Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG

368 Pages·2006·15.67 MB·English

by  Oliff J.

TEAM LinG
©2007 Angie Jones and Jamie Oliff. All rights reserved. No part of Publisher and General Manager,
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TEAM LinG
We would like to dedicate this book to
all the animation pioneers before us.
We are but fleas on the shoulders of giants.
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Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG
The Magic of Animation
The theater was pitch-black as we made our way to our seats. I held
my mother’s hand because I couldn’t see a thing in front of me. Once
in our seats, I looked up at the towering screen and saw something
I’ll never forget. This was no ordinary movie, and the images on the screen
were clearly not real. Yet they were hyper-real in a unique kind of way. The
motion picture being screened that afternoon was Walt Disney’s Bambi, and
it was the first animated cartoon feature I had ever seen. Keep in mind, this
was the 1940s, and television had not yet invaded our lives. The only way
one saw an animated film was in a theater.
Though only a small child, I knew the images I was watching were colored Floyd Norman,
Animator and Story Guy
drawings. Yet these amazing drawings moved with life, had personality, and
spoke clever dialogue. What kind of magic was this, I wondered? Whatever
it was, this was something I wanted to do. This was something I had to do. That desire to bring life to
pencil drawings has never left me. From my first animated scribbles in junior high school to viewing my
early test footage at the Walt Disney studio, I continually remain in awe of moving drawings.
Over the years, I’ve been privileged to work with and learn from the best in the business. Masters whose
work I enjoyed as a child were generous enough to share their years of experience with me. Yet knowl-
edge can come from the most unlikely of places, so I’ve learned from kids as well as codgers. That’s
because we all shared the same passion, and continually searched for ways to improve our art.
This book continues that search, and you’ll find yourself a better animation artist because of it. That blank
sheet of pegged paper on your animation desk needn’t engender fear or trepidation, because it’s an
incredible challenge. It is the opportunity to create, for lack of a better word, magic.
—Floyd Norman (www.afrokids.com/floydsbio.html)
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Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG
This book has been lovingly crafted by two tal-
ented animators who enjoy their work and
recognize the value of knowing the history, the
art, and the craft of animation.
Jamie and Angie have pooled the knowledge of
some truly talented professionals to help them con-
vey to the artist, animator, historian, or fan the com-
bination of technology, art, discipline, and heart that
it takes to succeed as a contemporary animator.
Richard Taylor, Director, Designer, and CG Pioneer
What a phenomenal time this is in the evolution of
animation and film. We are surrounded daily by the
most complex visual imagery that mankind has ever created; be it in print, movies, television, games, or
on the Internet, our lives are bombarded daily by images of seemingly limitless complexity. Today literally
any image that a filmmaker can imagine can be realized. True, some dreams cost more than others, but
the fact is the tools now exist that allow the artist, the animator, and the filmmaker to create photo-real
illusions, fantasy characters that entertain and amaze us in films such as Titanic,The Incredibles,Shrek,
Jurassic Park,King Kong,Lord of the Rings,Harry Potter,The Matrix,Alien,Terminator,Blade
Runner,Star Wars, and Tron. Films packed with astounding special effects pour out of the studios yearly
and on TV weekly. The technological tools to create this imagery are logarithmically improving as they
become faster, better, and cheaper annually.
Tron—interesting that I would mention that film. I was co-visual effects supervisor on the picture, which
was released in 1982. Tronwas the film that introduced the world to computer imaging. So I’ve been
involved with computer animation since its first use in the film industry. I’ve watched as art and technol-
ogy fused to create the most powerful and limitless visual tool in the history of man. Computer-generated
imaging (CGI) is now the fundamental tool used in creating visual effects and animated features. If there’s
one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that computers and software don’t create these fantastic images.
A computer is analogous to a Steinway piano—it’s an instrument. It’s the artist who plays the instrument
who brings it to life.
So how does one become an animator who is adept at the latest technological advances, yet still creates
with the spirit and freedom of traditional hand-drawn animation? This book deals directly with that query
and should give you plenty of answers.
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Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG
To begin with, production designers, directors, animators, and other artisans who are legendary in the
film industry have several things in common. They know how to draw, they study art and the history of
their craft, they hang out with their peers, they are objective, and they make an effort to learn something
new every day. But the most essential thing they have in common is self-discipline. Successful artists in
painting, photography, music, dance, or animation are joined in an endless dance with their art forms.
