How Have You Learned to Match the Style of a Film?

Concerning style, how have you learned to match the style of a film? In other words, how have you approached animating so that the film appears as if it was animated by one person?

Consistency is a big issue at Pixar, because we don't have Character Leads, in the traditional Disney sense. Pixar animators are assigned scenes, not characters, so any animator may animate any character at a given time in the film. This is one of the reasons that dailies are so important. We can all sit down in a room with the Director and Supervisors and see what's being done with the characters. The Director can decide what works and what doesn't, and further define how the character behaves. This helps us to all get on the same page and understand who the character is. Usually one or two animators will demonstrate a knack for a certain character, and their work will become a touchstone for the other animators to reference. These animators will occasionally give lectures to discuss what we've learned and give tips on how to approach a particular character.

We'll also develop model sheets (collections of images of the character in poses that are considered in-character on and on-model) as well as libraries of facial expressions that other animators can use as a starting point. Ultimately it's up to all the animators, Supervisors and the Director to police each other and work towards a consistent portrayal of the character.

Guest Blogger Victor Navone

By: Unknown On 12.18

Continue Reading

What Is Your Favorite Part of the Animation Process?

That's a hard one to answer. It may be easier if I start with my LEAST favorite part(s) of the process.

I really don't enjoy research and planning. This is a shame because generally I find that I do better work when I have researched and planned exhaustively. I find the process tedious, though, and I'd
much rather jump in and start animating! I liken it to broccoli: I
don't really enjoy the taste, but I know it's good for me and I'll be
glad I ate it when the meal is over. I'm sure you know the feeling.

Once my planning is done, I really enjoy blocking. Depending on what kind of scene and characters I'm working with, I block in different ways. If I'm doing an acting shot with humanoid characters, I'll probably block pose-to-pose with stepped keys. I like designing the poses and finding the best silhouette, as well as flipping between the poses to see how they flow together. I'm not worried about timing yet, just the sequence of ideas. I'm trying to hit the poses in my video reference or sketches with the 3D model, and adjusting as necessary to match the style of the film and the physiology of the character. If I'm going off video reference, then I'm probably pushing the poses further and simplifying them. If I'm going off of sketches, then I'm probably trying to push the 3D model to match the dynamic of the loose sketch. If I'm blocking in a layered fashion, such as with cars, fish, or robots, then I'm dropping keys on my root rotates and translates and pushing them around in the spline editor to find the timing and rhythm of the shot. Ideally I'm getting real-time playback from my models, and I enjoy fine-tuning the timing and arc patterns to suggest the attitudes and actions.

The other part of the animation process I don't really like is the transition from blocking with stepped poses into splines. Suddenly all my snappy timing looks like crap, and it almost feels like I'm starting over again. It takes so long to get the animation tied down to where the timing is right again. Luckily this doesn't last too long, and I have a pretty routine series of adjustments I can perform on the splines to get the shot in better shape. Mostly it involves adding more ease-in's to my holds, pushing my keys around to tighten or loosen timing, and adding in a few more breakdowns as needed. I don't start offsetting keys in time until later in my process, and I keep all my controls keyed on every pose.

After I've done my first pass on the splines, that's where the fun begins for me. I can put on some music and start massaging all my actions. I focus sweetening the timing by adding contrast, simplifying actions that are too complicated, adding little details that weren't in the blocking, and sculpting my arcs and spacing. This can be a very technical and procedural process, but I find it puts me in kind of a zen state, and the time just flies by.

Once I get to the final polish stage, I start to enjoy the process less again. Maybe it's because I'm getting tired of the shot and can't see it objectively anymore. Maybe it's because I'm ready to move on. Or maybe I just don't feel like overlapping any more pinkies! It's not such a problem on short shots, but lately on Toy Story 3 I've been getting whoppers – full-body human acting shots of 300 frames or more. These can really test my stamina, but I've enjoyed the challenge and can't wait to see them lit and rendered!

Guest Blogger Victor Navone

By: Unknown On 10.05

Continue Reading

What Is the Best Way to Approach Editing Splines When Animating?

What is the best way to approach editing splines when animating? Should we block-in and get overall motion for the whole body done THEN fix the splines, or should we add motion piece by piece and fix splines along the way?

