The Ultimate Animation Workflow for Beginners

Here’s a comprehensive guide to my adapted version of the pose to pose animation workflow.
Personalised animation workshop - ko-fi.com/chestersampson/comm...
- My socials -
Twitter: / chester_sampson
Vimeo: vimeo.com/chestersampson
Instagram - / chester.sam…
Twitch - / chesteranimates
Link to PDF Flowchart of the workflow - drive.google.com/file/d/1HW5o...
BOTW Link Rig - drive.google.com/drive/u/0/fo...
- Music -
Lud and Schlatts musical emporium - creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music: Evan King - SONG NAMES: Biscuits, 20XX, Thermal, Moon Base, Often @contextsensitive
Chapters -
00:00 - Intro
00:17 - The Secret Workflow
01:03 - Golden Poses
02:33 - Breakdown #1
05:45 - Breakdown #2
06:54 - MidPoint Pose
07:56 - Ease in + Ease out
10:25 - The Moving hold
10:56 - Bonus tips
12:02 - Final Tips

[@ChesterSampson]

Watch the follow up to this video here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZuwqXVtobSYoNEsi=36MIC_LSZ54HpmP7

[@TheAlphaTeamPlays]

You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for a comprehensive yet beginner-friendly animation guide that isn’t just “copy what I do frame-for-frame” or “download something off of Mixamo.” Fantastic video

[@ChesterSampson]

Yeah I find a lot of animation videos talk about big concepts - but as a beginner without any kind of workflow you have no idea where to put any of that stuff. Hopefully this helps

[@TheeShaggySniper]

I saw another video that was "how to rig and animate"... I've already got the character, it's already rigged - I just gotta do some custom animations, and needed to learn how to do that. The other video I watched was 9 minutes of "how to rig" and the last 30 seconds was "how to download off Mixamo"

[@clonkex]

This is so very good. Not just the workflow, but also the fact that the presenter clearly has skill and real world experience. It's so hard to find animation videos that aren't just either "here's the simplest principles of a bouncing ball" or "here's a 45 minute time-lapse of me animating something really complex".

[@TylerMcNamer]

What I have learned here is working on one key pose at a time. Each key pose is like a beginning and ending to animation. Then do the process all over again with the next key pose.

[@TylerMcNamer]

*Thank you!*

[@romamotion]

The most golden piece in 13 minutes you can ever find on the complete animation workflow/

[@3dSensei952]

I initially thought this was a clickbait title but I decided to give it a try and I'm blown away by the quality of information in this 13 min video. You've literally saved my ass. I've just transformed my robotic looking animation into a more intresting organic motion by following this beautiful treassure in just one hour. I knew there was some liquid gold out there that would make it all make sense and I kept looking. This is exactly what I've been looking for; Short, precise and something that finally makes everything snap and make sense. Thank you a lot for this. I'm curious if you have a patreon or something where we can support you and donate.

[@ChesterSampson]

Happy you learnt something from the video! - I have no Patreon yet but maybe one day 😆

[@3dSensei952]

​@@ChesterSampson No worries mate. Cheers!

[@CharacterDesignForge]

this absolutely rocks, good fundamentals all around! Good on you for making this

[@alkatheri-pk4hc]

"Allah! There is no god but He - the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him Nor Sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede In His presence except As he permitteth? He knoweth What (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they encompass Aught of his knowledge Except as He willeth. His throne doth extend Over the heavens And on earth, and He feeleth No fatigue in guarding And preserving them, For He is the Most High. The Supreme (in glory)." [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255]

[@merleawe_]

Thanks for this! As an animator with a Non-Verbal Learning disability... i'm incredibly literal minded and stuggle badly with very fast or subtle actions. I constantly make very even timed animations or animations that feel stiff(Sometimes I get lucky and get a very organic result, but luck isn't a good thing). When I ask for workflow, people normally give vague answers that lean into a 'figure it out' approach. Even teachers. Which is frustrating. It's ESPECIALLY frustrating when I ask people how they know to do 'Subtle movements' 9:56. No one really ever explains it properly- So it's great to see an example here!. Another confusing one I find is facial and head acting. ESPECIALLY when it concerns moving the neck around a lot. I never think to do that.... It would be awesome if you did a tutorial that went into some more extreme head and neck acting during line reads too!

