Where to start?

I keep missing the animations classes...so figured I would play on my own. Where should I start? What program is the most easy to work with? I just want to create a few simple flirting amis like dropping a hankie, fainting etc.

Search for, download and install Avimator. Run it and you'll see a male figure in the starting "T Pose". That pose won't be seen, but leave it there as is. It's a reference point

Move the slider at the bottom to Frame 2. Now, hilight a body part (or use the "Edit Part" box on the top right) and use the three controls on the right side to change positioning of the avatar. You can point and click on the ground and then move your mouse around to see the avatar from different viewpoints.

When you like the positioning in Frame 2, go up to Edit and COPY the avatar. Then move the slider at the bottom of the screen to the last frame and Edit, PASTE. This will ensure that frame 2 and the last frame are the same so that if the animation is set to loop, it will loop cleanly without a sudden jerk when it restarts. Next, move the slider to another frame, maybe 10 to 15 frames away. Move the avatar joints to where you want them. And, so on. Avimator will create the 'in between frames for you. You'll see this when you hit the Play button (the triangle on the right side of the slider bar).

When you're satisfied, go to File, SAVE AS and give it a name and save it on your PC.

In Second Life, go to File, Upload Animation, and do the upload. You'll have a choice there of a few things. For a beginner, just worry about two things. Decide whether it will loop or not and also set the hand position (spread, fist, etc). That's it !

NOTE: Second Life will ignore any bodypart/joint that is the same in frame1 and frame 2. Be sure to rotate EVERY joint at least one degree in frame 2 if you will be using it later in the animation. In most cases (unless you specifically DON"T want a joint to move), move every single joint just that tiny bit.