Animation
write up 2
The
reading by Eric Larson was all about the animation principles. The article goes
through the concepts such as timing, anticipation, ECT. Of course, the value of
these animation principles is immense. Knowing these principles will help give
our animation a more lifelike/ realistic look to it. Also it will improve the
overall quality and visual appeal of the animation. Besides talking about the
animation principles, Eric also talks about the smaller movements that happen
during bigger movements such as walking. These smaller movements can consist of
the rotation of the shoulders or the swinging of the arms during movement. As an
animator these are all things you have to consider. I don’t want my animation
to look stiff and unnatural, so really paying attention to these details is
very important. Fully understanding all of these concepts will make me a better
animator. The Glen Handout was an interesting piece to read. The very first
page entitled “the ideal animator” was simple yet very insightful. Describing seven
concepts one should have to be an ideal animator, it makes you think of how to
improve your work to meet these standards. The concepts I was familiar with
were Critical, imagination, heart, intuitive, and Drafts man. I am always very
critical of my work, trying to always work out every detail so I can produce
great work. Of course, being imaginative is a huge part of every animation; you
don’t want to recreate someone else’s work. I want my own, new ideas to come to
life and show my passion to the characters I create. Being intuitive and using
the animation principles I can give them the easy fluidity to help bring them
to life. The last two concepts are ones that seem obvious but, still hold significance.
Performer is a concept I have known but, never thought of it in context of this
article. I have never thought of becoming my character and giving a performance
but, I do enjoy entertaining an audience. Lastly, being a team player. I have
always known that every animation has a team that works on it and you need to
contribute to the team to produce quality work. The article then goes on to
list other ideas to think about while animating. I can easily use this article
as a check list for my own work, so I have printed a copy of the article to
reference to when I animate. Avery short reading, the animation process of
Pixar article I think is still a very useful one. I found it nice to see a
simple overview of what a big animation company like Pixar goes through to make
a film. What I found very interesting was that there are specialized animators
that perform certain steps. For instance, animators called “shaders” specialize
in texturing, finishing, and coloring the objects within a scene. Before I use
to think that the character animators use to do everything but, now I know this
it gives me a chance to learn all the steps of animating a movie and see what I
really enjoy doing. I can learn character modeling, adding light, or shading. Then
I can contribute to the team my best skill to help make the animation.
