Maya Beginner
1st level course of 3D animation for beginners
1st animation class. The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the profession of an animator and to provide basic knowledge. You will learn all the basic laws and principles of animation. You will create your first animation.
After finishing the course, you will have two completed shots: bouncing balls (bowling ball, soccer ball, and beach ball) and Osya octopus’s swim cycle.

Demoreel
At the end of each course, the school supervisors review all the final work of the interns (students) and the best works are included in the annual demo of the course.
What you'll learn in the course
You will learn what styles and directions of 3D animation exist. By making a plan for animating a 2D ball you will get your head around the Autodesk Maya software, the basics of planning in animation. You will learn the concepts of "modeling", "hierarchy", "setup". You will find out more about references and learn how to shoot hem by using Adobe Premiere for processing.
You will start your first 3D animation by analyzing such components of the process as:
- Timing and spacing;
- Animation tools;
- Breakdowns;
- Working with the camera.
You will study the basics and laws of the correct movement of objects in animation, learn how to make draft animation. You will find out what is:
- Phasing, blocking, exaggeration;
- Bones, rigging, skinning;
- Overlaps.
The instructors will help you understand the concepts of:
- Movement preparation and overshoots;
- Primary/secondary movements.
You will find out the difference in animation modeling approaches called "Pose to pose" and "Straight ahead". Learn the role of rhythm in animation.
Work on possible mistakes. The instructor will help you improve your animation and bring it to perfection.
How is the course going?
At the online webinar, the teacher goes through the theoretical part, shows what the students will later repeat as part of their home assignment, and answers any possible questions.
The student watches the recording of the lesson and does his/her assignment.
The supervisor checks the assignment, analyzes mistakes, and gives ideas for improvement.
Who is this course for?
For those who want to learn the profession from scratch. No matter if you are a college student who wants to get practical skills and get a job, or a professional from a different field who wants to start his career anew.
Those who know the basics of character animation, but want to learn a related profession, developing as a 3D specialist.
What will you learn?
You will learn basic principles of animation. You will understand the stages of its creation and will be able to decide in which direction to develop further.
Learn how to work in Autodesk Maya (the main technical tool for animation studios, film studios, games) and Pencil 2d, which helps to plan animations.
Please note that the school doesn’t provide Autodesk Maya. However you can download a trial version of the software.
You will learn how to create simple characters and make your first 3D cartoon.
Course Supervisor

Igor has worked on game cinematics for Plarium and CJ VFX studios, an IVI commercial, and a full-length cartoon "Mavka" by Animagrad studio. He was part of the team on the first episode of the animated series "My Babushka smokes a pipe". At the moment, Igor is the supervisor of the series "My Babushka smokes a pipe" and an animator of the OCA studio.
He started studying animation on his own a few years ago. However, quite soon he realized that without the help of experienced professionals and detailed regular feedback, one would not get far. Therefore Igor chose the OCA school of 3D animation and his teacher Ivan Pavlov. The choice that he has never regretted.
Feedback from our graduates

I started my career as an animator with this school and I never regretted it! I came to the course Maya Beginner and already finished the Body Mechanics. The group always has a pleasant atmosphere, appropriate humor, teachers know their job. Accessible lectures, clearly defined goals. In case of problems, I wrote to support. They respond immediately, enter the situation and find a solution. I will continue my studies in this school. I recommend it.

"I'm about 30 and I don't like my job" - with this thought I started my way into animation. I started like everyone else with balls. When I realized that this was "it", I decided not to prolong the learning process indefinitely and started looking for an animation school. OCA school - stood out from many other schools, the number of positive reviews, which made it easier for me to choose. And the fact that Anton Ananyev became my first mentor in animation, I consider it my personal luck. An excellent animator, a teacher of high level, who keeps in touch even between classes, a person with a huge reserve of patience, who repeatedly steadfastly withstood our questions. He showed us how difficult animation can be and how attractive it can be.
Thanks to Igor Fedoseev for his patience, attention, help and detailed analysis of our animations.
The course is excellent! Nobody will leave without knowledge! Don't even try! I took a course with Igor Fedoseyev. A wonderful, competent teacher! Explains with sense, with feeling, with arrangement. In addition, he checks shots and gives reviews much more often than students deserve. In general, the course is great! The nation is satisfied!

I attended the "Beginner" course at the OCA Animation School. Actually, for a long time I could not decide to go to the courses because I expected a lot of "water" during the lectures. I also hoped that I could learn the necessary skills on my own. But I ended up studying the wrong program, and then I went deeper in the wrong direction. At some point I realized that the skill of working with the program itself and the skill of creating something are two completely different things. I was looking for an animation school for a long time and I chose OCA. Because of the democratic price, courses with a gradual increase in the level of difficulty, as well as advice from the Telegram chat about animation. I have never regretted my decision. This animation school brought together experts in their field. Any incomprehensible and even in your opinion stupid question will be answered and will help you both in the technical part and in the animation itself. All training lectures are recorded and everything is on the case in them. So, all my worries were in vain. Anton is a wonderful teacher who really wants to teach. And he presents information with a foundation for the future of the students, and that is really valuable. The learning process is built in such a way that when you work in a group, you see the results of other students, and thanks to this, you not only learn from the mistakes of others, but also, seeing their progress, you want to do more. I wish future students good luck. I'm not saying it will be easy for you. But as they say, it's hard to study, it's easy to fight. And I also express my gratitude to Anton, Ivan, Anna, Rosa, Igor and all the other participants in the process. Yours sincerely, Olga, a future student of the Junior Course.
Our students work in








Certificate
In 2022 the school started issuing certificates of successful course completion. The certificate is granted to those students who have completed their shots and received an “Excellent” rating from the teacher. You can check the authenticity of the document on the alumni page.


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