🐟 Animate a Character on a Path in Maya – Free Tutorial

Ever wondered how to get your animated characters to actually move through a scene, not just animate in place? In this free video tutorial, you’ll learn how to connect a character rig—specifically the popular Nemo Rig—to a motion path inside Autodesk Maya. Discover how to refine timing, adjust movement speed, and breathe life into a traveling animation. Whether it’s a fish gliding through water or a dragon soaring through the skies, this is a vital skill for any animator.

🎬 Download the Nemo Maya Scenes

📚 Keep Learning – More Free Tutorials

🎁 Download Even More Free Animation Resources

👉 https://sophoria.academy/free-stuff/

🚀 Explore Full Premium Courses at Sophoria Academy

🎓 Browse All Courses

🏫 About Sophoria Academy

At Sophoria Academy, our mission is to make professional animation and VFX education accessible to students worldwide. Led by Jonathan Symmonds, former lead animator of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, we deliver creature-based training you can actually use in production.

📌 Meet Your Instructor

Mentor Profile: https://lms.sophoria.academy/jonathan-symmonds

📣 Follow Us for More Free Content

dog walk cycle animation course cover image

Quadruped Animation: An In-Depth Guide to Four-Legged Walk Cycles

| Latest News | No Comments
Quadruped Animation: An In-Depth Guide to Four-Legged Walk Cycles By Jonathan Symmonds Quadruped animation is one of those subjects that looks simple from a distance and falls apart the moment…
Spider Rig used to animate an eight-legged spider walk cycle in Maya

How to Animate a Spider Walk Cycle: A Practical Guide

| Latest News | No Comments
How to Animate a Spider Walk Cycle: A Practical Guide By Jonathan Symmonds Of everything I teach, the spider walk cycle is consistently the one that gets the most attention,…

Animating House of the Dragon: What It Taught Me About Creature Movement

| Latest News | No Comments
Animating House of the Dragon: What It Taught Me About Creature Movement With House of the Dragon Season 3 airing weekly right now, I've had a lot of students ask…

How to Animate a Dragon: A Beginner’s Guide From a Game of Thrones Animator

| Latest News | No Comments
How to Animate a Dragon: A Beginner's Guide From a Game of Thrones Animator Every animator hits this wall eventually: you've done the bouncy ball, you've done a walk cycle,…

Student Testimonials

As part of the SOPHORIA ACADEMY dragon animation course led by the incredible Jonathan Symmonds, I tackled the challenge of animating a dragon flying and landing. This exercise focused on honing my creature animation skills, and I'm excited to share the results.

Will Noon3D Creature Animator

Thanks for this amazing dragon rig and the priceless knowledge you give your students in your Dragon Animation Masterclass Jonathan Symmonds.

Marina Peters3D Animator at TRIXTER

I’m super excited to share with everyone my Irex Run and Roar animation! It was a lot of fun working on it, and I can’t wait to do more.
A special thanks to Jonathan Symmonds for the amazing course I took at SOPHORIA ACADEMY!

Andrea Resera3D Character Animator

I recently completed my first creature animation and spent a lot of time focusing on understanding the anatomy and motion of animals or creatures. I also delved into animation principles such as overlapping action. I received much help from the SOPHORIA ACADEMY and learned much from their classes. I highly recommend their course, especially if you're interested in quadrupedal and creature animations. It has valuable knowledge, tips, and tricks that have significantly improved my animation speed.

Muhammed Basel3D Character Animator

I learned so many things about dragons that I had never known before! Understanding where the weight shifts when a dragon flies, how to handle the Y-axis movement of the body as the wings flap, which secondary animations should be saved in the studio library for reuse, and how to animate the tiniest details like the neck fins and tail... it was such an eye-opening experience.
Big thanks to Sophoria Academy for introducing me to the world of dragon animation! 🐉✨

Quan Dang3D Animator

I am thrilled to share that I have completed the "Animate an Elephant Walk Cycle" course at SOPHORIA ACADEMY. 🐘✨
This course has been an incredible journey, allowing me to hone my animation skills and bring an elephant walk cycle to life. I'm excited to apply my knowledge and continue creating dynamic animations.

SeeMa ShaikhFeature Film Animator

Thanks to Jonathan Symmonds from Sophoria Academy, I have been able to have extra access to invaluable teaching to pursue my passion of becoming a 3D animator!

3D AnimatorInstructor, Skate Nao

Get the 'Ultimate Animation Bundle'

Learn Animation Online – Creature & Dragon Animation Courses | Sophoria Academy

We all know how difficult it is to learn animation and be able to afford quality courses! With this Bundle from Sophoria Academy, the price of the bundle will ALWAYS be $299!

Every time we add a new course to the academy, we will include it in the bundle for FREE!

Courses currently in the Bundle...

💎 Unlock Instant Access to 17+

High-Quality Courses for only $299

Save over $485!

Every new course added to Sophoria Academy is automatically included in your bundle.

You pay once and keep lifetime access, with free updates and new releases added to your library the moment they launch. No subscriptions. No upsells. Just continuous learning.

🎓 50+ Hours of premium tutorials
🛠️ All rigs and scenes included
📁 Project-based learning to build your demo reel
🌐 Access anywhere, anytime — fully online and self-paced
🤝 Join our community on Discord for support and feedback
📈 Industry-ready training from a world-class instructor
🔄 Lifetime access & free updates — new courses included
📥 Downloadable practice files and assets
📚 Lesson notes & checklists for each module
📱 Mobile-friendly player with speed controls

Invest in your future — your animation journey starts here!

Share