They put energy into the process daily, and in return it teaches them something new. The more you work
at an art process, the more it teaches you. This dance is the mother of happy mistakes and magical reve-
lations.
For those who love the art of animation and would like to make animation their life’s work, this book will
reveal some basic skills and understandings. Lean to draw 2D animation. The nature of hand-drawn ani-
mation allows the animator to exaggerate the elasticity, the personality of a character. Drawing by hand
creates a rhythm and flow that’s difficult to achieve in 3D work. It’s the human feeling, the personality, the
heart of the animator that can be realized through drawing. Dedicated animators observe the world
around them. They constantly watch the way things move; they analyze body language and know that cer-
tain gestures convey feelings and emotions. A true animator creates more than anthropomorphic charac-
ters; they can bring life, personality, humor, or emotion to anything, be it a teapot, a tree, a lamp, or a
chair.
Drawing, I believe, is essential to all the arts, especially the art of animation. The structure, design, and
composition of a scene, the gesture of a character, the angle of view, the location, the set, and the props
are all created through drawing. Conceptual drawings, storyboard frames, and character studies all seem
to start on a napkin or a scrap of paper when an artist quickly sketches an idea before it vanishes. I’m
sure you’ve heard the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In filmmaking and games, thou-
sands of dollars is more like it.
Technology has always affected the arts. Advances in technology spike the creative juices of artists, so it’s
inevitable that new ideas, new images, and new animations evolve—images that I like to say “remind you
of something you’ve never seen before.”
If you really want to be an animator, then begin right now by reading this book. And from this moment
on, begin to learn and practice the basic skills of animation and learn to observe and interpret the magic
movements of life.
—Richard Taylor (www.richardtaylordesign.com)
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Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG
Acknowledgments
Like most CG productions, this book required an army of people
“Any idiot that wants
to be realized. First, we would like to personally thank every
artist who took time out of his or her day to talk with us about to make a couple of
this book. This book is truly a collaborative effort and wouldn’t be thousand drawings
possible without the contributing authors: Henry Anderson, Bernd for a hundred feet of
Angerer, Carlos Baena, Chris Bailey, Tony Bancroft, Mark Behm, Dave
film is welcome to
Brewster, Tom Capizzi, Brian Dowrick, Cory Florimonte, Dan Fowler,
join the club.”
Angie Glocka, Eric Goldberg, Ido Gondelman, Evan Gore, Scott
Holmes, Cathlin Hidalgo-Polvani, Ed Hooks, Victor Huang, Ethan —Winsor McCay
Hurd, Mark Koetsier, Bert Klein, Keith Lango, Laura McCreary, Darin
McGowan, Cameron Miyasaki, Mike Murphy, Floyd Norman, Eddie
Pittman, Mike Polvani, Fred Raimondi, Nik Ranieri, Leigh Rens, Keith Roberts, Troy Saliba, Joe Scott, Tom
Sito, David Smith, Roberto Smith, Javier Solsona, Mike Surrey, Richard Taylor, Alfred Urrutia, Conrad
Vernon, Roger Vizard, Don Waller, Larry Weinberg, Paul Wood, Bill Wright, and Dave Zaboski.
We also owe big thanks to Dan Patterson for building the clown model of our mascot, REDD, for this
book. Dan was kind enough to work out not just the model, but also the hair and textures for our clown.
Dan is a patient man and showed infinite patience during our “nitpicky” adjustments to his model. Thank
you to Paul Tanner for refining the facial and making the model work smoothly in CG. To the great
Christopher “Elegance” Christman, thank you for your time spent on lighting ol’ REDD. We are also eter-
nally grateful to Javier Solsona for rigging the clown. Javier, you have been a great friend over the years,
and we wish to thank you so much for your hard work on this very flexible and powerful rig.
