Sneak peek behind my animation process.
1
ideation / thumbnails/ storyboards
Depending on the shot, whether I animate to audio or not, I doodle down ideas of how want to approach it. Multiple ideas of poses, facial mimic, movement or rhythm create a basis on which I can explore the idea further. At this stage, I tend to storyboard the sequence too, which allows me to control the idea visually in terms of flow and composition.
2
layout / rig testing / kitbashing
Kitbashing is a process of obtaining 3D assets in order to create the environment and find right props. Once deciding on the rig, I do few animation tests to see what I am working with. Layout is a scene assemble through placing all the assets and rigs in a 3D space, making sure of right positioning and appropriate sizing. At this stage I like to setup cameras as well.
3
video reference
Crucial stage of my workflow is recording a live video reference. It helps me to realise life-like performance and define the timing of movements. Often new ideas for acting are born during this stage. Analysing references using SyncSketch lets me pick and choose important poses, arcs and movements I want to focus on while animating.
3
animation / blocking / pose to pose / straight ahead
This is the part, I finally get to focus on clear to read key poses and then fill inbetweens, or animate straight ahead dealing with poses and movement simultaneously.
4
polish / feedback
Feedback is absolutely crucial to bringing any project to a good level. Pair of fresh eyes, especially professionals, can notice any off movement and questionable posing. Polish phase is all about getting into the details, refining arcs, cleaning inconsistencies in Graph Editor and more.
5
lighting / render
Adding lighting and final touches to the scene brings it to life.
