What Was the Most Difficult Part of the Animation Learning Process?

In 2D, structural drawing was an effort and technology in 3D nearly killed me.

I knew how I wanted the character to move but had trouble getting the computer to understand me. Some of my friends adjusted to CG readily, but it took me quite a while to get comfortable with XYZ, the Graph Editor, Dope Sheet and constraints.

With 2D, I had to properly space solid drawings with beautiful arcs, which took practice, but I understood it. Animating on the computer seemed like controlling a fighter jet and all of its instruments until I realized that pushing the wrong button wouldn’t blow the damn thing up.

Then I understood that I could relax (a little) and animate. Workflow was undefined when I transitioned to CG. No one had developed efficiencies to share, and tutorials were tech based.

Software has become far move user-friendly since artists and engineers have been working together, and there is so much information available on technique and workflow that the only issue now is exploring which method is best suited to you.

Guest Blogger Wayne Gilbert