Creature animation is a must on your demo reel! (part 1)

Your animation demo reel needs to show variety in your skillset and one of the ways to stand out is to incorporate creature animation. But it doesn't have to be what you think! Creatures can be animated multiple ways, showcasing different styles, personalities and body mechanics, resulting in a reel that will make you stand out from the crowd!

This is part 1 of the multi-part series! Here is part 2:

Horse clip:
Horse cycle (Richard Williams):

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And if you read all the way down to this YOU ARE AWESOME! Thank you for your interest!

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[jeandenishaas]

Hahaha will probably change the thumbnail in the future but it just cracked me up. Don't sleep on creatures! Tough to animate but a must on your reel!

[christinjoylee]

Your face after the owl running is forever my favorite reaction

[justycheung]

What is going on, today is my birthday but got some good stuff. To be honest, creature animation does not only find in movies. even a TV show, for example, His Dark Material. I am working on my dragon animation( have 3 locomotion in this animation"Take off, flying, and landing"), I show u when I ready. Of course, I will pay u.

[bricengorai]

That sheep is the prime example of how I view my shots, expectations vs reality...another awesome video JD!!!

[loafy]

My goal has always been creature animation! its nice to know it is wanted. All my animation classes focus on human animation but animals have always been my thing :) Thanks for the insightful video !

[AmityAnimation]

That clip of Cumberbatch, lol. I always wondered how, exactly, the animators interpreted his mocap data for Smaug.

[david]

That cat and owl clip is impressive! Can't wait to see part 2!

[Aaron_miraz]

The miniature Vs the cutest clips of animals in the video, I love it hahaha.

[Pataflex]

Yay ! Creature animation is great. It's a good excuse to find interest in animals, to be curious about their behaviour and all. Thank you for the video JD !

[harshal]

This brought back so many memories!
Excited for the upcoming parts! :D

[LombaxKat]

Man I'd love to see the demo reel of the dude animating 50, 000 orcs lmao

Thanks for the solid advice!! Looking forward to part 2 :D

[raremilindchitale]

Very very interesting insight into creature animation. Super great examples, how you managed to get your hands on so many of them, amazing. So inspiring, feel like starting to try animating a creature right away. Thank you so much.

[johnmonge]

Another awesome video and found it very helpful! I have not animated creatures yet so I am looking forward to the series and follow along! I have never laughed so much when I saw the cat and owl video. :D

[minhaj_khan]

Thanks for giving so much insight into shot ideas!! :D

[eddieandersson]

Wow mate this was so good. You really are one of the absolute best at explaining and inspire people. ❤️

[enderperez-lopezanimations]

Ok, since the beginning of the video you convince me about why I do need creature in my Demo Reel. So, does this skill might increase the possibility to get into this tough industry then? Amazing video, thank you J-D!

[rupeshmajumder]

Thanks, this is really helpful 😀, but something I always face while planning out a creature animation is Lack of good rig (compared to biped characters), sometimes it's hard to find some particular creature rig other than the usual tiger, leopard & horse. & it feels like I have to signup for some online creature classes just to get the rigs. so It would have been better if there was some good open-source rig just for some practice because not everyone can afford those online classes.

[ninjadodovideos]

Have to take issue with the feature vs games thing at the start re: cycles or shots with personality. If you're not putting personality into your games animation, you're doing it wrong. The idea that games animation is just technical craft while all the 'real' acting is in feature is a long outdated misconception.

[panimation]

Amazing video, I really like creatures! I am wanting to do a small exercise of a dragon but don't know which animal reference I would use? As always keep up the good work.

[rdthrthth]

I've always struggled animating creatures, are there any good tutorials you would recommend? I'm ok at doing cycles on the spot, but I struggle with the workflow when animating (for example) a dog or cat walking around etc. Should I start by making all the contact poses on the front legs? then do a pass for all the contacts for the rear legs? Is there a general rule of thumb how many frames the rear legs are usually offset from the front legs when walking?