Animator Interview - Creative Cube Animator, Marthe Delaporte
Tell us a little about yourself. (We know there is more to people than being an animator.):
Hum, I’m French (so I apologize in advance for the approximative english). I’m a big Fantasy fan, particularly Tolkien. I love reading, TV series (Sherlock, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and a ton of others), video games (from Skyrim to Fez, mostly
RPG’s or platforms)… I’m very interested in tattoo art, I listen mostly to metal and rock, and I laugh easily.
Reel:
Demoreel 2012 from marthe delaporte on Vimeo.
but that’s my reel from 2 years ago, Now I’m a 3D animator. I did my graduation film in 3D, but it will only be online on september 8th (here’s the facebook page:www.facebook.com/FolAmor?ref=hl). And I can’t update it with professional work at the moment, so old reel it is ! (actually I’m still proud of it, maybe because I don’t really do traditionnal animation anymore).
Where do you work and how long have you been there?
Currently I work at Cube Creative in Paris. I’ve been there for 5 months now. It was planned to be 2 months but they rehired me :D
There I’ve been doing a few projects for Rovio, the creators of angry birds, here are some examples :
What are some of your past jobs?
Before Cube I had only two : on Raving Rabbids the TV series at Teamto Paris for 5 months, and 3 weeks on an Audi marketing project at Les vandales. I also did an internship at Cartoon Saloon in Ireland, and animated a few little things on the feature film “Moonman” (not really good film, but fantastic internship)
Where did you do to school?
After highschool, I went to l’Ecole Estienne in Paris, which is a public Art school (they do book binding, engraving, furniture design and a ton of cool stuff). I had a non specialized year there, then 2 years of 3D animation, but in a very “artistic” way. What I did there was really interesting, but not really useful to get a job in the industry. After this I entered Gobelins, also in Paris, and had 3 wonderful years learning about 2D animation, and then 3D. To this day I still can’t believe I got in this school!
What made you decide to be an animator?
That’s cliché to say, but I always liked to draw. Until late I’d never tought to make a living of it.
In Highschool I wanted to be a History teacher … But then I met a friend, and she wanted to be an
animator (and now she is!), and I realised it was a GREAT idea! Shortly after I saw a big exhibition on the making of Princess Mononoke, and I knew that was what I wanted to do. I was the weirdo of the class, because I graduated in economics, was good at science and wanted to do art .. Nobody understood (“how will you earn money!? Is it even a real job?” -___- ). But I’m lucky, my parents always supported me.
What is your favorite part about being an animator?
That every week is different. You get to work on a lot of very different projects, meet a ton of different people, leave them, meet them again a few years later, in a different place, in a different country. I don’t know if I’ll ever find this dull, but at the moment I certainly don’t!
What’s your favorite kind of animation?
There’s none I dislike. I love all the extreme attention to details of Cg animation like it’s done currently in Pixar, Dreamworks or Disney. But I also admire the efficiency of japanese animation, that can be limited, but put all the right things at the right places, and the rawness of stopmotion. Personnaly I prefer to do cartoon, I find it a lot more fun and creative than realism.
What’s your software preference?
Maya for 3D (but that’s not a preference, because that’s the only one I know) And TV paint for traditionnal animation
What does your workflow look like?
I always start in stepped mode, first the key poses. I flip through them like I would do for 2D, searching a nice timing. Then, also in step, I inbetween as much as I can. When I’m sure everything is defined I switch to spline, and if it’s not a total chaos I polish everything, do follow through / overlap and all the little details.
How do you prepare for a new shot?
I look at the 2D animatic and the layout multiple times, check the shots before and after, to be consistant. If I have a doubt about what should be going on I ask the supervisor. Sometimes I do a few thumbnails if the shot is difficult (but’s in TV series that does not happen a lot)
What is the aspect of animation that you struggled with the most and how did you move past that struggle?
I struggled with 3D. I had no workflow, wanted to work everything at the same time, had a hard time to make a good pose and of course it was a mess. Then a teacher told me to take it exactly like 2D. Work the drawing, do not hesitate to manipulate the model in strange ways to make an appealing key, search the curves, line of actions and everything you would look for in a 2D drawing. And work in step, flipping through the keys, so the computer have as little freedom as possible and you really control everything. He teached me that animation is
animation, wether it’s in 2D, CG, clay … You always look for the same stuff.
What are some of the ways you manage your time so that you can get everything done in time?
I love to do check list. in TV series, I always have around 20 shots all at once, so I do little charts on paper, with the state of progress of each shot, retakes and stuff. I find it useful to have an
overall view on paper (paper is important because when something is finished I can cross it, and it’s satisfying)
What are some of the things you look for before you declare your shot complete?
I watch it several times frame by frame, checking all the arcs, eye direction, lipsynch if there’s some and also checking for penetration (often you find some at the very end … ). I also do a little editing for myself to be sure that my shot flows nicely with what’s before and after.
What’s your favorite animated movie, short, and game?
Favorite movie: Princess Mononoke (and Ratatouille)
Shorts : hard to choose… all the wallace and Gromit shorts, Father and Daughter (Michael Dudok de Wit) all things by Jan Svankmajer and so many more I can’t think of right now!
Game : I love a lot of games, but not for their animation, except maybe for Professor Layton, I LOVE
those 2D cut scenes!!
and TV series : Avatar the Last airbender
What do you do when you get animator’s block?
I talk with my colleagues, having a fresh look on your work is life-saving.
What do you use to get inspired?
Watch good animations, check my artbook collection, browse the web for nice art blog… or sometimes nothing of the above, just take a good book and go outside, see friends and have a good laugh. i believe that you cannot create life if you don’t live yourself (oh that sounds pompous .. sorry)
What is your favorite experience as an animator?
On the rare occasions I could give a different point of view than the one of the director on some of my shots, and he accepted it. I found it very rewarding! Because then the shot was really mine, and more of a personnal challenge!
What are your favorite animation resources that other animators might find useful?
Nothing top secret: the classical Animator Survival Kit by Richard Williams, And The Illusion of Life (Frank Thomas/Ollie Johnston)
on the web:http://livlily.blogspot.fr/ and http://www.penciltestdepot.com/
youtube and framepool for the references
How do you take your Chipotle Burrito?
Unfortunatly in France we do not have Chipotle… I never had one
If you could direct a project, what would it be?
Something linked to music!
Do you have any advice for students and animators trying to find their break?
(Sorry I’m not sure I understand the question :s)
As a general advice, I would say that every project you work on has something interesting for you. Learn everyday, don’t take it too personnal, know your strenghts and your weaknesses. Be nice, talk to
everyone, cultivate your network, because that’s how you will find a job. A good network is as important as a good reel, sometimes even more.
You can see more of Marthe's work by following her on Tumblr.
