Week Two: Keep on walking

(originally posted on 18/10/09 on http://ianhickman.blogsome.com)

So, the second week of animation has came and gone. It started with me finishing a walking cycle I started at the end of the first week, and ended with me starting another walk cycle which I shall finish next week. And that explains this blog entry’s title.

I did mention last week the importance of getting the drawings right, and this is going to be something that requires constant attention right throughout the project, as it’s all to easy to get caught up animating, and only at the end realise the myriad of errors, which then take ages to correct in every single frame. But a little attention, early on, is all that is required to prevent major errors.

With that in mind, I’m fully expecting the second walk cycle to turn out better. The first walk cycle is fine, but required a number of tweaks, paticularily to the length of Jack’s stubby legs. hopefully this second walk cycle will be pretty much bang on first time round. It’ll be interesting to compare the two, and I think the second cycle will be a little more soild.

Also this week, there has been a slight more focus on continuity between shots. Continuity errors can really destroy the sense of realism a scene has, perhaps especially in cartoons, where the simplified enviroment makes discrepancies easier to notice. And as both I and Sam are working on the same scene at the same time, but different shots, it would be very easy for somebody’s arm to move position in the blink of a camera cut. It’s a fairly easy thing to avoid, but, as with remaining on-model, requires some attention.

My next little entry will be in a fortnight-ish, as nobody is going to be in the studio next week. So bye for now.