Comments on Animation Tips & Tricks: What Separates the Good Animator from the Bad Anim...

I think there were a lot of good points made here....

2009-08-25T11:22:18.495-07:00

I think there were a lot of good points made here. I do think that the "Knack" will set you above, even if you are a great Animator. I feel like it's just like acting. There are those who have been trained for many years, and those who haven't had acting experience that have done brilliant performances just from tapping into something within themselves. That kind of stuff can't be taught. But certain fundamentals NEED to be present.

Adding to what Victor said, I don't think Talent alone is enough to take you far. I've learned over the few years I've been animating that It's been a mix of Talent, Discipline, and a STRONG Desire. When you know where you want to be, nothing will stand in front of that. You'll do what's necessary to achieve that goal. That's where the discipline, and practice come in, in my opinion.

The thing about Doug Sweetland... I think that's what's great about learning. There are people who are really great, and that pump you up to step your work up. Then there are others who think the same about you, so they step their stuff up. Then everyone's progressing, and it's this continuing cycle.

Good points, Frank and Dhar. I should also have m...

2009-08-24T20:21:14.967-07:00

Good points, Frank and Dhar. I should also have mentioned that talent alone does not make you a great animator either. Talent without discipline and hard work wont take you far. You definitely need to work to develop your acting and entertainment instincts, however strong they may naturally be.

As a matter of example (so I hopeful don't sound like an elite jerk in this post): my animation has improved a lot over the past 10 years, through practice and observation, and the more I learn the more I realize I have a lot more to learn. But no matter how hard I work at it, I know I will NEVER be as great an animator as Doug Sweetland (or some of the other fantastic animators at Pixar). He has a certain inborn genius that can't be taught or learned.

You can choose to see this situation as inspiring or frustrating. For me, it's a little of both! Mostly I just enjoy what I'm doing and look forward to learning more.

Thanks for the post Victor. It is a nice 'chewy' o...

2009-08-24T19:11:02.539-07:00

Thanks for the post Victor. It is a nice 'chewy' one.

Being an animator new to teaching, I'll send up a 'hear, hear!' for, "I'm relatively confident that you can teach anyone to animate basic physics, assuming they have the will to learn and at least an average intelligence."

The will to learn being a big part of that.

Not having graduated at the top of my class from animation school, I hold clear and dear a quote from my animation mentor, Ian Lacey (of the ARC blog in Australia):

"I'm not a big believer in "talent", if there is such a thing I think its just a tendency to be persistent, or to set your standards higher than the next person ...

Even for the best, it doesn't just happen. It's the result of planning, self discipline and persistence."

So until the discipline and persistence carries us mediorcre animators up to the levels of the "talented" or "good" animators, we'll just keep animating... and learning from those animators at the top who are generous enough to help us rise with their advice.

Thanks. I look forward to more of your tips.

Great to see two of my favorite animators on one p...

2009-08-24T16:05:10.974-07:00

Great to see two of my favorite animators on one page. Victor, you make a really good point, but I want to add that, it seems to me anyway, practice is the only tool that will hone an average animator's skills to reach exceptional levels. I find myself making better and better acting choices after I have struggled through the cliches and first impulse acting choices.

You, on the other hand, are the exception where you seem to have that "knack" as proven by your instant success with "Alien Song", but that doesn't mean others can't reach that level, it just cannot be taught. I guess the only things that can be taught is to advise practice and perseverance.