[@YamanAldous]

Thanks for putting all of this information together ... it is also fantastic that you mentioned the importance of this workflow for TV episodic animation

[@alkatheri-pk4hc]

"Allah! There is no god but He - the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him Nor Sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede In His presence except As he permitteth? He knoweth What (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they encompass Aught of his knowledge Except as He willeth. His throne doth extend Over the heavens And on earth, and He feeleth No fatigue in guarding And preserving them, For He is the Most High. The Supreme (in glory)." [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255]

[@caiotomazzoni]

Thanks for the awesome video Chester! An awesome comeback 🔥🤟🏻

[@t1w894]

That thumbnail of Links goofy ass smile and body language making him look like he's showing his favorite gadget or tool makes me die laughing each time i come to rewatch this for refreshers while i cement the workflow into my head. Love it man.

[@benjaminoAttano]

Thank you for this very comprehensive and cool video!

[@santiman588]

Amazing! so well explained! thank you for sharing your workflow Chester.

[@AnimatorBlender]

This is wonderful! So much new information

[@yusufbilalsaroglu2959]

While working at my animation job, I was trying to improve myself at the same time. But for a while I was stuck. This video has opened my mind again. I will watch the video again at the first opportunity by following every step carefully. Thank you Chester great video.

[@Drummer8nimation]

Man, I've been in TV animation for a while, I can honestly relate, I'm kinda feeling rusty on the feature quality workflow

[@fevval7958]

This helps me understand the process of animating so much better now, thank you so much

[@FATNINJABABY]

This is super helpful seeing the process broken down so well. Something I have a difficult understanding, but made a lot more simpler. thank you!

[@rexmediastudiox307]

This is by far the best workflow and a Great Teacher👌

[@itisntgabriel]

DUDE i tried this workflow and its simply AMAZING. I love it!

[@herbert9039]

Thank you so much! I always found animation stressing because there are so many important concepts. Having this 'action plan' to follow really makes me want to give it another shot :D

[@trekfire2651]

Thanks a lot mate ! These are great tips, I can't wait to try it 😄

[@Vicious-scribbles]

Thank you so much for this video! I was struggling so hard to find a real workflow and step by step process that wasn’t so individual to the animator, and I finally found it!

[@liteningstrike12]

Great video! This is exactly the kind of questions I've had about the workflow, demystifying it so that I can put more time into refining my animations knowing that I've had a good starting point. The major things that you've put into words for me here that I can't wait to incorporate to improve my animation work are the variety of rhythm and the moving hold. One of the frame animations I did last year didn't have any moving holds, so poses felt floaty and there was no indicator to the audience what the most important poses were! Glad to finally be able to realize what I was missing

[@FrizyOficial]

bro, ur channel is pure gold, glad i found it

[@wonnayeong5889]

Thank you so so much for this helpful video, so easy to understand. Hope u release more video about this topic

[@barrenwanderers5655]

The most detailed guide I've ever come across, and one of the main reasons I want to learn Modelling and Animation; something to look forward to every day and you can go at it through your own pace! The ending video recom was quite something though, lol... But really, this really helped set in stone the process of animation for a ton of us, cheers, Chester.

[@dhairyavijay2006]

Thank you, man 🎉🎉🎉 You are Great. Its very helpful & fun. You really are making a difference here. 😊😊

[@BrianKouhi]

That was a great video Chester! loved the pacing and edit.

[@ChesterSampson]

Cheers 🍻 doing my best to make the videos informative whilst being entertaining

[@VyouttarAnimations]

As an animator i really appreciate the effort in this video, thanks a lot for helping the animation community.

[@ThomasAnimations]

Nice pack of useful information here. Well explained and entertaining to watch. Love your content, looking forward to more of these sir🎉❤

[@ChesterSampson]

Cheers 🍻

[@amsuherdi1111]

This is actually a good reminder for me. Lately I've been offtracked with the workflow. Thank you!

[@trivialmv9770]

ty so much for this, im crying, this is so well explained!!!

[@SupakAnimations]

thank you so much Chester! I've learned a lot from your videos and livestream lately.

[@alkatheri-pk4hc]

"Allah! There is no god but He - the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him Nor Sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede In His presence except As he permitteth? He knoweth What (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they encompass Aught of his knowledge Except as He willeth. His throne doth extend Over the heavens And on earth, and He feeleth No fatigue in guarding And preserving them, For He is the Most High. The Supreme (in glory)." [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255]

[@dayafte5538]

As a beginner that's really useful.. thank you ❤

[@Ndy]

Chester i just wanted to say iv been watching you for a long time now and you have helped me more than you can possibly imagine. You are an excellent teacher and I hope your future endevers are bright. This video is exactly what I i've been needing for years.

[@ChesterSampson]

Hey, super happy to help! Now you’ve got to teach me how the hell to get more views 😂

[@maiabuljeta5749]

This was so good! Thank you so much.

[@melwinrichard258]

this so crystal clear ..thanks ❤‍🔥❤

[@ereh__]

When I heard the Undertale music, my hand moved on its own and liked the video.

