All images from Inspired 3D Character Animation by Kyle Clark, series edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford. Reprinted with permission.

This is the next in a number of adaptations from the new Inspired series published by Premier Press. Comprised of four titles and edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford, these books are designed to provide animators and curious moviegoers with tips and tricks from Hollywood veterans.

This chapter describes how to create appealing and effective poses as well as staging for animated characters. By poses and staging I’m referring to the concept of clearly conveying an emotion or idea through the positioning of a character and how that figure is viewed from the perspective of the camera. It’s important not to confuse this notion with the form of staging that relates to how the camera moves. It’s true that the camera placement will have a significant effect on how the action is perceived. A close-up shot has a different emotional impact than an establishing shot. That concept is extremely important, but it’s an entire text in itself. This chapter is more concerned with providing sound fundamentals in regard to individual poses and how the character performs the action in relation to the viewer. This is a concept that dates back to the early days of stage performance.

[Figure 1] The viewer quickly understands the excited nature of the character.

Animators borrowed from these traditional stage and cinema techniques and began concentrating on stronger presentations of gestures and poses. Clearly defining specific motions and emotions led to stronger audience relationships. Story points were better defined and actions unmistakably presented. This fundamental continues to be an integral part of animated production as audiences continue to sophisticate themselves to moving images; artists must find clever ways to present their ideas.

Presenting Clear Ideas
I’m sure everyone has seen a billboard now and again while driving on the freeway. These signs bombard drivers with products and ideas by using a limited amount of imagery and text. Most of the time, they are effective. Viewers gain a strong understanding even from this limited information. These same principles can be applied to the world of animation when you have very short periods of time to convey complicated emotions and actions. Animators must strive to find the simplest and most effective ways to express the ideas of a shot. The following paragraphs provide a framework for that presentation.

Emotional Punctuation
The most important thing to remember when creating a pose is ensuring that the gesture plainly and definitely conveys the emotion of a scene. Emotion is at the core of creating believable characters and one of the primary vehicles for relaying that emotion is the character’s physical posture. If used properly, a gesture can carry an immense amount of information. This information is vital to keeping a connection with the audience, and an animator must take full advantage of her poses to best present the story idea at that moment. Because of the sheer volume of poses required in good character animation, it is imperative that an animator break down the scene into its most simple form --the single pose. In essence, take it one pose at a time.

Sean Mullen emphasizes this point during his interview in Chapter 10. His work method relies on capturing the emotion of a scene with a single pose. That single pose dictates how and when a character moves and sets the foundation for the entire shot. The success of his effort is resting on the emotion created in a single frame gesture. (See Figure 1.) By concentrating efforts on one emotion, the exact point of the scene can be clearly emphasized. Many times, this notion is overlooked.