As you probably already know, animation principles are the backbone of professional quality character animation. How you use the principles and apply them is just as important.
When you begin to animate with computer software, especially in 3D software like Maya for example, it’s very easy to become so dazzled with how cool 3D objects and forms look on your monitor, and how simple it is to move objects from point A to point B that you can easily forget to think about and incorporate animation principles into your work.
A New Medium
3D animation software is only another medium or tool to create animation. It will not create appealing and professional quality animation for you.
Just like fine art can be done in a variety of mediums – paint, sculpting, cantay, charcoal, pastels… Animation is it’s own form of art and can be done in variety of techniques – hand drawn, stop motion(often referred to as claymation), or digitally.
It doesn’t really matter how you create animation, the principles apply to all the different techniques – including digital 3D animation and digital 2D animation.
Tips to Avoid the Trap
So don’t fall into the trap! Learn traditional animation skills and most importantly – apply them! Don’t forget them when your sitting down at a work station looking at the interface of 3D software.
While your working, use a camera view panel to make sure your character silhouettes and overall scene composition are reading nice and clearly. I have my cam view on screen constantly to make sure silhouettes and negative spaces are clear. Audiences want to sit and enjoy themselves, not struggle to make out what’s happening on screen – you don’t want objects jumbled in front of each other.
Work out all of your characters poses and timing first, think about the various principles as your doing this and how you can employ them as you go. Continue to do animation checks in your camera view until your happy with the basic posing and timing. This stage of animation is called “blocking”.
The beauty of 3D software is that you can add in overlapping action or follow through later on when your refining your work in the animation editor (called the Graph Editor in Maya).
This is my one and only frustration when working in 2D programs like Flash. There isn’t anything close to Maya’s Graph Editor. I still have fun in Flash, I just miss that ability to quickly refine animation.
While working on different Flash and Maya projects over the last several years I’ve found out a great way to strengthen your animation muscle and really solidify the principles into your mind so you can avoid straying from the principles when working in 3D. I found this really works!…
Switch from working in 3D software to 2D software. For example, if you’ve been animating in Maya for a while, switch to Flash for a few weeks, and then back to 3D again.
In 2D software you don’t have that Z axis – depth (which can be irritating if your used to 3D!) but it forces you to pay more attention to traditional principles. You only have the X and Y axis – horizontal and vertical. It’s almost like strapping on an animation training brace.
Animating in 2D brings the principles to the forefront of your mind/attention, so when you return to 3D they’re still fresh in your mind. I found this has been a really big help with my 3D character work.
What are your experiences with 2D and 3D animation….
To be completely honest, retakes (sometimes called revisions) are the least fun part of the job of an animator, but they are always a part of an animators job. No matter how talented and skilled, every animator gets retakes.
Retakes and revisions are changes that you have to make to your work. Sometimes it’s changes to the actual character performance and animation, posing timing, this being more of a creative change, or it can be of a more technical change like an adjustment to the framing or composition of the scene, when characters enter frame or exit, etc…
The changes are usually requested by a Lead Animator, an Animation Supervisor or a Director. Most of the time – almost always, the changes are an improvement to the scene, even if at times we (the Animator) may not agree with a particular fix or change especially if it’s a big adjustment and requires lots of time and effort. After all animation is laborious and it can be difficult not to get attached to some of your work.
Why Do Animators Get Retakes?
As I write about in my previous post, changes and fixes are made in order to realize the vision of the director and creator and to simply make the animation look better and to improve the acting.
There may also be technical changes such as camera framing adjustments or composition changes within the scene (placement of characters, props, background elements…)
For example, a retake note can come back asking you to add anticipation or follow through – referring to an animation principal. This would be a simple fix -just add what’s being asked for, tweak it and move on.
They may ask for a completely different action. For example, rather than a character diving into the pool they might want him doing a flip instead (even if the story board clearly indicates the character diving). Oh yeah, this can happen – in which case you’ll have to scrap a fair amount of animation and re-animate part of the scene.
So that would be a bigger retake because it’s a complete change rather than a little fix or adjustment to existing work.
How The Retakes Are Served
Preferably warm, but sometimes come in cold. I worked as an Animation Director at one point…sometimes the Director is so squeezed for time, little effort can go into sensitivity and explanations so he/she may just point form all the notes. So if you get short and cold retake notes, try not to be offended – the Director is likely stressed out and has way too much on his/her plate.
