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.

In this chapter, you’ll look at the first stages of creating animation in the computer. With proper planning, I can now begin setting actual key frames on my character. This initial process begins with very fast manipulation of characters and ends with a series of poses that accurately reveal the intent of the scene and combine the fundamentals, tools, animation processes and acting.

Blocking
The term blocking refers to the initial stages of a shot in which the action is roughed or blocked in. After the blocking pass is finished, the motions will still need to be finessed but the shot contains the basic movements and timings. You might equate this with a sculptor working on a bust of a famous figure; he has generated the entire form for his statue but still needs to add details, such as eyes, nostrils, lips and ears. The form is recognizable but lacks sophistication and artistry. Blocking in animation is similar to this in that it gives the animator, supervisor and director an idea of the artist’s direction and approach. The animator should wind up with a piece of animation that has clarity and strong poses but lacks the refinement needed to meet the quality desired by the director and the expectations of the audience.

This is also the place in which the majority of revisions occur. The blocking pass will also allow the director to see a version of your shot that can be easily modified before a great deal of time has been spent on a scene. Unfortunately, change is inevitable in any form of digit al production. I’d much rather make corrections on a motion that has a few keys rather than after I have sweated through modifying and off setting every finger.

This method ultimately assists in the overall efficiency of a production. As I’ve said before, animation is time intensive. The last thing you want a crew to do is spend valuable workdays producing content that is unusable. If an effort is going to be made, why not make sure you’re going down the right path? Blocking limits the amount of wasted time and usually keeps the animator focused on the necessary goal. Now I’ll discuss the various stages of this process.

The Quick Pass
I start each shot by making a quick pass of the major actions. I use the COG and feet controllers and hit the key moments in the shot. (See Chapter 4: “Tools of the Trade,” for a diagram of the character rig being used.) I’m not concerned with specific poses and I often hide the arms to simplify the character. There’s no up and down motion on the character; he glides around as he steps through the various marks in the shot. I also make a habit of keeping all keys for every controller on the same frame. For example, if a key is set at frame 15 for the COG, I’ll also place a key at that location for any other controllers that are being modified. This will dramatically shorten the time needed to make changes when timing modifications are needed.

Although this stage lacks detailed animation, I am referencing the timing notes made during the planning stage. For example, if the character stands facing the wall for 30 frames before moving, I’ll use the COG controller and match that motion. This process will allow me to hit the import ant beats in a minimal amount of time. In fact, I should be able to complete this phase for three shots in about an hour. The focus is on making sure that the gestures and movements chosen can occur in the space provided by the set and camera view.

Because this sequence of shot s is tightly connected, I’m going to work through all three at the same time. I need to be absolutely sure that the action flows naturally between cuts. I’ve labeled the series sf01, sf02 and sf03. These abbreviations serve to mark shot number one, shot number two and shot number three, respectively. Most productions will have some sort of shot-naming convention. I’ll also add a version number based on the phase of the shot. For example, the quick pass I’m making here will be labeled sf01_v1, whereas the same finished product might have a _v30 associated with it. Again, this is just for organizational purposes and to prevent overwriting old versions of the shot. A new version will be associated with each pass of the scene. Now it’s time to get started!