Many of us watched Bob Ross make beautiful landscapes with a technique he claimed anyone could replicate. I imagine those that picked up a canvas to follow along would find it harder than he made it seem. Countless folks pursue the art of animation, enthralled by their favorite game, movie, or show. However, when they initially put brush to canvas, so to speak, they become discouraged by not seeing that beautiful landscape that initially drew them in. Mastering technical tools has been the biggest hurdle for students. Here, then, I will discuss the unspoken principle in modern digital animation, solid technical understanding – what I call principle zero. In this article, I will list hurdles students encounter during their introduction to the craft and propose teaching strategies for digital animation.
Current students of animation will find a wide choice of software to learn. I’m not here to speak on the pros or cons of available tools. Instead, I would like to frame the struggle that many of our freshmen run into. Just to name a few of the immediate overwhelming elements: dropdown menus, convoluted tool options, varying UI placement, and a plethora of keyboard shortcuts. Many educators I’ve known use the metaphor “like stepping into a pilot’s seat” when speaking to new students of the digital craft.
To combat a complex UI, my strategy for early digital animation students has always been to hyper focus on specific tools. Show them how to find it, how it’s used, and a practical example that they can try to replicate. I’m always hesitant to push a custom simplified layout to my students, in fear that I would be hiding the interface they need to grow into as a professional. However, a recent study from the University of Arkansas on CAD education, a field adjacent to 3D animation, found that “Customization enhances engagement by tailoring user interfaces to individual needs and preferences, making the learning experience more engaging and motivating.” (1)Perhaps it’s time for digital animation instructors to really help simplify the UI with a custom and accessible option for folks new to the field.
Figure 1. Image of Maya’s UI from Autodesk, https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2024/ENU/?guid=GUID-F4FCE554-1FA5-447A-8835-63EB43D2690B
A concept I’ve learned from my university (2) comes from Lev Vygotsky’s concept of scaffolding within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). In a nutshell, The ZPD is a sweet spot for learning, where a task is not too easy but just challenging enough that, with guidance from an instructor, a student can master the topic. Even though Vygotsky’s research was aimed at kids, I find the process aligns with how most academics cover animation education. Our lectures or demos provide a temporary support structure that allows beginners to tackle tasks that are just beyond their independent capability. By focusing assignments on specific tools amongst an intimidating interface, demonstrating how to access and use them with replicable examples, we’re placing students within their ZDP. This gives them just enough assistance to utilize something new without overwhelming them with an abundance of technical options.
Before coming across Vygotsky’s scaffolding (3), I often worried students would just follow along with my lectures without developing an actual understanding of the tools. However, since discovering this learning concept, it has helped positively frame many of my assignments and lectures. In this way, my goal shifted from demonstrating perfect replicas to building the scaffolding with a gradual release of responsibility from the lecturer to the student. Viewed through both practical teaching experience and learning theory, these strategies show that digital animation education thrives when technical mastery provides a solid foundation, giving students the confidence to implement and explore beyond what is discussed.
Figure 2. Maya’s Graph Editor from Autodesk, https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2026/ENU/?guid=GUID-6D38EAEA-6032-471E-BD0E-54A74D4443C0
In my graduate studies, I was lucky enough to have tremendous mentors. Two of which reshaped my framing of 3D animation: Stephen Wong and Terry Song. They shared their techniques, with emphasis on the graph editor – a tool that allows us to control digital in-betweens on the keyframes. This is the biggest lightbulb moment for the majority of digital animation students. The technique they shared with us was not tool specific. It’s replicable in any animation software that has a graph editor and a puppet system to control the characters or prop rigs.
The technique, now popularly known as “layered animation,” starts with building a character’s movement one part at a time, beginning with the primary force (root, head, hand, etc.). From there, secondary elements are “layered” in, emphasizing and enhancing the primary animation. With the primary force being the key focus, it allows animators to refine that motion in real time, giving them a feeling of all animation principles early in the animation process. This all is not to be confused with the tool “Animation Layers.” (4)
For the first time in my animation journey, I was able to focus on specifically the artistry by utilizing one large technical tool: the graph editor. A tight and specific focus on the graph editor, with a handful of assignments focused on its use, allowed students to propel their artistry forward. This is a straightforward practice that offers an example of the usefulness of scaffolding in digital animation education. I continue to reflect on the functions of scaffolding in hopes to help my own students in a similar manner.
I often tell my students, “master the technical to implement the artistry.” Emerging AI tools will no doubt continue to both disrupt and advance the field, but the concept of principle zero remains. Technical fluency is the first artistic brushstroke for digital animation.
Works Cited
Chioffi, David C. “Using Scaffolding, Gamification, and Self Awareness to Create Responsive UX/UI in CAD Software to Nurture Metacognition in Novice Users.” ScholarWorks@UARK, 2025, https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5755/.
ETSU Center for Teaching Excellence. “Vygotsky’s Theory.” https://www.etsu.edu/teaching/resources/more_resources/vygotsky.php.
Indeed – Career Development. “Vygotsky’s Scaffolding: What It Is and How To Use It.” Indeed, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/vygotsky-scaffolding.
Autodesk. “Maya Help Website.” Animation Layers, https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2026/ENU/?guid=GUID-5C202CB8-EB3C-4ADE-B203-5F93A9FD9104.
Corey Reece is an assistant professor in Digital Media at East Tennessee State University, where he teaches courses covering animation, rigging, and performance. He obtained an MFA in VFX and Animation at Academy of Art University. He brings industry experience to his classrooms, having worked as a character animator on two episodic TV series for children. He actively pursues grant funding and real world clients to ensure students get hands-on experience before graduating to the field.