Retakes are usually sent to you in text form so that you can read what is being asked for and then address each note in a methodical manner. Studios like to keep a record of it as well for various reasons.
On particular occasions, when it may be difficult to explain the retake in writing, the lead, sup, or director will come to your workstation and discuss it with you in person.
On A Mental Note
This is very important. Try not to get irritated with your retakes. As you’ve probably already been told to develop a thick skin, rino skin or as they say “water off a ducks back”. The truth is, you will get ticked off at a retake eventually. If your having trouble dealing with them just refer back to the opening paragraph of this post for a reality check.
Do’s And Dont’s
Don’t argue with a lead, sup, or director regarding a retake (or any other reason). This should be obvious. If you really don’t agree with a retake, your better off doing it and letting them see what they have asked for. If they don’t like it they’ll revert to a previous version.
Ask questions if you’re unclear on a retake note. It’s good to appear to be genuinely concerned about the welfare of the project and the company. (that is, if your not). Plus you need to get your retake done properly so it doesn’t come back again.
As mentioned above, retakes are sometimes technical, but when they are creative in nature, your work is being critiqued and even criticized. It’s always wise (and in the best interest of your future in the industry) to act in a mature and professional way when dealing with retakes.
In any animated series or feature film, the director will have a pre-concieved vision of how he/she sees the story play out scene by scene in order to be sucessful as a whole piece.
This is why Animators are provided with support material such as liecas (or animatics), storybords, reference videos, and other support material – so that we understand what the story is about, what our assigned section of the show is about and how the director sees it playing out. Animators need to fully understand how the characters are supposed to be feeling, thinking and acting.
During animation we sometimes run into issues when we’re trying to achieve the mood implied by the support material. At times the dialogue may be read in a different way or mood.
When this happens we’ll often consult with an Animaton Supervisor or Lead Animator for ideas. A common solution is to try and strike a balance between the support material and the dialogue.
On some productions, especially feature films, the director will be there to direct or help direct the voice actors. If the director is there at the record stage then he/she will be even more certain of how they want the scenes to play out visually (in animation).
Voice directors will deliberately instruct the voice actors to emphasize certain parts of the dialogue usually the vowels (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y). so that animators can strike character poses and hit accents on those vowels (an accent can be a slight head movement or hand gesture).
For a director to have initially read scripts and go through all the pre-production steps before animation, he/she will develop a very clear vision of what they expect from the character performance by the time animation begins.
This vision will get passed down to Animation Supervisors, Directors, Leads, and Animators through story boards, liecas, and conversations during meetings. The goal is to get everyone on track early on, with the feel of the production and what is trying to be achieved from a story and character perspective.
So much goes into an animated production and the director is usually there from the beginning – before production begins, and knows exacty what they are looking for before animators are even hired for the project. An important part of an animators job is to understand the director/creators vision for the production and make every effort to realize it.
Animators work on computers all day. At least most do today. With FTP sites, web based production management systems and easy file transfering, there’s no real reason why we can’t do our work from anywhere in the world and not have to commute to work every day if it isn’t conducive with your life situation.
They say working from home isn’t for everyone. Some people are too easily distracted with all the amenities at home, but others are able to buckle down and get work done.
At one point in my career I had the oportunity to work from home full time. I now (at least, at the time of this post) work from home part time and in studio the rest of the time.
Personally I love working from home because it spares me the long commute to the studio, and I’m able to get small tasks around the house done on my short breaks when I get up from my desk to streach my legs. And when I return to my work I have a fresh perspective because I got my mind off it for a few minutes. I can’t stress the importance of taking breaks.
I find that I’m more productive working this way.
When you work from home full time it’s likely that you’ll never meet the director , supervisor or anyone else on your animaton team, especially if the company your working for is not in your area (you probably won’t visit if it’s not required).
It can be a little strange in that regard. I felt a little isolated at first – to never meet any of the people you work with, but it works out fine and you end up getting used to it. At least I did.
When working from home full time, files are usually transfered via FTP site (File Transfer Protocol). If you don’t know what that is – it’s basically an online folder that you can access with a password. Work files can be uploaded to an FTP by your employer (unanimated), you download the files to work on – then you upload them again when your finished.