[@stubblestudios9446]

Really good info. Waiting for more content like this.

[@Zertox3D]

God sent of a video. Animation makes me rethink my decision of being self-taught but this just made it one step easier. Thank you 🙇

[@alkatheri-pk4hc]

"Allah! There is no god but He - the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him Nor Sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede In His presence except As he permitteth? He knoweth What (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they encompass Aught of his knowledge Except as He willeth. His throne doth extend Over the heavens And on earth, and He feeleth No fatigue in guarding And preserving them, For He is the Most High. The Supreme (in glory)." [Surah al-Baqarah 2: 255]

[@YioshiEdit]

This is GREAT! Thanks for the help

[@AnimatorHeadSpace]

That's brilliant man! Fantastic video.

[@ChesterSampson]

Cheers 🍻

[@cedricrabarijohn6035]

The "But" part literally got me 🤣 anyways thanks for the content, you've got a new subscriber 😁

[@mao3d]

thanks for share, this is so very good

[@namanchoubey5167]

amazing sir so much information just in 12 min video

[@bilosofie]

ur the best man .. much much love and respect man...

[@Kotai-Matrix69]

I use SFM, but we have a tween machine script too, so this video will be extremely helpful. Thank you!

[@owenferny]

HUGE amount of content that is sir 🤯

[@ChesterSampson]

Sir - I simply cannot let you drop content without counter dropping

[@appuzzzappuzzz7601]

Thank You So Much Sir😃😃

[@lucianomunoz]

Aww look at me in your video

[@ChesterSampson]

Cheers 🍻

[@iLuvBvnny]

youre an amazing teacher

[@Lusvr7]

Bro! you're awesome!

[@LinRinku]

Idk if this can be helpful, but Blender has something called "Motion Paths" that might be useful for checking those "arcs"! You select a bone you want to observe in Pose Mode, in the Editor Type window, go to Object Data Properties tab, and there should be a dropdown/tab called "Motion Paths". There's a couple of settings you can choose from, like if you want to see how the "head or tail" of a bone is moving, and after clicking OK, a (not selectable) path should appear. If you have Auto Keying on, the path should update as you go (if you animate with the graph editor, you either need to Update the Path or move some other bone). I have it as a Quick Favorite so I can check, update, or clear them on the go. Funky "tip" aside, thanks for sharing this video about your animation workflow! I think I'm kinda amateurish when it comes to animating in 3D, I somehow didn't quite realize the Golden Poses can also apply here too. Also made me understand what Blender's equivalent for the Tween Machine is, because I accidentally use the shortcut for it, get confused and just ignore it xD Might make some use of that now that I know better.

[@xpea16]

Awesome 👏🏻

[@MichaelHickman3D]

This is an amazing, high quality video! I'm 14, thank you for everything!! I hope to show measurable improvement in my animation!

[@ChesterSampson]

Good luck to you!

[@DaPixSunny]

Thanx a lot! Realy usefull and practical info. Today I spent over 2 hours of youtube browsing trying to understand if Blender breakdowner is just tecnical instument for somehow speeding up of work or it has an artistic sense? and what did i get - kiddish advises about "press this button" or "Breakdowns are cool - use them". After yout video i've understood that instument and much more - how to breathe a life in animation.

[@akashkarmakar3881]

Hi Chester thank u for this workflow info it really helps me to understand, specially timing and spacing but can u explain in a separate video how u deal your audio acting animation, how u deal with audio's tempo with this workflow. I tried to apply this same workflow in my audio acting animation but I didn't understand how to Arrange this keys. I hope u understand what I trying to say.

[@hotsauce7124]

Thank you

[@ebenhzr7712]

TQ for this video bro

[@skidrow5165]

started animation like 5mnths ago, glad to say I've finally found where I belong!

[@zackk-mu7tv]

This is really helpful...

[@Axiassart]

Funny how I was complaining about exactly that and boom you made a video about it 😂 thank you

[@Paul-dd9ox]

thank you so mutch !

[@andrejjandric9125]

This guy is going straight to heaven

[@goastmaster]

Thank you so much for making these. I'm getting into animation and just happen to see this. It's so criminal how this is free, thank you from the depths of my heart. You're going to help a beginner like me in my journey.

[@ChesterSampson]

Damn you’re saying I could’ve made money from this 😆

[@goastmaster]

@@ChesterSampson for what you have shared, absolutely 💯

[@piptherat7977]

super helpful video! thanks maaan

[@mikozok]

great video!

