Character

Rigging & Animation

F U N DA M E N TA L S

Find the class at: skillshare.com/explanimated

Character Illustration
CHECKLIST

artboard of at least 1000 x 1000 px

neutral position

create limbs as a path with a stroke

consider form follows function

separate layers, including hand from arm

name layers based on character’s right and left

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 FK vs IK C H E A T S H E E T

Forward Kinematics (FK)

YOU: Move the wrist/ankle controller
RIG: Rotates the arm/leg accordingly

Inverse Kinematics (IK)

YOU: Rotate the shoulder/hip, elbow/knee

RIG: Moves the hand/foot accordingly

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When to Animate in FK vs IK
Think about what you want to animate your character doing. Then use the following
questions to help figure out whether animating each limb in FK or IK mode will be best.
Keep in mind that you may not need all of the questions in order to come to an answer.
When in doubt, try animating the limb in both modes to see which works better.

Need to attach the hand/foot to something?

yes no

IK FK
EXAMPLES:

• biking - wrists & ankles

• pull ups - wrists

Also works well for when you want the

hand/foot to not move (even when not
parented) while the body moves.
• squats - ankles

What’s driving the motion?

the hand or foot the body

IK FK
EXAMPLES:

• hand grabbing object • arm swinging while walking

• foot stomping • side lunges - wrists (swinging arms)
• squats - wrists (arms reaching up)
• jumping jacks - ankles
• side lunges - ankles

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 What’s more important?

the position of the orientation

the hand/foot of the limb

IK FK
EXAMPLES:

• grabbing object • when elbow doesn’t go the direction

• holding onto something you want (like when bringing the
• pushing a button hand to the face)

Need to animate the segments of the limb separately?

no yes

IK FK
EXAMPLES:

Good for creating secondary animation

• hand waving
• arm swinging while walking
• kicking ball

What kind of motion path?

custom arc

IK FK
EXAMPLES:

• hand moving in straight line Arcs can be pleasing to the eye

• jumping jacks - wrists

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 Systematic Steps
FOR C H A R AC T E R A N I M AT I O N

Use these steps as a guide when animating a character.

Keep in mind the steps don’t always go in this exact order.

take a reference video, trim clip, add to animation comp

break action into sections

EXAMPLE: down then up sections for side lunges

start with big, driving movements,

then work your way towards smaller movements/details

choose IK or FK for each limb

decide if dimensions should be separated

E X A M P L E S : separate
x and y of ankle position if toe and heel land/lift
off ground at different times
separate x and y position if interpolation (graphs in graph editor)
should look different for x and y

look for extremes in reference video to set keyframes

add easy ease to keyframe then adjust the interpolation (easing)

of keyframes in the graph editor

preview animation in slow motion

check to make sure your character’s center of gravity is realistic

add style - exaggerate motions for a more cartoony look

ex p l ani m ate d megan frie sth