In my experience retakes would come via email (any reference or support material is on the FTP). Since I already had the first pass animation file I would simply do the retakes and re-upload the files to which ever folder they specified. Simple as that!
Most remote arrangements use FTP sites to transfer files. It’s the most convenient and relatively secure way to share material.
What I find now is that a combination of working from home and in studio is great because you get to connect with the people you work with and discuss things face to face, but also have some quiet days at home to work.
The cons – Any visual comunication has to be transfered as a file on FTP (which isn’t a big deal, since it’s done that way in studio anyways). Instant communication isn’t as easy at home as it is ‘in person’. (which can be favourable). To work at home you’ll need a machine that will handle the heavy graphics, especially if your working in 3D software such as Maya. So there’s a cost upfront, but you can get a tax break on it (at least in Canada).
The pros – You avoid having to commute and generally feel more free and relaxed. If you have a long commute than your actually gaining more time in your day by working at home. Bathroom, kitchen – all close. You can get small tasks done on breaks – which is great if you normally don’t have time for such things.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that not everyone wants to work from home. I’ve spoken to many people that prefer to leave home for work.
The skills you have, the work you do is the same wheather you work at home or in studio. The biggest difference is the personal interaction, the isolation and difference in how you communicate with the people you work with.
In my own experience, being good at what you do and having an ‘easy-to-get-along-with’ attitude are key to being considered for a promotion.
If you rock the boat too much at work or you’re too outspoken it’s probably not going to help you, but at the same time being too aloof and not communicating with people isn’t well received either.
You want people to want to work with you again, so here’s eleven ways to put yourself in good standing in the animation production environment and increase your chances of getting a promotion….(in no particular order)
1. Take time to produce the highest quality animation that you possibly can. This one sounds obvious, but if you can impress them with your animation your name will become known around the studio.
2. Mentoring others. This is really important. We’ve promoted people because they were doing this (among other things mentioned in this list). Helping others who are having trouble in production – could be with software or animation skills. If your successful in helping someone else to improve their knowledge and skills, you’ll be seen as a leader.
3. Take direction well. Don’t get irritated with retakes/revisions, or at least don’t show it.
4. Offer suggestions when you see an issue or problem in production. Don’t overdo this one though, you could come off as overzealous. You don’t want to step on the toes of your supervisor or lead (or director). Take the opportunities to offer solutions to a problem that has been identified by someone else.
5. Try not to go to your supervisor with every question or concern that you may have. Make an effort to figure it our on our own first. If they feel like they have to hold your hand, they’re not going to promote you. Besides you are better off answering your own question at your workstation than answering it while standing in front of your supervisor or directors desk. (you will often answer your own question when you start to talk about it out loud).
6. Be easy to get along with and try to maintain a positive attitude. This is important in any work place. Try and stay on good terms with everyone. May not always be easy but try your best. That one person you don’t get along with could end up becoming your supervisor!
7. Work at least eight hours per day or what’s being asked by the studio. Sounds obvious, but most studios don’t have a specific start and end time. It’s usually understood that you are a responsible adult and won’t take advantage. It’s also understood that you have integrity and you’re there because you want to be there.
8. External Contacts. It can come in handy if the studio is staffing up for a production and you’re able to refer them to some good people.
9. Diversity in skills. Having experience in both 2D and 3D Animation makes you a valuable asset to the company. 1.) You’ll be able to work on any type of project that comes through the door. 2.) You can train others in 2D or 3D to work on those productions.
10. Always be willing and ready to help out with any last minute ‘fill-ins’ (work that won’t get done in time), or animation tests that need to be done for a potential project. Sometimes, when you work on an animation test you’ll get promoted if the studio is awarded that project. Show an interest in it and make it clear that you would like to work on it.
11. Be professional. Don’t talk nasty about the director or any other people while you’re at work. Stay positive while your there. If you can’t your better off being quiet. You can vent later at the pub or coffee place.
Follow these suggestions when possible and you’ll likely be in good standing in any production studio. Remember not to be too overanxious or pushy. If you know there is an animation test, ask to work on it but don’t be a pest – that will hurt you more than help.
