Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
For the student of animation, research and practice should be seen not as two
distinct activities that sit apart from one another but rather as integrated parts
of a single endeavor. They should work together to improve and develop
your animation practice. The practical and creative aspects of production
should help steer research and provide you with the research questions, and
the research findings and knowledge gained should inform and broaden
your animation practice, which then in turn will generate additional research
questions. As you can see, this has the potential to be an ongoing and
beneficial process, one that is mutually dependent on both research and
practice.
It would be a big mistake to think that conducting research into action
analysis for animation simply entails watching animation or looking at
the work of animators or filmmakers who have inspired you. Of course,
there is nothing wrong with any of that; we all gain inspiration from other
practitioners of our craft. But there is a big difference between being a fan
of animation and being a creative practitioner of animation. Far too often
this approach simply leads to a concentration on what is current, popular,
or just downright fashionable. The net result of this kind of “research” is a
second-rate regurgitation of what already exists that in no way enhances your
knowledge or understanding as an animator. At worst it turns animation into
a simple trick that can be learned without underpinning knowledge. This
applies not only to the practical issues of animation timing; it also extends to
other creative aspects of animation. I have lost count of how many portfolios I
have seen from young, aspiring animators that are full of third-rate Tim Burton
look-alike work.
We can see some evidence of this lack of research in the work of many of
the early animation pioneers. These animators at the beginning of the 20th
century were breaking new ground and had few texts to guide them, let alone
examples of movement in the form of film or even a tradition in the animation
art form. This, coupled with the pressures of demand for product, resulted in
much of the produced work being rather simplistic and formulaic in terms
of animation timing or dynamics. It was very inventive, and the audiences
were clearly intrigued by these drawings that moved, but at that point it was
not possible to draw on the underpinning principles that we rely on these
days, nor did those animators tap into sound research in dynamics. For the
most part research did not exist in a form easily accessible to animators. In
most studios there was very little in the way of action analysis. There were
some major exceptions, however; the likes of Grim Natwick, Otto Messmer,
and Winsor McCay left an indelible mark on the development of the art form.
Although there were a few individuals who undertook serious research into
action analysis, it was the Disney studios that really took this effort to a new
level and emphasized the importance of this kind of research.
If you have any doubt about the relevance of research to your own work, you
should be aware that not only can it save you a lot of time, effort, and money;
it will also almost invariably improve the standard of the work you produce.
