Advanced Body Mechanics
A course in advanced body mechanics in 3D animation.
- You will immerse yourself in the mechanics of the body in the context of each frame;
- You will get an interesting dance shot in your portfolio;
- You will learn theory and build up your skills under the guidance of working professionals.
Guided by the lead animator, an intern chooses a dance he wants to animate. The course teaches you to animate increasingly physical shots, learn to analyze movement, explore human anatomy. Interns don’t focus on facial animation or lip sync in this course.
Demoreel
At the end of each course, the school supervisors review all the final work of the students. The best pieces are included in the annual demo reel of the course.
What you'll learn in the course
Idea search, editing, analysis.
We’ll plan animation, explore the characters that we will animate. We will continue to learn how to make a reference - a roadmap of any shot.
We’ll start working on the shots, having analyzed the major stages and parts of the animation process:
- Main poses;
- The laws of constructing poses;
- Design of strong poses;
- Elementary music theory.
You will explore human anatomy: what you need to consider to comply with the laws of physics. We will also discuss how to work with artistic exaggeration. As you probably know, boundary violations are often used in cartoons.
We’ll learn the concepts of blocking and overlap:
- We’ll explore spline blocking - an integral part of any animation;
- We’ll discuss the role of the overlap as an important part of the movement, and incorporate it in our animations.
We’ll discuss:
- Methods to help reveal the personality of the character in the dance;
- What you need to know to make an impressive portfolio (demoreel);
- We’ll explore why dance is a great shot to demonstrate your skills and explain what kind of animation is best to come up with in order to generate interest among decision-making professionals.
The supervisor goes through all the final shots. They highlight students’ strengths, comment on the parts that might need improvement and give advice on how to move on.
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?
Beginner animators who are skilled in working with timing, spacing, overlap, static poses and body walk.
Practicing 3D animators. If you don’t feel confident animating character movement, in this course you can refresh your basic knowledge of how motion works and hone your skills.
What will you learn?
After this course you will be able to work with the character’s body in a structured and conscious way, obtain full understanding of the human anatomy, learn how to work with rhythm throughout the shot, set strong poses, find contrasts, understand the physics of movement, work confidently with the body, music and rhythm, bring overlap and arches to perfection. And your portfolio will be replenished with a musical shot!
A group of interns perform dance shots to the same rhythm. Those shots are later edited into one video clip. All shots created by the intern can be included in his/her professional reel.
In the course, we work in Autodesk Maya (the main technical tool for professionals in animation, film, and game studios). However the focus of the course is the principles of animation - the right way of approaching animation in a shot and specific skills for creating the movement of objects. Having that knowledge, you can easily make your animation using any other software, say Blender.
Please note that the school doesn’t provide Autodesk Maya!
Students with outstanding shots will receive an invitation to an internship and will join the team on one of the school’s projects. This is a good opportunity to significantly grow your skills in a studio environment.
All video lessons remain with the interns indefinitely, and their contacts and portfolios are included in the database of the OCA studio. The best students will be invited to continue working in the team.
Submit a demo and join the course!
Course Supervisor
Ivan used to be an artist at Soyuzmultfilm, has worked on Christopher Robin (Framestore studio), Jingliks season 1, and directed the animation "220 volts of love" (NTV television company). Now Ivan is an animation supervisor at Bazelevs film studio and a teacher.
OCA is Ivan's original project. The school was created with the aim to give students a solid understanding of animation and to consolidate the acquired skills in a real production. Course students have a unique opportunity to participate in the production of the show My Babushka smokes a pipe.
Studying in OCA school, you gain the most valuable experience from working industry professionals benefitting from smaller groups.
Feedback from our graduates
Ivan Pavlov is a wonderful and experienced animator with a bright style. Thanks to Ivan the characters come to life and the animation breathes. He always looks carefully and thoroughly at every work, sees every little thing. All critiques were detailed and clear, and the teacher's friendly attitude made me work even harder. I was very happy to study under Ivan's mentorship and I want to continue my studies.
About the course:
An excellent course for both a beginner and a more or less experienced animator. Interesting tasks of the course will help you better understand the mechanics of the body, study each realistic movement and apply it correctly in animation. Most importantly, you will be able to see your work improve and your animation skills grow as you progress through the course. Not only will you gain new knowledge, but the reel will be filled with fresh, bright and clean work. I got even more from the course than I expected, thank you very much!
A few years ago, I was lucky and got into Ivan's class. Then I was lucky again, and after finishing the training he invited me to work on a project he was supervising at the time. All in all, I was under his command for a year and a half - as a student and as a young animator. During that time, he managed to put a lot of useful and interesting things into my head, and that's when I started to understand animation.
Acquaintance with the school "OCA" happened to me by chance: my test work for a job turned out to be weak, and I was advised to tighten the skill by a cool teacher - Ivan Pavlov.
I went straight to the Advanced Body Mechanics course. Although, to be honest, it was possible to go to a younger course, because I constantly tormented Ivan with my endless questions, which he patiently answered!
The impression after the course is FIRE! Fear and insecurity disappeared. Knowledge was systematized in my head. During his studies, Ivan shared not only his knowledge in animation, but also his personal experience in approach to studying. And the main conclusion: shots must be finished - this is a good habit that gives additional confidence in their abilities.
And at the end of the course, I got a job in a cool studio - CGF Studio. Now I am continuing my studies, combining work and study. Sometimes it's not easy, but it's very productive! With gratitude, Irina Kudinova.
It seemed to me that I had been standing in one place for a long time. I finished all my work to a certain point and then left it. Because I didn't like the result, but I didn't understand how to improve it. So, I would start a new animation, but everything would go the same way: I would get stuck at the spline.
After seven months of studying at another school and three months of self-study, I didn't have any work to show. But I was able to move forward!
After three months of studying at the OCA school, I had a shot ready to show. But I spent more time polishing my work. I am very happy with the final result: finally, I have a work I am not ashamed to show. And of course, a great motivation to continue. Now I am studying at the pantomime course and working on an episode of the TV series "My Babushka smokes a pipe".
Our students work in
Certificate
In 2022 the school started issuing certificates of successful course completion. The certificate is received by those students who have completed their shots and received an “Excellent” mark from the supervisor. You can check the authenticity of the document on the Alumni page.
Enrol on the course now
If paying by cards issued outside the Russian Federation, please contact the school through the “Ask a question” form.
Ask a question
Pay for the full 3-month course and get 10% off!
£41Any questions?
If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions on how to make learning at our school more interesting and rewarding, please fill out this form.