What Separates the Good Animator From the Bad Animator?

I would say, from a supervisor’s point of view, that a good animator is one who shows great attention to detail and won’t hand in work that is clearly mediocre or worse, accompanied by a myriad of excuses. They are aware of the thought processes of the characters they are animating, and are conscious of communicating that to the audience. A good animator creates interesting rhythm in their shot, and isn’t afraid of using moments of stillness to accent both the rhythm and the communication.

There are also some elements of detail that I find really separate good animation from bad. One element is shoulder movement. Bad animators will not use the shoulders very much in their animation, when in reality, shoulders have a huge amount of articulation and really connect the arm movement into the torso movement. I’ve seen lots of stiff or non-existent shoulder movement in bad animation.

Good hand poses are another element that take good animation to the next level. Hands are incredibly emotive and communicative, but it is also painstaking to animate all those digits. A good animator will put the work in, not only to make the movement work, but to make the poses interesting visually, appealing, and connect those poses to the character’s acting and emotion.
Other than those particular things, it’s just a mastery of the principals of animation--paying attention to all of the elements that make a great shot! Great posing, great timing, body mechanics, great character acting (and this is something that is very difficult-- mastering the body language and personality of a particular character versus just moving a character around generically).

Something I can’t emphasize enough is the importance of having strong body mechanics. Whether you’re going more realistic or more cartoony, if the body mechanics aren’t “buyable” the character will never really take on life. If they don’t have that illusion of life, that makes it very difficult for the audience to empathize with them, and it will be much, much harder to draw the audience into the story and maintain the suspension of disbelief.

Share from: http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/2011/08/what-separates-good-animator-from-bad.html

What Are the Top 3 Types of Scenes to Include on a Demo Reel?

I think it is important to show a bit of everything on your demo reel.

If I had to pick 3, I would go with: a body mechanics shot, a pantomime acting shot, and a dialog acting shot. Those scenes cover a pretty decent area of animation and will go a long way toward showing your chops. Including these scenes will also hold the attention of the viewer, whether that is a recruiter, a supervising animator, or your mother.

Share from: http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/2011/09/what-are-top-3-types-of-scenes-to.html

Taking Control of your Animation

Here’s a question that I get quite a bit in my classes: Why does my animation look bad when I take it out of stepped mode into splines for polishing?

The answer for me is relatively simple. Don’t let the computer do your animation. If you don’t like the inbetweens that your computer is giving you, don’t let it do the inbetweens! Control the arcs of your character, the way a head turns, the speed at which the arms move, how much space the body goes through.

I like to say that if your computer looks like computer animation it’s because it IS computer animation. You, the animator, haven’t put enough inbetweens or enough love in your splines (whichever method you like to animate).

Ask anyone in my personal life. I’m a control freak. I have to be in control. I’m learning, through tons of therapy, to get better but the fact still remains. This comes in handy when I’m animating. I will usually put a keyframe every 2 frames or so. Sometimes I’ll even drop one on EVERY FRAME. I trust my computer to crunch numbers extremely fast. It knows the difference between a one and a two. But, it doesn’t know anticipation. It doesn’t understand arcs. So I have to put that in there. I have to let it know that on frame 46, my head is going to do this and my left arm is going to do that.

I make sure that I put that keyframe on EVERYTHING. Not just the head or the hand, but EVERYTHING. Let me say that one more time with feeling. EVERYTHING. I do this because I do like to work in stepped mode to finesse my animation and see where the keys are. The last thing I want is to hit that magical spline button, and everything falls apart. Why is that not moving? Why IS that moving? Believe me, I’ve yelled that at the top of my lungs before. If I put a key on everything, it doesn’t do things I have no control over. It doesn’t do things I didn’t anticipate.

It does what I wanted it to do.

Silly computer. Animation’s for animators…

Share from: http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/2011/12/taking-control-of-your-animation.html

Six Key Skills to succeed as Animator

Here are six key areas of personal development I’ve seen in those who succeed as animators:   

1. Be humble. Attitude plays a MAJOR role in your success. Who wants to work with a jerk? I don’t, and I’m sure you don’t. This does not mean that you need to let someone walk all over you, either. Build confidence in who you are, share your thoughts, and respect those of others. Remember, there’s more than your way to tackle a challenge.

2. Be thirsty. I LOVE this one. It’s also been called “the beginner’s mind.” At Animation Mentor, we call this Continuous Improvement and it’s one of our core values. Never feel like you have “arrived.” There’s always more to learn. When you get stuck, look for ways to pivot your thinking and you will find renewed inspiration.

3. Share everything you know. There’s a famous quote that states, “It is in giving that we receive.” I really love this and find it so applicable. Those who give comments and share their knowledge are those who seem to accelerate quicker. Those who hoard information only go so far. When you learn something that accelerates your skills — share that knowledge. You’ll be surprised at what comes of it.

4. Never give up. Don’t lose focus, it’s just a matter of time. This may be easier said than done, yet remember that you cannot ever stop learning, practicing, and growing. Be sure to water your mind and feed it goodness whenever possible.

5. Beware of the “gremlin voice.” Most likely, there will always be a "gremlin voice" in our heads that expresses our insecurities — and most likely, there’s no way to ever fully turn off that voice. So think about "turning the volume down." If it's blaring at 10 max, then what would it be like to turn it down to a 5? Or even a 7? Over time, learn to identify the voice and slowly begin to turn it down.

6. Nurture balance. The life of an animator should not be all about the latest animated movie. Those who succeed have a passion for life just as much, or more, than they do for animation. Be sure to cultivate YOU.
   
   
   Article from animationtipsandtricks.com Bobby Beck
   This is quite inspiring!
    Link:
   http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/2012/04/six-key-skills-to-succeed-as-animator.html
    

Pixar带来的感动

Pixar带来的感动_论Pixar动画短片的故事创意及内涵

Link:
http://www.docin.com/p-56118524.html

Animator Kenny Roy's blog

 Link:
http://www.kennyroy.com/public/department32.cfm

Katzenberg: PEOPLE is the most important in a company.

Martin K - Animation Blog: Katzenberg: Honor Employees