In Character Animation Fundamentals with Maya, author George Maestri employs the basic principles of animation to bring to life simple 3D characters in Maya. Starting with an overview of the character rig, the course provides guidelines for arranging stock characters into strong poses and explains how to generate locomotion between poses in a modular fashion. The course includes step-by-step instructions on animating realistic gestures, walks, runs, facial expressions, and dialogue, and culminates with an animated scene built entirely from scratch. Exercise files accompany the course.

Topics include:
* Using screen-drawing tools for Windows and Mac
* Quickly posing characters with custom MEL scripts and layers
* Understanding forces and their role in creating lifelike animation
* Sequencing and timing pose-to-pose animation
* Fine-tuning transitions
* Animating a character's gait and run
* Crafting realistic facial expressions
* Syncing speech to animated dialogue
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