animation tips: planning

Because this is the first article for sketch animation categories, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with probably the single most important tip most professional animators are likely to give a student: PLAN YOUR WORK. Planning is probably the step most often missed by students, and at the same time, it is probably the most essential tool in your entire animation toolbox, especially in the first few years of your animation life. You should never sit down in front of your computer, animation disc or puppet, until you know exactly what poses you are planning to use, when you are planning to use them, and why.

Before you begin any shot, it’s so important to study references, work out your thumbnails, and make your timing and acting decisions on paper. This may seem like an “extra” step to some of you, but believe me, it will save you time in the long run and your work will look so much stronger than it would have otherwise.

All of my best feature film shots are also the ones I spent the most time planning out. The shots where I got cocky and thought “Aw,I know how to animate that, I’ll just sit down and do it” are, almost without exception, the shots that ended up being “okay,” but never as good as they could have been. I’ll always regret missing the opportunity I had to make those shots special, but at least they taught me an invaluable lesson: Planning Comes First, ALWAYS! Tune in next time for some practical tips on how you can plan your shot!

credit: animationmentor.com