Why Animators Should Be Problem Solvers

Eyeline problem from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

Studios love animators who are also problem solvers. An animator who helps to solve problems (and, hopefully, doesn't create them) is a golden asset to any organisation.

On the left is an example of problem-solving by animator Simon Wells, on the 1988 feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  

Back in 1987 I was Simon's In-betweener (a job that involved smoothing out the animation flow), and I was always impressed by Simon's ability to solve visual problems, such as the one on the left.

The Animator's Survival Kit

Simon Wells' solution - tiptoes

The drawing is taken from Richard Williams's book The Animator's Survival Kit (the one book every animator should own) and shows the problem facing the animator - Bob Hoskins is looking in the wrong place.  

Eyelines Matter

The eyeliner of the two characters - the real Bob Hoskins and the imaginary rabbit - is all wrong.  To maintain the illusion it was vital that the two characters were looking at each other (to see why eye lines matter, read this blog post).  So, what to do? You can't re-shoot the scene; you just have to figure out a solution.  

The Solution

The solution that Simon came up with was to have the rabbit stand on its tip-toes, and meet Bob Hoskin's eyes directly.  It was a neat solution to a practical problem.  

Director Bob Zemekis loved Simon's can-do attitude, and soon had him working as a board artist on Indiana Jones and, later as a director in his own right. 

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