Game Animation

[Blindeye]

Hey, I'm an animation student and I've got a pet peeve when it comes to 3d. Usually, computer animators are trained in the program and then sent off, but my course I'm taking emphasises 2d before 3d. How many of your animators are capable of traditional animation?

(Note: I've seen the difference of an animator who's sole-3d and one who's got both types under his belt. The latter has better quality)

[Rick_Florez]

When I was young I drew a lot of images and comics for fun and did a couple of flipbooks but I never got too deep into 2D animation.

My 3D education didn't focus too much on animation, its was more a general course on using the software and the basic concepts of 3D graphics.  In fact my student demo shows very little in terms of good animation timing, all the movements are slow, almost feels like Matrix bullet time

I only began to grasp the concepts of posing and timing when started working.  These are concepts that a 2D artist has no choice but to learn since they don't have the luxury of having a computer to help them.

Over the past few years I've read books and educated myself on good animation techniques to refine my artistic eye and allow me to push my animation to a much more professional level.  2 of the best ones I've found are The ANIMATOR'S SURVIVAL KIT by Richard Williams and CARTOON ANIMATION by Preston Blair.

Not every animator on the team specializes in animation.  We are somewhat limited by the nature of the project.  But I have seen them all strive to perfect their work as best they can and found them quite wililng to listen and learn from the comments given to them.  Those qualities above all else gives them the potential to become star animators.

Having a 2D background is a definite asset to anyone wanting to do computer animation.  Teachers will drill the concepts of timing, posing and line of action into your brain before you even start drawing your first cell.  If there are any people out there with a 2D/3D animation background who are interested in working on the project, please feel free to fill out an application.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Richard Flores
Art Director
Silver Lining Development Team


EDIT: Forum stretching.