Weize's 3DCA Blog

Month: February 2026

Categories
Advanced and Experimental 3D Computer Animation Techniques

Advanced Anime

Week1

Storyboard Practice_ The Incredibles

5 shots practice

“Where do you put the camera?” –> What is this scene about? –> What do you want to say?

1.Focus 2.Focal Length 3.Geometry in Frame 4.Camera Movement

Week2

THE “SWBST”
Somebody: The Protagonist (Who is driving the story?)
Wanted: The Motivation (What is the internal/external goal?)
But: The Conflict (What is the “Antagonistic Force”? )
So: The Action (What choice does the character make to solve the “But”?)
Then: The Resolution (What is the new “Stasis”? How has the world changed?

STORY STRUCTUR

Three-act Structure

Hero’s Journey

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle

Five-act Structure

Kishotenketsu

Hunter to Prey Practice

storyboard

Cinematic Analysis

Week3

Story structure

Hunter to Prey Practice V2

Heavy Object & Change of Mind Previs

Week4

Facial Animation

① ASYMMETRY

② SHAPE

③ CONNECTIVITY

Volume & Line of Action & Lids Shape

Facial Pose Workflow

Reference–Blocking Pose–Volume & Shape Polish–Camera Check

Facial Pose Practice

Feedback

Heavy Object & Change of Mind Blocking

TeaCup_Practice

Week5

Facial Pose Practice

feedback

Heavy Object & Change of Mind Spline

Week6

Facial Pose (Connecting Poses)

Heavy Object & Change of Mind Polish

Week7

Facial Pose (Connecting Poses) V2

Heavy Object & Change of Mind Polish V2

Week8

Project1

Project1_Weize Hong_3DCADownload
Categories
Maya

Maya_Animation Fundamental

Week2

Overlapping Action & Follow Through

The Animator’s Survival Kit pp. 231–244.

Pendulum

Ultimate Version

Juice Box

Initial Version —— showcase

Golden Pose

Week3

Course Record

  • Quick way to create overlap by shifting keys in Graph Editor
  • The build-up of force before an action. All movement comes from forces. Famous quote: “Any animation consists of anticipation, action, and reaction.”
  • Acting in Animation: Objective (goal), be specific (why the character moves), personality, thought process (let it breathe). “Acting is reacting.”

Squirrel reference

Tailed_Anime

Ultimate Version

Acting_JuiceBox

Golden Pose

Week4

Basic Polish in Animation

Adujust Tail animation.

Juice Box_Acting_Polishing

Golden Pose_Franky

Week5

Walk Cycles & Weight Distribution

Course Record

  • Everyone’s walk is unique (influenced by character, age, gender, health, etc.).
  • Walking = “a process of falling over and catching yourself just in time” (The Animator’s Survival Kit pp. 102–163).
  • Center of Gravity (COG): Check balance by drawing a vertical line through the middle of the pose — equal positive space on both sides = balanced.
  • Strong silhouette and line of action in poses.
  • Pose-to-Pose Animation basics: Blocking key poses first, then connecting them.

Tools: Animation pickers (Studio Library, AnimSchool Picker, MG-Picker) to speed up posing.

Walker

Ultimate Version

Pose to Pose

Week6

Critique previous weight shift assignments + introduction to Basic/generic Walk Cycle

Core walk structure: Key Poses (Contact poses), Breakdowns (Passing position), Extremes (highest/lowest points of the arc).

Walk Cycle

Pose to Pose Polish

Reference

Hand Pose

Week7

Week8

Body Mechanics Planning + Final Walk Critique

Key Points

  • Body Mechanics = the mechanical foundation of any shot (weight shifts, foot placement, posture, balance). This is the first layer; acting comes second.
  • Strong emphasis on Reference! — Analyze hips, weight center, arcs, timing, etc.
  • Planning tools: Paper sketches / 2D animation tests for poses and timing + video reference.
  • Everything is a ball — use proxy methods (basic shapes) to test timing and movement.

Animatic

Blocking

Week9

Week10

Week11