Why Animators Need a Good Silhouette

One of the most important things that an animator needs to get right is to learn how to create great poses. Part of this is learning how to create a great silhouette, one that reads clearly. 

The image on the left is taken from Eric Goldberg's book "Character Animation Crash Course", a copy of which we have in the library, one of the best books on character animation.

Eric shows how a single pose can get an instant "read" from the audience. Even though the images are shown blacked out in silhouette, we still know exactly what the character is thinking and doing.

Always make sure your poses, whether drawn or digital, communicate exactly what the character is thinking, feeling and doing. 

Chuck Jones Animation Tutorial

In this excellent 13 minute animation tutorial, actor and director Ron Howard introduces the work of animation legend Chuck Jones, the creative master behing the Road Runner and Bugs Bunny. There are other great voices here too - such as Disney animation stars Glen Keane and Eric Goldberg (the latter the author of the excellent "Character Animation Crash Course" - one of the books on our rstudent eading list).  The video is a great introduction to the basic principles of animation, such as anticipation, squash and stretch, secondary action and overlapping action. We're recommending it to all our students.

The Purpose of Storyboarding - by Eric Goldberg

This short film about storyboarding is presented by the awesomely talented Eric Goldberg, an animator who moves seamlessly between animation, storyboarding, and directing. And why not? All these skills are complementary, and all involve the telling of stories in a visual medium. I was lucky enough to work as an animator on "Looney Tunes, Back in Action", and was directed by Eric, who taught me a lot about comic timing and just how much an animator can get away with in terms of fast transitions from one pose to another. Eric is the author of the excellent book "Character Animation - a Crash Course", and there are few better people in our industry to learn from.