Automotive Animation - Essentials

The Ultimate Animation Course for Blender!

Animating vehicles sounds easy - It's just four wheels following the road, right? Not quite. Realistic driving animation requires an understanding of steering, suspension, forces, not to mention the creative interpretation and intent that the animator needs to infuse into the motion of the vehicle and the often-overlooked camera.

This step-by-step course, will walk you through all the aspects needed to successfully create stunning Vehicle Animations. The course is built by Daniel Vesterbaek, the creator of the Launch Control, a new Animation Tool which is being used by Studios and Manufacturers worldwide for brands such as Skoda, Nissan, Lucid, Mercedes-Benz. The course was created with the guidance and support from the Pro Automotive Advertising people over at The Experience Studio.

Get In-depth understanding of Vehicles

When animating cars, it's not just about keyframes. With engaging visuals, you will learn about vehicle suspension and how different vehicle types react to motion. You will discover how to let physics do the heavy lifting and create more convincing animations with fewer keyframes!

Be a Cinematographer

A common mistake in CG is overlooking the importance of the camera. People spend months working on environments, assets, and animations but take very little time to consider how the "action" will be recorded. However, the camera is truly a character in your film, and it can make or break a shot! Take a look below at how one of the shots from our film Elation looks with a default Blender camera compared to our custom camera setup and animation.

Visual Animation Techniques

Using the Launch Control toolset, you will learn how to animate vehicles with ease. Forget about old-school keyframe animation and embrace visual animation, where you can animate effortlessly and have full control. You will learn how to base your animation on real-world values like speed and G-forces, making the motion of the vehicle feel more grounded in reality.

Complete Professional Workflow - Previz!

What separates the professional from the amateur is... planning! "Measure twice, cut once"—thanks to previz! A powerful workflow that allows you to generate ideas, iterate, and build your animation step by step without committing to any details before everyone involved is ready. This workflow is crucial when working in a professional setting where decisions must be made before the final product is produced.

Based on Real-World Reference

In the course, you will get to watch real cars on real tracks accelerating, braking, taking turns, and doing slalom. All this will help you dial in your mental "animation settings" to improve the realism of your vehicle animations. In the course, the footage is discussed, and you'll learn what details to pick up on.

Extras: PRO Assets Included!

As an added bonus, you will also get access to the project files used in the course. This includes three vehicle models featured in the course material and the teaser trailer. You will also receive the track asset, which you can use for your previz animation. The track is based on scan data from Barber Motorsports Park in the US and features real-world elevation and curves.

Technical Details:

• Blender 4.1+
• Launch Control 1.8+ (required to follow the course material)
• The course will be available for Streaming through your GumRoad Library upon purchase. Project Files can be downloaded and you can follow along on your own computer.

Save 50%* on Launch Control when buying it together with the Course in the LC/Course Bundle!

N.B. This is not a Lighting and Rendering Course, but an Animation Course. The final result of the course will be a full race track animation, but it will not have final lighting and rendering.

Don’t just animate cars—make them move exactly how you want. Enroll now and start art directing your Automotive Animations!