There are as many different ways to block and animate as there are animators. There's no one right answer to this question; what's important is that you find a workflow that works for you. Something that is consistent, methodical, organized and clean. Once you have a predictable workflow that becomes second nature, animation is so much more enjoyable, because you can focus more on the performance and less on the technical issues of managing your shot.

I myself have different workflows, and my way of working is always evolving. I will block differently depending on the characters and action in my scene. For example, I'm currently working on some naturalistic human acting animation for Toy Story 3. I find that blocking pose to pose with stepped keys, and doing lots of breakdowns (down to 4’s and 2’s) helps me to sort out the complex body mechanics early, while finding some appealing poses. Once I'm done blocking, I will convert all my keys to flat-tangent splines, and begin smoothing the root controls manually. I do constant playblasts and revisions until I get the timing and patterns right for the root, then I move outward through the rest of the body. For WALL-E and Cars, which are simpler, more stylized characters, I would work in a more layered fashion, starting with just a few root controls and shaping the splines right away to get my timing and texture early on. Then I would layer on other parts of the body as needed, until I have a full performance. Sometimes I'll work in a hybrid method, where some parts of the model are splined, and others are stepped-key poses. And sometimes I'll work pose-to-pose with copied pairs!

No matter how I'm working, I'm always keeping an eye on my splines, even if they're in stepped mode. Splines help me to visualize my eases and overshoots, and to make sure that my rotational values are not going crazy in between keys. I've gotten accustomed to analyzing, diagnosing, and even creating animation right in the spline editor, as you know about me if you've ever seen one of my lectures! But not every animator relies on the spline editor like I do, and that's OK. The important thing is that you do visit all your splines at SOME point during your workflow (especially near the end) to make sure the polish is there. I find that the sooner I visit my splines, the easier my polish phase is and the faster my animation comes together.

It really helps with arcs and spacing, too. Your mileage may vary.

Guest Blogger Victor Navone

By: Unknown On 09.00

Continue Reading

What's It Like to Work at Pixar?

I can't speak objectively, having only ever worked as an animator at Pixar, but I think it's pretty safe to say that it's the best place in the world for an animator to work. It's a very supportive, nurturing environment. We get to work on great movies that we're proud of, and we have lots of fun, even when we're working hard. There's a spirit of collaboration among the animators that I think is unique to Pixar.

There's a healthy sense of competition, and animators are always offering compliments and critiques on each others' work. Usually the best idea wins, no matter who came up with it, whether it's a note about story, or an acting idea. As for the culture, we've made a really fun place to work. You can take art classes at Pixar University, attend free screenings of current and classic films, and even participate in one of the many rock bands. At last count, I think there are something like 14 bars at Pixar; we work hard, and we play hard! I've never been bored with my job, and being surrounded by so many talented artists, I feel I always having something more to learn. I've been at Pixar for almost 10 years, and it can be easy to get complacent or find thing to complain about, but every once in a while I take a step back and remember just how lucky I am to work there, and I hope I always will!


Guest Blogger Victor Navone

By: Unknown On 11.03

Continue Reading

What Separates the Good Animator from the Bad Animator?

Of course, we don't like to use the term "bad" in reference to animators, though we can all point to badly animated shots. Animation is both a technical and an artistic endeavor, and there are plenty of opportunities to fail in both those areas. The technical stuff is more academic and is based on real physics, and is therefore more easily taught and learned.

I'm relatively confident that you can teach anyone to animate basic physics, assuming they have the will to learn and at least an average intelligence. More complex body mechanics will take a stronger, more analytical mind and good observational skills. Acting and design are much more subjective, and they form the great divide. The artistic side of animation is much harder to teach, because it can be hard to quantify. We know what we like, but how do we arrive there? Where does training end and talent begin? I don't think that everyone has the capacity to be a great animator. You can teach people about design principles, acting theory, storytelling conventions and staging, and they will improve to a degree, but there comes a point where a certain amount of natural ability is required. You have to have good acting instincts, you have to have a natural sense of timing, and you have to know how to entertain and audience.

I think "good" animators have an innate knack for performance and creating appealing poses and actions. A "bad" animator either hasn't learned enough to reach his or her potential yet, or just doesn't have that natural talent to rise above mediocrity.


Guest Blogger Victor Navone

By: Unknown On 13.38

Continue Reading