with George
This week we started talking about body mechanics. We learned that body mechanics are about how the body moves (weight shifts, posture, and balance) and that these movements have to feel real before we can add any acting choices. The most important thing to remember is to shoot video reference to study timing, posing, and motion in real life before animating. We can get realistic motion and learn how things like hips, feet, and center of gravity work together by looking at reference video one frame at a time.
Our assignment this week was to plan our shot. I did 2d animation planning. Here’s my reference and my planning I did accordingly:
The feedback I got for my walk cycle animation was about refining the contact poses and fixing the small movements in the feet. I fixed the contact poses and polished the small details. Here’s the updated, refined version:
with Ting
This week, we had an industry talk from Ting, she gave us valuable insight into where animators fit within different animation roles. She explained us the creative process and mentioned how team structures can differ between big companies and smaller studios. We also discussed what working in the industry is really like and reflected on our own expectations.
Ting finished the session by showing us a variety of showreels, from character animation to gameplay cinematics. This gave us a better idea of the many different career paths available in the field.
Then we received feedback on our handposes, I’ll be refining my poses based on that.