Character animators work in 2D or 3D or in dimensions yet to be discovered, bringing life to talking rabbits, dancing hippos, anthropomorphic cars, near-sighted fish, and more dysfunctional families than you can shake a stick at. The principles of animation, including stretch and squash, weight, anticipation and overlapping action, were fully developed (largely at the Walt Disney studio) by 1942.
Since then, character animators have applied these principles to projects with an infinite amount of stylistic variation, from full animation to low budget for the Web or TV. The character animator is a journeyman, accumulating experience and expertise over the courses of a career and a lifetime.
What kind of training and skills does a character animator need to start out and alos to keep advancing in their career? Feature animator Travis Blaise (Brother Bear), advises starting with the grass roots. “Try to attend a school that teaches the fundamentals (figure drawing, painting, sculpting, art history) along with traditional animation.” TV animator and director Jim Petropolis adds, “If you learn nothing else, learn how to draw a proper human figure”.
It is also important to understand storytelling, continuity, and acting. It’s less important to research technical “how-to-animate” books and more beneficial to find books on your favorite artists or illustrators. It is better to develop your own voice and its easy to get stuck animating the way everyone else does.
What Are The Daily Duties Of A Character Animator?
TV animator Justin Simonich answers: ” As an animator you’re responsible for any scene given to you by the director, animating any characters assigned to you, and handing it by the deadline. The deadline is paramount; you have to work in a quick, yet deliberate manner.
The daily duties of a character animator often go beyond their job descriptions. Jim Petropolis feels that once you’re in a loop, expect to wear many hats simultaneously. “Over time you’ll probably be asked to do something different than what you might have hitherto been accustomed to.
Character animators, whether they work in 2D or 3D, need to keep up with technology to stay employable. To stay current with technology, read articles about new software and try them out. If you see a cool look or effect on TV, try to imitate it with Flash and After Effects. It helps you build an arsenal of styles and looks.
By: Cody Landon
A Look at Different Animation Career Paths – The Character Animator
March 12th, 2010 by admin No comments »Photo Book Design Tips – Ideas For Your Layouts
March 7th, 2010 by admin No comments »
Tips and techniques from the fields of art and design can help you achieve more impact for the pages you create in your photo book projects. The following simple ideas can be used to transform your pages; it is easy to apply the techniques to your current projects.
First, consider how you usually edit and group your photos. Many people group photos in chronological order in their photo books. This can sometimes lead to a sense of discontinuity across both pages of the two-page spread (the pages that face each other when the photo book lies open in front of you).
Instead of grouping photos chronologically, consider grouping your photos by theme, colour, or subject matter, since these will unify the look of your photo book pages. You can use this same tip when deciding which pages should face each other within the book. You may also want to experiment with the photo software on your computer, or with the software provided by the company that manages and prints your online photo books. You may be able to a add colour to each page as a background, or to change your colour photos to sepia or black and white-these can both really transform the look of your pages in your online photo book. An entire spread of black and white or sepia photographs will unify the design; adding one or two colour photos in the mix will really draw the eye to these images, creating a focal point for the page.
Creating one focal point for each page in the photo book is also a great idea. As you select and edit your photos, choose one or two close-ups or simple, crisp images that can serve as a focal point for every two-page spread of your book. As you take your photographs, keep these things in mind, as well. You can begin by taking a series of photos for every special event you attend; if you take between five and eight photos, you will be sure to have enough to choose from when it comes to designing a page or two in your photo book around this particular event. If you tend to take group photos, make sure you zoom in for close-ups of individuals or objects, and zoom out for wider landscape shots. If you tend to focus on landscapes or the environment, consider other subject matter to give your photo book variety: people, pets, or specific objects, for example.
As you design your pages, you can also think of how the reader’s eye moves across the page as she looks at the photo book. Use repetition horizontally across a two-page spread, or else use a layout based on triangular or circular patterns so that the viewer’s eye will be led through the series of images. Some online book programs give you pre-designed pages, and other programs let you set up the page design yourself. Don’t be afraid to use several smaller photographs in your layout: several small images in a row can give the impression of a series of photographs taken in quick succession, or of a small sequential story being told.
Finally, in the art world, collage techniques are known to give interesting results. Collage in photo book design allows you to include a large number of images from various sources, all on the same page, without any need for formal organization. Some ideas might be a collage of favourite people, special events, a “day in the life of” page, or a collage featuring the same person or occasion, captured at different moments throughout the years.
By: David Dobson
