Well put. Bottom line… just because you are in a visual art form that does not show your drawings, it’s an important process to learn and know so that your talents will only become stronger.
Thanks for you answers mike, I am certainly not a great draughtsman by any means but I hope that my belief in design and character and the process of drawing/seeing can enrich my animation.
Is there something you see in CG animation nowadays that drives you nuts? Something that's just wrong to you and you'd wish "they" stop doing?
If that question is too stepping-on-other-people's-toes then I got another one:
What type of tools would you wish to have at your disposal for animation? If you could get rid off the mouse, what type of input (or mouse enhancement) would you love to have?
1. I don't believe i've seen or heard of 3d animated features that adopt the pipeline of having a supervising or lead animator per character like it used to be done on 2d animated films (ie. Glen Keane= Ariel, Aladdin, Beast, John Silver, Tarzan etc...). Can you speculate as to why that is? Pros/Cons to doing something like that in cg?
2. How the heck do you get up at 5am?? hehe
3. Do you do any 3d modeling and rigging? Do you even have time for personal projects at the moment?
Is there something you see in CG animation nowadays that drives you nuts? Something that's just wrong to you and you'd wish "they" stop doing?
If that question is too stepping-on-other-people's-toes then I got another one:
What type of tools would you wish to have at your disposal for animation? If you could get rid off the mouse, what type of input (or mouse enhancement) would you love to have?
Loved "Enchanted" btw!
Cheers JD
Hi JD,
I think CG is getting better and better. I think we still can advance at being able to get better shapes on the fly rather than “be stuck” with what we have from the ground up. I guess if I had to pick one thing that I don’t like about some CG is that it is uninspired and stiff at times. This can be for multiple reasons. Lack of production time, inexperience and often-limited rigs. We need to break that wall down to get better control over our shapes and silhouette.
As far as input devices… I’d love to have a more intuitive way to control the character. Right now when we need to move things around, you often have to break that connection you have with your charcter to work with or find tools. This is where it breaks down for me. This is one area of stop motion that I loved. It is raw art happening right at your fingertips and you were in total control of manipulating the puppet. I don’t know that that really answers your question. I know where I’d like to get to but I’m not sure of what the tools would be to get there. Let me know if you find a god way.
1. I don't believe i've seen or heard of 3d animated features that adopt the pipeline of having a supervising or lead animator per character like it used to be done on 2d animated films (ie. Glen Keane= Ariel, Aladdin, Beast, John Silver, Tarzan etc...). Can you speculate as to why that is? Pros/Cons to doing something like that in cg?
2. How the heck do you get up at 5am?? hehe
3. Do you do any 3d modeling and rigging? Do you even have time for personal projects at the moment?
Thanks for your time and more questions to come
-George
Hi George,
1. I don't believe I’ve seen or heard of 3d animated features that adopt the pipeline of having a supervising or lead animator per character like it used to be done on 2d animated films (ie. Glen Keane= Ariel, Aladdin, Beast, John Silver, Tarzan etc...). Can you speculate as to why that is? Pros/Cons to doing something like that in cg?
All the CG films that have been done here at Disney have had this. Dinosaur, Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons. Our current film they are trying something new by not having that in place. I really like the idea of having a supervisor. Pros- -A point person who knows that character inside and out those others can look to and learn from to see they unique style of that characters idiosyncrasies. -A person people can go to if they have questions pertaining to how a character is rigged or should move. -No ramp up time switching from character to character on a film. -Brings a consistency of the character throughout the whole film. -Can track subtle character arcs through the film as opposed to working on a shot in front of you and not seeing the “big “picture”
Cons- -Inventory isn’t always such that there is always work for a particular character. -A little variety is nice during a long project.
2. How the heck do you get up at 5am?? Hehe
Coffee!!!!
3. Do you do any 3d modeling and rigging? Do you even have time for personal projects at the moment?
I wish I did now how to do that kind of stuff. I have an understanding of it so that I can communicate my needs but not enough knowledge to actually do it.
As far as a personal project… I am in the process of creating some DVD’s that I believe will be of great interest to animators and students especially. No firm date as to when they will be done.
I’d like to do a short film one day but with work and family it’s a tough balance to find time. Perhaps more coffee and even less sleep.
What is personally your favorite type of shot to do when you sit down and animate? Action, dialogue, subtle acting moments, etc, etc? Perhaps something that has many of those elements combined together?
What is the shot or scene that you are most proud of as an animator - and why so?
What is personally your favorite type of shot to do when you sit down and animate? Action, dialogue, subtle acting moments, etc, etc? Perhaps something that has many of those elements combined together?
What is the shot or scene that you are most proud of as an animator - and why so?
Hey Rick,
Not to take the easy way out but I really enjoy kinds of shots because they each offer up different challenges. I’d say that if I had to choose what to stay away from, the real technical shots with dealing with constraints and whatnot. I’ll do it but I find that the art sometimes gets lost because I’m dealing with technical issues. Funny shots are always a blast as well. Timing has to be just right to make it work.
Picking a shot is pretty tough. I don’t think I’m ever 100% happy with them. I always see room for improvement and perhaps things to have done a bit differently. Recently on Robinsons I had done a Bowler hat guy where he is holding a stick and thinks real hard. I’m pretty happy with that one mostly because I was complimented by Glen Keane who said, “I really felt like the character was thinking in that shot”. With a compliment like that I have to be pretty happy with it.
1: Why and in which conditions animators use linear interpolation in a Final Shot?
2: Far too many times in various animated movies I have noticed that Body Language,Head Tilts,Expressions,even Poses...etc...are dramaticaly over used.....or who knows...reused....just like a stencil. If you know what I mean. Lately,the animation didn`t evoluate for a bit.Only got polished. Is that the Students are molded in that manner and they`re just happy they can emulate X or Z animator? I know the fight with the clishee is not easy,but is not imposible either.
Looking back at your carreer so far could you give a couple of things that have helped or inspired you. Advice you were given, working with other animators for example.
When animating do you ever get the " I can't do this shot" feeling even with the large amount of experience you have?
What do you feel your stop motion experience has given that has helped you in the CG medium?
Thanks in advance
Also just like to say I went to a lecture at LEAF around 2001 in London you gave about your work on dinosaur which I found very inspiring as I was just getting into CG at the time.
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