ACM 216: reading reflection #1

The notes from Glen Keane, particularly the third-fifth pages, were really informative and interesting to me. There were so many good tips its really hard to choose just a couple to talk about, but I did notice that a constant theme was being deliberate in your choices. Point 9, "Don't move anything unless it's for a purpose," stood out to me. It's tempting in animation to want to add extra movement, and this is a good reminder to reel it in and keep things purposeful. There were a lot of notes about adding drama and emotion to the animation as well, emphasizing squashing and stretching the body and face. This is another good thing to remember. I've noticed it's very easy to, in animation, want to keep the form constant in every frame out of fear of morphing it so much that the movement/object warps. It's good to remind yourself that without a little morphing things get very stiff and emotion doesn't come across effectively.