[@matejfradl]

Thank you for this. Ist awesome. One thing to ask is to go in deep for lead and follow. ( Example when the hips lead the movement)

[@14569_berries]

thank for share

[@Badlynamedchannel]

Another common W for my favourite Twitch Streamer

[@nicolabruscia862]

cool! very helpful! 👏👏👏

[@jettwalts4811]

fire video!

[@HenricWallmark]

Great!

[@skethy2333]

7:11 for this part i usually just set the interpolation mode between the two breakdowns to linear and then add a keyframe in the middle and then adjust to my liking. I dont know if thats any better than using tween machine

[@waffletimecat]

this was super helpful!! id love to also see your workflow for animation where you have to pass through key poses in motion, rather than easing into them

[@ChesterSampson]

I did a followup livestream where I go more in depth with this workflow, check it out - kzbin.infom-RBx5st5Gc?feature=share

[@waffletimecat]

@@ChesterSampson oh thank you!!

[@andoi9292]

No B.S. beginner guide to starting animation.

[@forzamaya4087]

Thanks

[@Trogen-uo9gb]

this is gold

[@ChesterSampson]

I did a followup livestream where I go more in depth with this workflow, check it out - kzbin.infom-RBx5st5Gc?feature=share

[@prosperazonwu4691]

You just got a new die hard follower

[@stridec]

Omg it’s soooo helpful, thanks! Can I master walk/run cycle using this method?

[@RwanLink]

Really nice video! I think there is also TweenMachine for 3ds max.

[@SadgeFrawg]

this is indeed a workflow

[@ChesterSampson]

one of the workflows of all time

[@gaming_techtv6630]

Ama reaching this video

[@danyahjw]

Hello thanks great video! What monitor do you use?

[@muichirotokito5906]

Hello! Thank you for the tutorial! I would like to follow you as you show the process but I cant download links model and I dont know how :(

[@SamAnimates98]

Where can i find the BOTW picker used in this video also thank you making this video. This helps a ton for a beginner like me.

[@eliazarelizondo7075]

Could you do a step by step rigging and weight painting video? Im having so many issues with my clothes stretching correctly and it destroys my textures 😢

[@karrarhussain9109]

finally !!!!!!

[@RuV9999]

i wonder why we need 2 keyframes in between? from what i learned. usually in between is only 1 keyframe. also how to make a good moving hold? should i give an extra keyframes of my pose moving oposite the previous keyframe? or should i continue the move slightly from the last keyframe?

[@dimakudrin3danimator254]

It's magnificent )) You created well explained with a lot of entertainment video about workflow )) Great job ))) I would very glad If you create something similar for lip sync workflow in future )) I watched your previous videos about lip sync, but may be you have something to add to your last comments about it )) Wish you best luck ) Stay safe, stay healthy))

[@ChesterSampson]

Yeah that last one was a impromptu demo so a more refined heavily edited lip sync tutorial could be a project I do in the future :)

[@AnityEx]

saving this video nOW

[@soggie7157]

Great tutorial. I assume animations can be more forgiving for games?

[@MasquedJustice]

i open the video and get hit with hopes and dreams. instant happiness

[@lucaspfeiffer5852]

Amazing video! Thanks a lot! A question, I have a hard time understanding how to animate on 2s/3s/4s is simply holing the same pose for a few frames or there is slight changes on them ?

[@ChesterSampson]

Yeah animating on a set frame rate (2s, 3s or 4s) means you are creating a new pose every 2 frames, 3 frames, or 4frames. I usually block work like this in stepped mode (or constant in blender) so that the computer does not interpolate between the poses. Once I’ve finished my blocking pass I then switch the tangents to automatic to let the computer interpolate

[@lucaspfeiffer5852]

@@ChesterSampson ohh okay, I think I got the concept, I'll give it a try! Again, thanks a lot for your time!

[@Crabnuts]

my brain has expanded

[@ChesterSampson]

it's big brain time

[@obi_anyaibe]

Hi, I just started using Blender for 2D animation, and one thing I haven't figured out yet is how to insert a frame in-between two frames. For insurance, say there's 0, 1, 2 frames on the timeline, and I want to insert one more between 0 and 1 so the new frame is the new 1 and the old 1 is now 2, how do I do that?

[@NekoJax]

is the link rig able to be used in blender?

[@-Gkogk-]

Such a great video Chester. I am trying to understand if this workflow can be used in every type of animation, it feels that it works best when you start moving and then stop. Using the example of the baseball pitcher, pose B seems like the midpoint of pose A to pose C in this workflow. not sure if I got my point out 😂

[@ChesterSampson]

Yeah the workflow is used to go between held poses, so in the baseball example if you hold the windup before throwing it would be an extra pose

[@JamieEdits_things]

If we make a point C is it the same concept between point A and B?