Let's Learn Kiddo's (Blog # 12)

Let's Get Prepared...

.Nicole Herr is a creature animator that has worked on Game of Thrones and Guardians of the Galaxy who first got interested in animation when she saw The Little Mermaid, that night she contacted Disney Florida Studios, asking for advice and she was able to talk with a senior animator and from then on, she knew what she wanted to do for a career. In 1998, her first professional work was to animate jellyfish for the movie Sphere. Though, asking her what her favorite work was to be apart of, was a tough one as she couldn't choose one. From restoring original animation from the original Fantasia for the 2000 release, to animating Groot and Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy and even Stuart Little 2 where her first character animation was featured.
When also asked for what the differences between being a realistic vs being a character animator was like, she explained that there was no large difference. Just being a realistic animator, details matter and when you're doing a more life like being, small details matter more. For realistic animation, Herr records and studies animals that are connected to that creature to understand their motions and for more cartoon-y animation, she most closely studies herself as the model and shoots film of herself performing the scenes to get and understanding of movement for that character.
For the length of work time, it honestly depends on how much work load you are given at a time and when the deadline is for that project. It could even take up to 40 hours to animate a 240 frame shot, Herr stated.
Nicole Herr was also given the opportunity to animate a dragon for a Game of Thrones Time Warner Cable commercial and she was excited for this project. The rigging, she said, was very smooth and easy to work with and for the commercial they were able to broad out the characteristics of the dragon and give it character.
As a mentor for animators, she notices that when students start animating creatures, they don't plan their shots and forget the character of the creature and give them no motivation for their action. That's a huge thing to keep in mind.

...For Battle

. Reading the article helped me understand the importance for reference for your animations and the need for pre-production for your projects. Their is a major need for an understatement for your creature and who EXACTLY who they are as a real being. Practice acting out and record yourself for movement, don't be afraid to do so, who cares if you look like an idiot. It helps more to do so.