So you wanna try your hands at 3D animation but feeling lost in the youtube spiral? Getting distracted to the suggestion pop-ups from your ‘watch-later’ ? or just lost without an actual learning path? No sweat, fellow newbie! We’ve scoured the web and assembled a crew of awesome channels to guide you on your animation journey. No more waiting, get on your systems, and let’s explore. Starting with the channel in the 5th place in the list, Aaron Blaise:
5. The Art of Aaron Blaise – Animation with a Heart:
Looking for more than just technical skills? Aaron Blaise, as a former wildlife artist injects passion and storytelling into his tutorials. Learn character design, animation principles, and even the emotional side of bringing your creations to life. Be warned, a sprinkle of feels might be included.
For 21 years Aaron worked with Disney animating hits like “The Rescuers Down Under”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “The Lion King”, “Pocahontas”, “Mulan” and more.In 2003 he was co-director of “Brother Bear” for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. He then left to pursue his dream and now has a community of over 1 million subscribers on his youtube channel.
Other popular videos:
- My new Art Book: The Art of Aaron Blaise Volume 1 with 16,550 views
- Sketchbook Tour with 15,428 views
- Career Advice from a Disney Animator – Aaron Blaise Interview with 92,741 views
- LIVE HOLIDAY STREAM 2023! with 9,045 views
4. CG Geek – Your One-Stop Tech Shop:
Feeling overwhelmed by the technical side of things? CG Geek is your tech-savvy BFF. From in-depth software tutorials to hardware reviews, they break down complex concepts into bite-sized, easy-to-digest chunks. No more tech jargon headaches! Expand your skillset with tutorials on compositing, green screen, and other VFX techniques.
The channel was started in 2011 and quickly grew to have its most viewed video Can We Make This Banana The Most Liked Blender Tutorial On YouTube? with over 21,277,520 views!
Other popular videos:
- How to Animate 3D Characters in 1 Minute with 4,614,243 views
- How I Create 3D Animated Characters with Blender in 15 Minutes with 1,494,764 views
- the Easiest VFX Tutorial Ever with 2,925,800 views
Learn 3D Animation using Supersaga – the ultimate beginner friendly tool!
Explore Supersaga, a user-friendly 3D animation application tailored for those desiring animation creation without extensive knowledge of 3D software. With an extensive asset library encompassing customizable characters, scenes, and props, Supersaga simplifies the animation process through its intelligent engine. Enhance your creative projects by seamlessly incorporating sound effects, music, and voice-overs for a complete cinematic experience.
As a testament to their commitment to user involvement, Supersaga provides an Alpha playtest version, downloadable from their Discord channel. This initiative ensures accessibility, allowing users to explore and engage with the app, facilitating the creation of stunning 3D animations. With Supersaga, the fusion of user-friendly design, robust features, and accessible resources propels the world of 3D animation into a realm of creativity and limitless possibilities.
3. Blender Guru – The Donut King (and More!):
This channel’s legendary donut tutorial has launched countless animation careers. But Blender Guru, aka Andrew Price, offers way more than sugary treats. Dive into his in-depth software breakdowns, captivating challenges, and insightful tips to master Blender like a boss. Andrew price started the channel in 2009 and he’s the founder and CEO of Poliigon.
His most popular video being how to render multiple objects in blender with around 16 M views.
Other popular videos :
- Create a subway in blender : https://youtu.be/nb6rSMAooDs?si=qmNzx40iHG6Q4qiw
- Blender 3.0 beginner tutorial : https://youtu.be/nIoXOplUvAw?si=94u8I0jP21Q5p2El
- Understanding color: https://youtu.be/Qj1FK8n7WgY?si=3mTN1ZlIHV9npxSX
Blender Guru actively encourages community interaction through Q&A sessions, challenges, and live streams. This fosters a supportive environment where learners can connect and help each other. While offering premium content, Andrew prioritizes accessible learning with numerous free tutorials and resources.
2. CGMeetup – 6.17 Million Strong:
Imagine a giant digital bonfire where animation enthusiasts roast marshmallows (metaphorically) and share their knowledge. That’s CGMeetup! With a massive community and interviews with industry pros, you’ll get inspired, informed, and maybe even score some insider tips. You won’t find just one topic here. CGMeetup covers a wide variety of 3D fields, including bts looks, vfx breakdowns, shortfilms and showreels, software review and comparisons.
Plus , you can get featured on this channel if you’re a cgi artist, studio or school creating awesome content. Starting from 2011, the video that gained the maximum attention is a short film “watermelon a cautionary tale” with a whopping 145 million views although the film spans only for 2 minutes and 57 seconds!
Other popular videos on the channel:
- Dust buddies : https://youtu.be/mZ6eeAjgSZI?si=ux0XbKYu7aCCDwZ8
- First comes love: https://youtu.be/XXhsh9nvgyg?si=HimnMUDL4sWcGHzK
- Mind games : https://youtu.be/TvRhfaouBHs?si=msjUEiIrT5kByU3l
1. Alan Becker – Animation Fundamentals 101:
Remember those epic stick figure battles from “Animator vs. Animation”? Alan Becker, the mastermind behind them, offers animation lessons disguised as entertaining stories. It’s fun, engaging, and packed with valuable fundamentals for beginners.
Alan started his channel in July 2006 and his “Animator vs. Animation” became a viral video in 2006. He makes stick figure animations that take place on a computer desktop screen. There is no dialogue, but a lot of humor and emotion.
Check out his other channels too! AlanBecker tutorials where he teaches how to animate, He even runs a Minecraft server, and plays games (as he says)!
Alan Becker’s most famous animation video on YouTube is ANIMATOR vs ANIMATION IV (official). It has over 146 million views and was published in December 2020. Another popular series by Alan Becker in his other channel, AlanBecker tutorials is 12 Principles of Animation, which teaches the basic principles of animation using Adobe Flash/Animate. The full series has over 13 million views.
Bonus Tip: Don’t just watch, do! The best way to learn is by creating. Choose a channel, pick a tutorial, and start animating! Remember, progress over perfection, and most importantly, have fun!
P.S. This is just a starting point. Explore, experiment, and find channels that resonate with your style and learning pace. Happy animating!
