Animating Characters for Feature Films

Mastering Character Performance in Maya with Alissar Kobeissi

This 4-hour Maya workshop covers how to achieve natural performances infused with as much personality, character specificity, and entertainment as possible. Senior Animator at Walt Disney, Alissar Kobeissi, explains what makes an animated character's performance unique and original, and how artists can bring parts of themselves into their animations. They teach animators how to use every opportunity to eliminate genericness in their work, ensuring their animations always appear professional and convincing. 

Alissar walks through their complete process for animating a two-character shot in Maya, from start to finish, exploring how to film authentic, natural references, pose the characters with appeal through 2D drawing techniques, and push and exaggerate the blocking to create contrast and clarity between the characters so the audience always knows where to look. They then move on to spline the body, eyes, and lip sync while discussing what makes natural spacing and clean arcs, what makes the eyes feel alive, and how to approach graphic and specific-to-the-moment lip sync. In the final lesson, Alissar shares their 8-step polish process to achieve feature-film quality. 

This workshop will benefit any animator, from intermediate to advanced, particularly those looking to break into the industry or hoping to elevate their performance skills. Alissar’s teachings share all the lessons they’ve learned throughout their career, from Illumination Studios Paris to Sony Imageworks and to Walt Disney, offering professional insights into what makes characters feel alive on every frame, and what makes a shot memorable.

Alissar uses ProRigs assets in this workshop, including Daniel (in The Family pack) and Frank (in The Couples pack). animBot is also featured as a supporting tool in this workshop.