Advanced animation skills - 250 words reflective notes
The advanced animation skills project improved my view on some aspects of animation.
Alongside these past weeks, we created short animation clips regarding weight, the movement of quadrupeds and how a character behaves within an obstacle course. These exercises taught me how to manage my time and construct a motion path. I learned that animating characters requires careful planning and reference. I also learned how crucial timing is in animation. Not only does time create suspense, but time gives life and takes life.
At the start of the project, I wasn't confident in my ability to animate. I was hesitant in animating characters because I didn't have an attack plan. I was unsure of how to organize the movement, but as time progressed and weeks passed, I started to form a pattern. First, I think of the action and try to plan it. Then I do a rough sketch with motion paths, arcs, and guidelines to keep the character the same size. After the completion of the planning, I line and then color the animation.
Of course, there were times when things were not so good. I struggled with keeping the size of the characters constant, issue that I fixed using guidelines. I also had some difficulties with timing. I tend to make the animations too fast, a problem that I'm currently working on solving. I often fear using pauses and keeping the character still, but I will try to be more confident and do experiments.
I am extremely grateful for the feedback and the help I received from my tutor. Without his guidance and input, I wouldn't have learned so much.
As a final take from this project, I am no longer afraid of animating movement because I know how to plan and structure it.