A big debt of gratitude is due to our editor, Cathleen Snyder, for all of her efforts and dedication to make
this book great, and to Kevin Harreld for all of his assistance and encouragement. Bill Hartman is a mas-
ter layout artist, and he did an amazing job with all of the charts and the very detailed timeline. To Steve
Weiss, we owe much appreciation for believing in this project and pushing us to write this book in the
first place. Audrey Doyle was also a strong contributor in the initial editing phase with Steve. And Harriet
“The Bulldog” Beck—what would we have done without you? By far, you are the best attorney a couple of
animators could have. To Scott Holmes, you were our sounding board for how to approach some of the
toughest issues in the text, you are a walking textbook of the history of animation, and we are deeply
indebted to you…“Thanks buddy, now get that chopper on the road…your part is done!” To Brian
Dowrick, Floyd Norman, Mike Polvani, Troy Saliba, Joe Scott, Mike “Utah” Warner, John Riggs, and Dave
Zaboski, thanks for all of your cartoons, comics, sketches, and amazing artwork. You guys all outdid
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Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG
yourselves. Jerry Beck, Tom Sito, Richard Taylor, and Floyd Norman all assisted us with the historical
information provided in this book, and we thank them for their extra efforts to ensure we got the facts
straight, as well as Richard and Floyd’s endorsements of this book—it means a lot to us.
With extra special appreciation to those who have inspired and supported this work, Angie and Jamie
would like to recognize: Diego Angel, Eric Armstrong, Bobby Beck, Cris Blyth, Jeremy Cantor, Kevin
Culhane, Neil Eskuri, Cory “Rocco” Florimonte, Dan Fowler, Dominic DiGiorgio, Paul Griffin, Jeannie
Hunter, Lisa Karadjian, Lorne Lanning, Joe Mandia, Craig Maras, Shawn McInerney, Sherry McKenna,
Jeb Milne, Jane Mullaney, Steven Olds, Caleb Owens, James Parris, Carlos Pedroza, Nicki Reiss, Eric Riel,
Kenny Roy, Jeremy Sahlman, Allan Steele, Craig Talmy, Elizabeth Laura Taylor, and Matthias Wittmann.
You are all an inspiration to us.
Finally, thanks to Angie’s parents for “allowing” her to draw on the walls when she was little. Jamie would
like to thank his wife and family for their love and support.
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Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG
About the Authors
Angie Jonesgraduated from Atlanta College of Art in 1994. Her first introduction to animation was at a
San Diego studio of more than 150 traditional animators called Lightspan. As a female animator, she was
a novelty. Even rarer at this traditional studio was her willingness to create animation with a computer.
Although she was trained at a fine art school, she wasn’t afraid of the computer and for the past 12 years
she has worked on numerous productions, including Stuart Little 2, Disney’s 50th anniversary commer-
cials,Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus,Garfield,Dino Crisis 3,Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,X2: X-
Men United,Pan’s Labyrinth,National Treasure, and Freddy vs. Jason. To find out more about her, go
to http://www.spicycricket.com.
Jamie Oliffwas trained in classical animation at Sheridan College of Art and Design. He has worked in
the animation industry for more than 20 years. An award-winning director and long-time feature film ani-
mator, Jamie’s credits include the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show, and many feature-length ani-
mated pictures, such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame,Mulan,Hercules,The Emperor’s New Groove,
and CGI animation on titles ranging from Kangaroo JacktoScooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashedand
National Treasure. He lives in Burbank, California, with his wife and two children and a biplane project
that he never finds enough time to finish.
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Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG
Contents
Preface: When Worlds Collide ............................................................xvi
Part I
Foundation................................................1
Chapter 1
Fleas on the Shoulders of Giants ..........................................................3
The Evolution of the Art Form .............................................................................3
Aesthetic Appeal Changes ..................................................................................................4
Broadening the Audience for Animation ............................................................................4
Unappealing Storytelling in Traditional Animation .............................................................4
The Importance of History and Trends in Animation ..........................................5
Digital Artistry Begins .........................................................................................7
Times Are Changing: 1981–1994 ........................................................................8
Roger Rabbit Pushes 2D and CG Forward .........................................................12
Popularity of the CG Medium or Story? .............................................................13
Visual-Effects Movies Broaden the Audience .....................................................16
The 1990s Shift: CG Becomes a Player ..............................................................18
A New Digital Artist Is Born ..............................................................................21
The Animated Movie Industry: Moving into the Millennium ..............................24
The Best of Both Worlds ...................................................................................27
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