Computer Graphics World

nimators are continually striving for creative excellence as they explore various story narratives, ideas, and assignments, and observe the world around them. In order to stay fresh, inspired, and motivated, they approach each new challenge as an opportunity to improve their art and learn and grow. at is the beauty and challenge of becoming an animator and what excites and motivates most of the professional animators sur- veyed for the white paper "Behind the Animator" (www.animation- mentor.com/report) from Animation Mentor, an online animation school. But how can animators grow as artists in this exciting profes- sion? Here, two highly skilled professional animators draw on their years of industry experience to answer that question. According to Rob Coleman, animation director on the last three Star Wars prequels at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the real art of animation is the perfor- mance of the characters. "Animators are actors, and they are most successful when they can use great acting to tell us stories we care about in their animation," says Coleman, who also directed fi ve epi- sodes and was an animation consultant for the fi rst 15 episodes of Star Wars: e Clone Wars TV series for Lucasfi lm Animation. Currently, he is in development on the animated feature e Fourth Magi at Lightstream Pictures. "A lot of people think the Holy Grail of animation is creating a photorealistic digital human (like the characters in Beowulf)," continues Coleman. "However, I think the real goal of anima- tion is creating a fantastic reality that touches on real life but integrates characters, settings, and action that you could never create in a live-action fi lm. People want to be swept away and entertained." So how do you create an extraordinary world and draw people into a fi ctionalized reality where they can suspend their disbelief and experience something entirely new? Coleman suggests becoming a better observer of the world. "Characters are exaggerated versions of humans. Learn to watch and understand emotions," he advises. "See how someone's face looks and what their eyes do when they say one thing but mean another. Figure out what that person is thinking based on their facial expres- sion and body language, and then use that in your animations." Video reference is great way to study acting, but only if you are watching good actors. "If you do video reference of yourself and your friends, and none of you are good actors, you tend to get 'vaudeville animation,' whereby everything is badly acted and over the top," says Coleman. " at doesn't make for good animation." He also cautions animators not to just copy from video reference, but to use it as a starting point to fi gure out weight, timing, and key poses, and then exaggerate it ever so slightly for re- alistic animation or more purposefully for cartoony animations. Animation consultant Frank Gladstone, whose resume includes A-list animation facilities such as DreamWorks, Disney, and Warner Bros., works with studios and animation schools to train animators in the artistic fundamentals behind animation. His recommendation: reading. is will help ani- mators better understand storytelling. He also suggests studying visual artists, such as painters and photographers. "Watching great fi lms helps us understand narrative structure and cinematic story telling," he adds. Become a lifelong learner, Gladstone further advises. Although having a college education is not absolutely required in order to get a job in this fi eld, a degree does show employers that you have the experience, curiosity, and drive necessary to expand your skills and the discipline to follow through on the things you learn. To become a skilled animator, you are going to have to keep learning—not only about new technologies, but also about art, literature, music, movies, books, and ideas, he says. years of industry experience to answer that question. According to Rob Coleman, animation director on prequels at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the real art of animation is the perfor- mance of the characters. "Animators are actors, and they are most successful when they can use great acting to tell us stories we care about in their animation," says Coleman, who also directed fi ve epi- sodes and was an animation consultant for the Star Wars: TV series for Lucasfi lm Animation. Currently, he is in development on the animated feature e at Lightstream Pictures. "A lot of people think the Holy Grail of animation is creating a photorealistic digital human (like the characters in Beowulf)," Beowulf)," Beowulf continues Coleman. "However, I think the real goal of anima- tion is creating a fantastic reality that touches on real life but integrates characters, settings, and action that you could never create in a live-action fi lm. People want to be swept away and entertained." So how do you create an extraordinary world and draw people into a fi ctionalized reality where they can suspend their disbelief and experience something entirely new? Coleman suggests becoming a better observer of the world. "Characters are exaggerated versions of humans. Learn to watch and key poses, and then exaggerate it ever so slightly for re- alistic animation or more purposefully for cartoony animations. Animation consultant Frank Gladstone, whose resume includes A-list animation facilities such as DreamWorks, Disney, and Warner Bros., works with studios and animation schools to train animators in the artistic fundamentals behind animation. His recommendation: reading. is will help ani- mators better understand storytelling. He also suggests studying visual artists, such as painters and photographers. "Watching great fi lms helps us understand narrative structure and cinematic story telling," he adds. Become a lifelong learner, Gladstone further advises. Although having a college education is not absolutely required in order to get a job in this fi eld, a degree does show employers that you have the experience, curiosity, and drive necessary to expand your skills and the discipline to follow through on the things you learn. To become a skilled animator, you are going to have to keep learning—not only about new technologies, but also about art, literature, music, movies, books, and ideas, he says. An industry professional advises: If you use video refer- ences, be sure that the acting and motions are good. 45 June 2009 Careers ■ ■ ■ ■

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