So here's a good educational topic: how to you assign or organize your tasks to get them done? For example what types of software do you move through (Illustrator to Corel Paint to Indesign etc...) or how do you figure out what tools to use in a composition like adding markers over paint...?How did you do this if you were in a group or had "restrictions?"
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The last time I did this in a group was college, and there were no computers. I can't offer any suggestions for organizing artwork in that sense. As far as writing, I always organize thoughts, writings and tasks in the tried-and-true outline form that we used to write school reports.
The old pre-computer method for organizing information was to copy down bits of information on 3X5 index cards. Apparently they still sell these with office and school supplies. (They also have Post-It Notes in various sizes, another luxury we didn't have in my young whippersnapper days, so you can try using them instead.)
The index cards could be shuffled around to see how information appears in any given order. Once you decide upon a logical sequence, an outline can be constructed on a sheet of notepaper.
Rather than get into the details of writing an outline, I would suggest doing a web search on terms like "research paper outline." This is the first comprehensive result I found: http://www.lkwdpl.org/study/research/outline.htm
This method has many possibilities outside of writing. It can even be used to organize tasks, such as shopping and household chores and repairs, or for time management, or to plan a family vacation.
In constructing a comic book story sequence, this method is useful because it helps divide details of the story into panels and pages.
animation workflow? Like variations between straight-ahead and pose-to-pose? Or working through a pipeline *doesn't really understand the term...*?
Randy Hayes > UnchartedSpiritJanuary 8, 2008 at 8:11pm
Yeah, more of the pose-to-pose vs. straight-ahead stuff. With a specific emphasis on how to do that work in CG. But like I said, I'm still new, so my workflow's still developing.
Working within a pipline is going to vary between studios. Really small studios won't have really sophisticated pipes, so they don't require as much planning, but big studios are probably the opposite. I work in a mid-size studio (about 200 folks) and we have a fairly specific pipeline which does limit some of the things we (as animators) can fiddle with behind the scene (in terms of messing with rigs and such) but our studio is still small enough that the rigging team can be responsive to our needs.
In the end, your workflow will be somewhat specific to the shot you're working on. Some shots require you to hit a few really strong poses, with only a few breakdowns to get the idea across. But others almost require a straight-ahead approach, with a lot of inbetweens coming very early in the process. Those ones are scary, actually, because they take so much longer to get working, and if you don't know for sure what the director wants, you might end up wasting a lot of time. The upside is that if you've animated all your breakdowns in your first pass, and they like it, you're well on your way to finalling the shot.
Anyway, that's the beginning's of what I could post on that, but someone wiser may want to correct me on it.
This is something I'm interested in hearing about from the pros here. I'm still learning and developing my workflow, so I won't likely be much help in this regard. If anybody wants tips on animation workflow, I might be of some help, but I'm still learning there, too.
Good idea for a topic, though. Looking forward to it.
Replies
The index cards could be shuffled around to see how information appears in any given order. Once you decide upon a logical sequence, an outline can be constructed on a sheet of notepaper.
Rather than get into the details of writing an outline, I would suggest doing a web search on terms like "research paper outline." This is the first comprehensive result I found:
http://www.lkwdpl.org/study/research/outline.htm
This method has many possibilities outside of writing. It can even be used to organize tasks, such as shopping and household chores and repairs, or for time management, or to plan a family vacation.
In constructing a comic book story sequence, this method is useful because it helps divide details of the story into panels and pages.
Working within a pipline is going to vary between studios. Really small studios won't have really sophisticated pipes, so they don't require as much planning, but big studios are probably the opposite. I work in a mid-size studio (about 200 folks) and we have a fairly specific pipeline which does limit some of the things we (as animators) can fiddle with behind the scene (in terms of messing with rigs and such) but our studio is still small enough that the rigging team can be responsive to our needs.
In the end, your workflow will be somewhat specific to the shot you're working on. Some shots require you to hit a few really strong poses, with only a few breakdowns to get the idea across. But others almost require a straight-ahead approach, with a lot of inbetweens coming very early in the process. Those ones are scary, actually, because they take so much longer to get working, and if you don't know for sure what the director wants, you might end up wasting a lot of time. The upside is that if you've animated all your breakdowns in your first pass, and they like it, you're well on your way to finalling the shot.
Anyway, that's the beginning's of what I could post on that, but someone wiser may want to correct me on it.
~R
Good idea for a topic, though. Looking forward to it.
~R