To become a successful animator, it is imperative that you are continually aware of things happening around you. Animation is a craft that requires a heightened awareness of physical and emotional actions of people, animals, children, machines, and anything else we are trying to recreate. By adding observations of the surrounding world to your scenes you will bring a sense of reality and subtlety that will make your characters come to life.

Imagine you are writing a term paper or research report on a subject that you know very little about. If you write the paper without researching the subject it won't be as effective as it could have been if you had spent the time learning about the topic. Unfortunately many animators begin animating a scene in much the same way. They set keyframes almost blindly and relentlessly shape and reshape what they have already created until they get what they want. This not only results in poor and lifeless animation but will usually take a lot more time and effort to get it there.

As professional animators, we routinely choose from at least three different sources to get inspiration for the scenes we're beginning to animate. This first stage of creating a shot is one of the most critical parts of the entire animation process. We won't even think about setting keyframes until we've looked at some sort of reference. We generally reference from existing video of live action or animation, videotaped action of ourselves by observing the specific action we are looking for. In most cases it is a combination of all three of the techniques that give us a better idea of how to animate our scenes. In a recent interview with Animation Foundation, Bobby Beck had some great ideas about the importance of referencing and capturing the natural essence of people in an unspoiled form. He likes to set-up a video camera in a restaurant or public place and film people in these settings. Since these people are not actors all of the movements are absolutely real and unrehearsed. This is a great way to get reference that is true to reality and it can add a lot of realism to your characters. (see the entire interview at www.animfound.com)

Let's create an example of how this process is put through its paces during an animated production. An animation supervisor assigns a shot involving a character watching an intense basketball game. The team he is rooting for has just scored a basket to win the game and our character is cheering with excitement. That's all we get, just a little back story and the characters motivation. We have to create the rest.

The first thing to do is sit down and think of films that have similar action. We prefer to look for a variety of sources including animation and live action from film and television. Animated resources are great for timings and exaggerated poses while live action often provides those extra subtleties that are sometimes missed when we are just observing. Video also allows us to break down an action that is moving faster than our eyes can perceive.