If your studio offers any on-the-job training, take it. Especially if it’s learning a new software package. Your getting a free course and it shows your employer that your ambitious. Plus your likely to draw from that information sometime in the future. I always have.
Once a project is green lit and is slated for production, the studio which is awarded the job has to figure out how they will actually get it done.
Most of this information is presented at the bidding stage in terms of a schedule and budget – how many people are needed for each department – ie. layout, modeling, animation…and how long each step in production will take.
A production pipeline refers to the production schedule. It’s a pre-decided action plan that outlines the order in which each step in production will occur and on what dates.
The pipeline can be likened to a factory assembly line. It’s important that one step in production happens before the next so that each step is completed smoothly.
When one step isn’t done properly (and it happens), you often have to go back however many steps necessary and then re-do the steps that come after it. I’ve had this happen quite a bit and because we work with deadlines and a tight schedule, it can cause a lot of stress, late nights (I’ll stop there and keep this a happy post).
Here’s the order in which the steps in production take place. Keep in mind this is general – some productions will have additional steps.
This entire process (all the steps above) can take approximately one to two and a half years to complete one season of a show. Also, notice the pipeline is a little different for 2D and 3D productions.
After each step in production there are always retakes/fixes/changes and finally approvals. For simplicity, I didn’t include them in the steps above but you’ll sometimes see them on a real production schedule.
So, depending on the nature of the project – 2D or 3D (or both), and the complexity of the project, studio owners (or producers and directors) begin the daunting task of deciding/estimating which of the steps will be used in the pipeline, how long each step should take and how many people will be needed for each step.
Every animation production, whether it’s a TV series or feature operates in a hierarchy – a command structure developed over 70 years ago during the golden age of the animation industry, around the time when theatrical shorts gave way to TV animation.
It’s evolved a lot since then. Today’s animation productions are totally stream lined in the way that they are created. The people who work in today’s productions are there to make sure the project goes smoothly and is delivered on time and at the highest quality possible.
Not including pre-production or post production (scripts, storyboards, editing, etc…), here’s a common list of positions found within the animation department and their most basic functions:
Lipsync Artist
Lipsync artists are responsible for animating speech. They animate the characters mouths to match up with the recorded dialogue. A team of lipsync artists will normally have a lead lipsync animator to go to with any issues.
Animator
Working in teams, Animators are responsible for character performance – animating all body movements and facial animation (except for the speech when a lipsync team is employed). Also, animating or adjusting camera moves and ensuring proper framing and composition. Animators usually turn to a Lead Animator with any issues that may arise in production.
Lead Animator
A Lead Animator is a team leader. There is usually one Lead Animator for each team. They usually have the same responsibilities as an Animator with the additional task of assisting the Animators with any issues, questions or concerns. Sometimes Lead Animators are given the responsibility of reviewing shots/scenes for quality and calling for revisions (animation fixes/changes). Some studios will put the Lead in charge of assigning shots.
Animation Supervisor
The Animation Supervisor also reviews shots/scenes for quality and calls for any needed revisions. Assigns the shots to the animation teams, and addresses any issues that the Lead Animator or Animators may have during production. Will do a bit of co-ordinating between departments if the animation team is in need of anything from another department (for example – a change to a rig or design).
Assistant Animation Director
The Assistant Director does what the title refers to – helps out the Animation Director to review shots/scenes and filter through retake notes from the Series Director so that they are easier for the animators to address.
Animation Director
A big part of the AD’s job is making sure that the Series Director and Creator’s vision is being met. Reviews all shots/scenes and calls animation retakes. Filters through the Series Directors retake notes to clarify and simplify them (if needed).
Series Director
The Series Director is charged with many tasks. Here’s a list of things that a Series Director is usually responsible for.
- Reviewing storyboards and calling for changes – gives final approval.
- Sitting in on the creation and conforming of the lieca (or animatic), this sets the pacing of the show.
- May direct or give input on voice recordings (dialogue).
- Reviews all main and episodic designs(characters, props, backgrounds/environments)
- Reviews layout and animation – gives revisions and approvals.
- Sits in and makes decisions on sound mix and music, finalizing the edit.
Lucrative studios will sometimes employ all of the positions seen above, but average to smaller animation studios will sometimes combine the tasks of two, or even three positions and load them on to one person. (often due to a budget restrictions).
