Two Free Tutorials—Kinematics and Cloning in the SpotLight

Designed by Escape Studios' tutors to help enhance your skills, these two tutorials provide information taken directly from our Character Animation Foundation and ZBrush for 3D Artists Courses.

Tutorial I: Forward Kinematics vs. Inverse Kinematics
Taken from our Character Animation Foundation course, this tutorial discusses the theory behind forward kinematics and inverse kinematics as well as arm and world orientation.

Using practical examples with an industry standard character setup, we show how the various set ups have both advantages and disadvantages and reveal how to switch between forward kinematics and inverse kinematics mid-animation.

As we complete the tutorial, it becomes clear that the rigs can often be developed to cope with numerous situations, offering animators a number of options to work with.

This tutorial addresses:

• FK (forward kinematics)
• IK (inverse kinematics)
• Arm and world orientation
• Animating using FK and IK

Total Time: 9 minutes 27 seconds

Tutorial II: Cloning in the SpotLight
Taken from the ZBrush for 3D Artists course, this tutorial covers the use of SpotLight for cloning parts of an image. We show you how to project that image directly onto a model with SpotLight projection mode and polypainting.

We also show you how to prepare a texture using the SpotLight dial to clone out highlights from a source image which is then projected onto the eyes.

• SpotLight
• Clone function
• SpotLight projection

Total Time: 7 minutes 19 seconds

In just under 17 minutes, these two tutorials offer a wealth of information.