Animation Tips - Tumblr Posts

Wonderful advice from Disney animators Tom Bancroft, Eric Goldberg, and Aaron Blaise. 

‘Extremes & Inbetweens’-

In the mechanic anatomy of an animated scene, there are essentially just 2 types of drawing- they are either an extreme or an inbetween (and sometimes a mixture of both within a drawing).  This identification helps keep the animation workflow streamline and clear.  

The extremes charted the path of an action, providing all necessary anchor points and act as the skeleton that holds a movement.

The inbetweens are strictly followers, following diligently within the established charted path by the extremes and control the velocity of a movement.  The inbetweens filled in the ‘space-time’ dimension, providing a ‘feel’ (like mass) to the skeletal structure made of extremes.

Generally we put emphasis on the extremes, but the inbetweens are equally important as the flows of velocity are also critical information.  (Imagine all the extremes are in right places but the inbetweens while staying on path but spacing relation is off, we’d get a very ineffective result.)

In attempts to communicate the animating process, we named drawings to describe our process.  Because there are many different approaches, the terminology can become cumbersome, causing the workflow to be unnecessarily complex to understand. 

The many terms are keys, storytelling keys, extremes, breakdowns and inbetweens.  For me, the terms can be understood as follow-

Keys- are the major moments in an action.  They are extremes but fewer in numbers and incomplete by themselves.  They need more added extremes to uphold a movement.

Storytelling keys- are extremes that address the emotional points in a scene.  There might be just one storytelling key or several, pending on the complexity of the emotional flow.  They too are incomplete by themselves and need supportive extremes to be complete.

Breakdowns are trickier based on certain workflow. They can be a breakdown extreme or the simpler breakdown in-between.  Originally, a breakdown is really an inbetween that addresses the widest gap between extremes.

In shaping up an animating workflow, it is very resourceful to fully understand the functions of terms in relation to personal significance as they will affect communication in a more collaborative environment.

And so truly- it is just extremes and inbetweens (in an equal and balance partnership).

ANIMATION INDUSTRY MAIN SOFTWARE

Someone asked what is the industry mainstream regarding software, this is our mental map, to arrive to OZ, follow the yellow sidewalk! :)

Please take this with a grain of salt. This is just valid for 2015, and this is a set of recommended choices if you want a pro life, not if you are an occasional artist.

I made the post because we both faced a choice once, and we chose Max instead of Maya.. Director instead of Flash.. UGH.

Wisdom from Sherm Cohen by way of Character Design References!

For an artist I know should he do some more drawing or even animation in any form.

Keep reading

What brushes do u use?

Also I am OBSESSED w/ the colors in ur art

For my comic I use this brush :)) and I got it from here

And thank you so much!

How to draw the Disney way: drawing tips from the animators regarding Basil, the Great Mouse Detective.

Take note of the small drawing at the bottom of the third drawing: shapes! Animation, for a large part, is about getting the shapes of your characters right:

Part 2 can be found HERE.