I’ll write more later.

*reserved*

Anyway, welcome to the second term of AnimationMentor as seen through the eyes of Daniel Klug. I’ll hopefully open my eyes a bit more this time around with more notes with each Q&A and lecture.

Things are heating up now at AM. The second term [herein referred to as Class2] is all about “Body Mechanics”. This means… uh… well, I’m not sure yet. I have a Q&A tonight which will be the briefing for the class. Actually the class is happening right now.

[Insert an hour of imaginary time]

Ok, well, that was quick. No Q&A tonight. Our mentor had hotel-wireless problems (you know how it is) and couldn’t maintain a signal. So we’re rescheduling for a longer Q&A next week at the same bat-time, same bat-channel. But for now, I can give you the skinny on the Class2 directive and this week’s lesson.

The purpose of Class2 is to teach us all about “The proper workflow of working through physical, full body performances”. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well it isn’t. I’ve already met people that have taken Class2 more than once. In fact, one person in my class group is on her second go through Class2.

This week’s lesson is “A Day in the Life of a Professional Animator”. More specifically, a day in the life of Rick O’Conner. It’s GREAT to see the workflow, thought-process, mistakes, corrections, revisions, etc… of someone who does this trade for a living. How inspiring, too. There’s no magic behind it. It’s just straight up “Attention to Detail” and “Lots and Lots of Really Hard Work”.

The basic job for the average animator is as such:

1. PLAN YOUR SHOT – This one is in caps because it’s so damn important. Know what you’re doing before you do it.
2. Get some reference – Shoot yourself or go watch tv. Whatever it takes.
3. Break it down – Find out where all the keyposes are.
4. Storyboard it – or “Thumbnail it”. It means you should draw it out, sketch it, chicken scratch it. Whatever it takes to pre-vis before you go into 3d. Doesn’t matter if you can’t draw.
5. Blocking pass – Yep. Block it out. Duh.
6. Get a critique – Feedback is one of the most important tools for an animator. Without it, we get stuck watching the same bouncing ball over and over again without noticing that it’s hovering in the air too long. Stupid stuff becomes immediately apparent to everyone else, and then they tell you about it. It seems embarrasing, but getting told that there’s a stupid bounce in your animation (and then fixing it) is a lot better than finishing it and having 10 million people see your stupid bounce and telling you about it.
7. Polish it – This is the final step unless you’re actually exchanging this animation for money. In which case, you will do step 6 and 7 over and over again until the guy with the cash tells you it’s good enough.

Our assignment is to choose an action from the list and animate it. I have chosen the hardest: The 180º Turn. Remember [post="122" text="Ballie"]? Well, this time, instead of walking straight, I’m going to have him turn around. It’s harder than it sounds. lol

But on top of that, I need to shoot some video reference of myself doing it. But before that, I need to think about how I plan on doing it! Whoa!

It has begun! Monday has kicked off the first day of the rest of my life (hah)! To kick off this wonderful journey, I’ve sketched this hand, waving at you.

Sort of like a “hi there!” wave, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s more like, “Stop that car!” or “Someone save my baby!”

I wonder where this road will lead…