VNOG Blog: Rhythm and Texture

VNOG Blog: Rhythm and Texture

21 Principles of Facial Animation ---- Shawn Kelly

21 Principles of Facial Animation ---- Shawn Kelly

nail down the root first

http://splinedoctors.com/2008/06/get-down-to-the-root-of-things/

Blocking Method

Blocking Preparation

• What is the most important part of the Shot?
• How minimal can I make it?
• Where is the entertainment?
• Where can I show thought process?
• Work on your shot as if you only had 30 min.
• Clean Blocking / Minimal Curves
• Make it Better and Different from other animators.
• Research / Reference

Staging and Clarity

• Present idea to eliminate questions for the AUDIENCE!!
• Which angle is better for Clear Silhouettes
• Up Stage/ Down Stage
• Choose Camera for a Reason ( Zoom, Angle, Focal Point , etc . . .)

Blocking Keyframes

• Story Poses
• Extremes (Change of Direction)
• Anticipations
• Overshoots
• Contact Frames
• Timing: Even, Slow-In, and Slow-Out
• Weight Keyframes / Squash/Stretch
• Describing Arcs / Breakdowns

11 second club helpful hints-Acting It Out

11 second club helpful hints-Acting It Out

CAREERS: Larger than life

 CAREERS: Larger than life - Learning Curve - New Straits Times

Baena and Kelly reveal what it takes to be a successful animator.

“The skills that any animator needs are the three Ps — practice, patience and passion — and not being afraid to fail,” says Baena.

Animation is a very slow art form where the more patient you are and the more practice you have, the better your work would pay off in the end.

“Every time you fail, you learn a little bit and make your next piece of work a little bit better.

“You have to be willing to go through that process,” says Kelly, a senior animator at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).

He adds that animators must have the heart of an actor and an interest in observing the world around them.


As with any other art, being able to give and accept criticism is an essential part of being in animation.

“Unless you show your work to somebody and ask what they think, you can’t improve yourself,” says Kelly.

“Seeing the creations of my peers at ILM also excites me and gets me thinking about how I could do stuff like that too,” he says, adding that his work always presents new challenges and that “you can never learn everything about it, you’ll be discovering new things your whole life“.