For example, a studio might put more responsibility on the Lead animators, giving the Leads some supervisory tasks, allowing the studio to avoid hiring Animation Supervisors for the project. This wouldn’t be all bad for the Lead Animators as they gain experience that will help them later in their career.
Another important thing to note. What a Lead, Supervisor or Animation Director is responsible for at one studio might be a little different at another studio. It’s up to the studio owners, or a production manager to determine who is responsible for what tasks.
As you can see, animation departments operate in a hierarchy and are fairly streamlined. But no matter how planned and organized the animation department is, it’s the attitudes and talents of the people in that hierarchy that make a project run smoothly, get delivered on time and at a high level of quality.
The dreaded “D” word…just the word deadline can sound really daunting if you’ve never worked with them – as in, if you don’t cross the finish line in time, your dead – or fired!
Well not exactly.
As a series animator working in production, I suppose that would be true if you were consistently delivering your scenes/shots late and at a poor quality.
When a studio hires you as an animator, especially if your a junior (new animator in the industry), the supervisor (or whoever is splitting up the scenes/shots into animator assignments) will usually do some juggling and allow some extra time to complete your first assignment.
People usually need time to get used to the character rigs or setups. Also to get used to the studios’ operations, especially the production management tool(s), studio environment, and of course where to grab a coffee
Deadlines Can Help You!
The biggest change in your animation skills comes as soon as you start doing it professionally. You’re suddenly given a set amount of frames that has to be done in a set amount of time, and…it has to be production quality.. no pressure.
This big change in your animation skills is your speed. Deadlines teach you to animate quickly and concisely. You have no choice but to find a solution to each shot, quickly and at a reasonably high level of quality. You can’t submit crap to your Lead or Supervisor – they’ll just send it right back and you risk not being around for the next project.
It doesn’t usually take long for most folks,(after spending some late nights at the beginning) and having speed and quality makes you a more valuable asset to any studio.
Pacing and Quality
Deadlines and learning to build up your speed for production while maintaining a high level of quality will be your first and biggest learning curve. Some echoing advise of many fine series animators is to panic early, and that does work, but managing the deadline has worked better for me.
A big part of managing your deadlines is pacing your work. For example, if your assignment adds up to 3500 frames, and you have 5 weeks to do it, you’ll have to complete 140 frames per day
3500 frames divided by 25 working days = 140 per day
Oh, and you thought you wouldn’t have to deal with math? Well, there’s some.
This way you can plan out your own daily assignment, knowing how many frames you need to complete per day will help you to stay on track with your deadline and maintain a higher level of quality in your work because your not rushing through.
Deadlines almost force you into learning to become a pace animator – a production animator.
The result is that you learn other skills such as gaining the ability to plan a scene quickly and stay organized. Deadlines will teach you to develop personal workflow techniques that will allow you to finish assignments on time or early – but also improve your overall animation abilities.
Description/What you learn:
Before we start animating we should set ourselves up for easy character control selections. Here’s two different ways to do it and why. We will use a pre-rigged and textured ball.
Exercises: go to animcareerpro.com
Download and open the file. Set up the ball with character sets (or a shelf button if you prefer). Save it to use in Maya Workshop 4
Quick Animation Review
Packed with action and suspense, this story keeps you on the edge of your seat. Although it reminds me of the chase scene in Ratatouille, it's still original and very well done. I have nothing bad to say about the animation, it's all there, looks fantastic. I especially enjoyed the bit of 2D in there with the chef chopping up the squid - really drives the motive for the escape. Nice cliff hanger at the end - looking forward to another one of these!
This is a short created at Gobelins L'Ecole de L'Image (Goblins School of the Image). A school in Paris dedicated to the visual arts which is best known for the Cinéma Department of Animation. Oktapodi won a flurry of festival awards in 2007 and 2008, and was nominated for Best Animated Short at the 2009 Academy Awards.
Also check out the making if Oktapodi - shows a snippet of the extensive planning and pre/post production that went into the film. It's on the Oktapodi site http://www.oktapodi.com
As you probably already know, animation principles are the backbone of professional quality character animation. How you use the principles and apply them is just as important. 
To be completely honest, retakes (sometimes called revisions) are the least fun part of the job of an animator, but they are always a part of an animators job. No matter how talented and skilled, every animator gets retakes.
