In the 2D Animation: Locomotion & Acting workshop at The Art Club, Gabe takes students on a deep dive into classical hand-drawn animation using a modern digital workflow. Designed for intermediate-level animators, this course focuses on body mechanics, locomotion, and character acting to help bring characters to life. Students can work in the animation software of their choice, with Toon Boom Harmony recommended.
Over five weeks, students will start by learning the foundations of a solid walk cycle before exploring walks with personality and character. From there, they'll jump into lip sync with a talking head exercise and finish by combining everything into a full-body walking and talking character animation. Along the way, students will receive live demonstrations, guided assignments, and personalized feedback.
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to:
Create believable walks with solid body mechanics
Animate expressive lip sync and dialogue
Bring more personality and acting into their character animation
What You'll Make: Active students will complete a basic walk cycle, a personality walk, a talking head lip sync exercise, and a final full-body walking and talking animation, with feedback throughout the course.
Participants may join as Active students, receiving drawovers and feedback, or as Viewers, with access to the live sessions and text chat interaction with other viewers.
2D ANIMATION: LOCOMOTION & ACTING
In the 2D Animation: Locomotion & Acting workshop at The Art Club, Gabe takes students on a deep dive into classical hand-drawn animation using a modern digital workflow. Designed for intermediate-level animators, this course focuses on body mechanics, locomotion, and character acting to help bring characters to life. Students can work in the animation software of their choice (Toon Boom Harmony is recommended).
Over five weeks, students will start by learning the foundations of a solid walk cycle before exploring walks with personality and character. From there, they'll jump into lip sync with a talking head exercise and finish by combining everything into a full-body dialogue character animation. Along the way, students will receive live demonstrations, guided assignments, and personalized feedback.
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to:
Create believable walks with solid body mechanics
Animate expressive lip sync and dialogue
Bring more personality and acting into their character animation
What You'll Make: Active students will complete a basic walk cycle, a personality walk, a talking head lip sync exercise, and a final full-body dialogue character animation, with feedback throughout the course.
Participants may join as Active students, receiving drawovers and feedback, or as Viewers, with access to the live sessions and text chat interaction with other viewers.
Dates
Mondays - August 10 & September 7
Time
6:00pm - 9:00pm PST
Location
The Art Club - Discord: <https://discord.gg/TZb8wK292j> Blue Classroom
FORMAT
Class meets on Discord
Active Students must uploaded homework to the Google Drive folder before the next class.
Active Student spots are limited to 15 participants, and Viewer access is limited to 50 seats.
Active students will receive their feedback directly from the instructor.
THE FACULTY
Gabe Del Valle is an animator, storyboard artist, writer, and director with over a decade of professional experience in television animation. A graduate of Laguna College of Art and Design, Gabe began his career as an animator, contributing to iconic productions such as The Simpsons, Animals. (HBO), Hazbin Hotel, and Long Gone Gulch. His early animation work laid a strong foundation in movement, timing, and performance. Skills that continue to inform his storytelling approach today.
Gabe later transitioned into storyboarding, where he has worked on beloved series including SpongeBob SquarePants, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Middlemost Post, Mighty Magiswords, Helluva Boss, and The Patrick Star Show. His credits span animation, storyboarding, writing, and directing, and he is currently serving as a Director on The Patrick Star Show at Nickelodeon.
A firm believer that the strongest storyboard artists are grounded in solid animation fundamentals, Gabe brings a performance-driven, animation-first mindset to both his professional work and teaching. He emphasizes clarity, strong posing, comedic timing, and visual storytelling rooted in classical animation principles.
When he’s not boarding or directing, Gabe can be found playing Super Smash Bros. or Mario Kart, likely winning every round.
Gabe’s Credits
Prerequisites
This workshop is open to intermediate level students. To participate as an Active Student and get the most out of the class, students should have the following:
Toon Boom Harmony is the preferred software, but students are welcome to use any animation program they’re comfortable with, provided it can export .mov files. Additional supported software includes Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Animate, and Procreate Dreams.
Computer with microphone (camera optional)
Access to Google Drive
Access to Discord
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Learn the core mechanics of a believable walk cycle, focusing on timing, weight, balance, and clean body mechanics.
Assignment:Animate a standard walk cycle
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Build on the fundamentals by exploring how attitude, emotion, and character choices can transform a simple walk into a performance.
Assignment:Animate a personality walk
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Learn the fundamentals of lip sync, mouth shapes, timing, and dialogue.
Assignment:Complete a talking head lip sync animation using a short dialogue clip
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Combine body mechanics, acting, and lip sync into a single animation.
Assignment:Create a full-body character animation with dialgue
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Receive feedback on your final animation, make revisions, and discuss ways to continue improving your animation skills.
Who is this Workshop for?
The 2D Animation: Locomotion & Acting is an intermediate-level workshop and is designed for:
Students with a basic understanding of the principles of animation
Experienced animators looking for a refresher on character animation
Artists who want to improve walk cycles, lip sync, and character performance
Anyone looking to strengthen their character animation through guided assignments and feedback
Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to:
Students will develop a deeper understanding of character animation, learning how body mechanics, acting, and dialogue work together to create believable performances.
Through demonstrations, critiques, and hands-on assignments, students will gain confidence animating convincing walk cycles, expressive character movement, and synchronized lip sync.
Students will learn how to break down complex animation into clear, manageable steps, making it easier to plan, animate, and polish full character performances.
What You’ll Make: Active students will complete a basic walk cycle, a personality walk, a talking head lip sync, and a final full-body dialogue character animation with personalized feedback throughout the workshop.
In the 2D Animation: Locomotion & Acting workshop at The Art Club, Gabe takes students on a deep dive into classical hand-drawn animation using a modern digital workflow. Designed for intermediate-level animators, this course focuses on body mechanics, locomotion, and character acting to help bring characters to life. Students can work in the animation software of their choice, with Toon Boom Harmony recommended.
Over five weeks, students will start by learning the foundations of a solid walk cycle before exploring walks with personality and character. From there, they'll jump into lip sync with a talking head exercise and finish by combining everything into a full-body walking and talking character animation. Along the way, students will receive live demonstrations, guided assignments, and personalized feedback.
By the end of this workshop, students will be able to:
Create believable walks with solid body mechanics
Animate expressive lip sync and dialogue
Bring more personality and acting into their character animation
What You'll Make: Active students will complete a basic walk cycle, a personality walk, a talking head lip sync exercise, and a final full-body walking and talking animation, with feedback throughout the course.
Participants may join as Active students, receiving drawovers and feedback, or as Viewers, with access to the live sessions and text chat interaction with other viewers.
