Read it Later Article

What should I animate? - pt.2 exercises

Description:: Alright, so this is an extension to the "What should I animate?" post, which was focusing more on the demo reel side. But what if you don't care about the reel, what if you just want to practice and treat the shot as an exercise? What should you animate then? You can easily create a list of things, just keep the shot short. It's also up to you to add complexity to it. So let's see:

Bouncing ball

• pure physics
• physics with tail
• obstacle course

=> same as before but with added squash and stretch
=> same as before but with added character

Human

• walk
• run
• sneak

=> expand cycle into unique shot

Body Mechanics

• jump
• fall
• stumble
• faint
• getting out of/into chair
• walking up/down stairs/ladder
• getting/climbing over obstacle
• swinging from something to something
• lifting/carrying/pulling/pushing something heavy/medium/light
• any athletic activity
• fights (punch/kick/slap/martial arts)

For instance walking/running/stumbling down the stairs. I once found this image @ vvkonline and what a great set for that exercise (not saying that you should rip him off!).

Specific gestures/movements with a goal in mind, not just mechanics

• grabbing something, for instance getting a drink, but the acting changes depending on the emotion (bored/thirsty/shy/etc.)
• putting a hat on (or any other clothing)
• putting something together (puzzle piece/maquette/decoration)
• opening/closing a door
• getting in or out of something (car/bathtub/rainy spot/etc.)

So let's say you're animating someone putting on a hat. You might think "What? That's boring.". Well, can you do it as well as shown in this clip?

clip is not on that blog anymore, sorry

Emotional takes/gear changes

• switch from one emotion to another

Pantomime

• expresse emotions through body/facial acting only, no sound

Audio/facial

• get used to sticking to a certain timing, pick short sentences or even just words, shouts, sigh, grunts, laughter, cry and animate the face only (upper body as well, treat it as a close up)
• full body acting
• longer dialogue
• longer dialogue involving complex emotions
• two+ person dialogue

If you've done all that and feel bored then take any section and combine it with another one:
- tennis player looses his game, screams in frustration and breaks his raquet, then falls on his knees. He starts walking on his knees towards the referee, begging him to change the score, the referee doesn't care. Player gets up and stomps away while the other player in the background is surrounded by photographers and fans lusting for autographs. You can add sound to that and break the action up into separate shots for a sequence.

Now, that's just for a biped. You have the whole animal kingdom to explore as well. You can treat the animals as real ones and go through mechanics and movements or combine animal movements with anthropomorphic behaviour.

Again, if you start mixing exercises across all sections the possibilities are endless.

There are many more exercises, so feel free to add your ideas in the comments section.

Cheers
JD