polish.

Duration: 36m 19s

A professional animation polishing technique for run cycles is demonstrated in this lesson. Artists learn how an approach of working through each body part, while refining timing and curves, transforms blocking into fluid motion.

Duration: 34m 50s

Creating compelling combat animations requires balancing technical requirements with artistic expression. Juan explains that by following the three pillars and breaking down attacks into key poses, animators can create visually striking combat moves.

Duration: 13m 52s

This lesson demonstrates that effective action animation requires pushing beyond reference material to create dynamic, readable poses. Artists learn how the blocking plus methodology allows animators to establish proper timing early in the process.

Duration: 32m 37s

This animation polish workflow demonstrates that professional quality comes from refinement across multiple passes. Juan emphasizes that polishing requires meticulous attention to timing and arcs across every body part.

Duration: 33m 57s

Effective secondary motion does not require complex simulation tools, as Juan shows that disciplined hand-keying with smart offset techniques can achieve professional results. The approach changes based on the animation, using layered cycles for repeated motion or pose-based animation for one-off actions.

Duration: 19m 40s

In this final lesson, artists learn how a professional presentation of game animations using Maya's Viewport 2.0 produces excellent results for portfolios. By combining basic technical settings with thoughtful composition and subtle camera work, the visual quality is dramatically elevated.

Duration: 12m 12s