The Animation Academy

Life Drawing > Anticipation and Staging > Squash and Stretch > Dialogue > Method > Process > Equipment

A Short Synopsis

A classical animation production is like putting together a million-piece jigsaw puzzle. There are 5 major steps the animated film must go through after the script is approved and before the original score and final sound effects are added. They are:

1. Storyboard
2. Ruff Animation
3. Clean Up
4. Special Effects Animation
5. Final Color

To get there, the production will go through about 30 departments. Each has specially trained staff to do specific artistic applications. I'd like to give an overview about how a scene evolves and what happens before it gets to the Animation department.

RECORDING

The Director works with the sound editing department to create a "radio show" of the dialogue from the approved script. This is usually recorded with the chosen actors who will voice the characters in the film. We start with a sequence that will demonstrate the characters' personalities and interaction with each other. This may not be the first sequence in the film. We divide the script into sequences and we build the sound tracks one sequence at a time. Sequences vary in length. The director decides how long a sequence is going to be based on his vision and pacing of the picture. Once the sound track or "radio show" is approved, it is delivered to the storyboard artists with the corresponding script pages who then render character actions and camera angles for each scene in a comic book format.

STORYBOARDING and SCENE PREPARATION

The storyboard artists illustrate the script using established character designs and temporary set designs. The characters will be drawn in poses that correspond with the sound track, the action described in the script and suggestions made by the director. The storyboard artists (in many productions, the director storyboards as well) and the director will agree on the staging, cutting and length of each individual scene within a sequence. Once the storyboard drawings are approved, they will be shot on video or scanned into the computer and assembled into a story-reel and put in sync with the "radio show" or sound track. The sequence is then reviewed by the producer, director and storyboard artists for additional adjustments and approval. The approved sequence will have to be processed through the director's assistants, Sound Editing and Continuity departments. Each storyboard drawing will be duplicated to create a physical continuity storyboard "booklet" that will be distributed to each department. This is an invaluable resource that should be referred to at every stage of production and updated whenever changes are made.

An exposure sheet is created for each scene. The exposure sheet is a method for documenting every action of the scene and each department records their contribution to the scene on it. For example, Scene 1 of Sequence 1 will include a fade up from black revealing a tight shot of two characters conversing on a hill. The camera will fade up over 3-00 of film (two seconds) and we'll hear one character say "it's all we can do." The camera will begin to truck back to reveal the landscape as we cut to the next scene. All of this information will be contained in the xsheet.

The process begins in editorial. The sound department must "read" the sound tracks to break down every word into consonants and vowels for placement on the exposure sheet. The Continuity department will log the scenes, their storyboard drawings and write a short synopsis of the requirements; purpose of scene, number of characters, special effects, camera moves, etc. Each xsheet's footage lengths will be reviewed to ensure they correspond with the timings established by the director and logged on the editorial scene list. Model sheets of the characters and animated props are included with each scene for the animators. A duplicate of the original layout (set design) for each scene will also be included for the animation team. Poses of the characters' actions are provided for scenes that have been approved by the director. This is to give the animator a better idea of what the director wants to see in the final product. These elements are bundled between cardboards and secured with rubber bands. The exposure sheet has a hard cover with the sequence and scene number clearly exposed on the front and is bundled on the outside of the cardboards for easy identification. The scene is now ready for its trip through the animatoin process.

The animator will receive an audio cassette of the dialogue for the scene and the exposure sheet now has the dialogue broken down and placed in the correct frames. This should enable him to sync his animation. The animator must now draw the characters as they perform the action requirements of the scene. Usually, the animator will draw the scene on "8's" (There are 16 frames to every foot of 35 millimeter film and 24 frames for every second of film). The animator draws approximately three frames for each second. This, of course, depends on the action required. Some movements need more drawings from the animator, but seldom less. The preliminary extreme drawings are drawn in blue. He will "expose" the drawings he created on the xsheet in lead. Now the assistant has, besides the timing charts, a list of what is required of him. The assistant will confirm the extremes, add appropriate "breakdown" drawings and proper labeling and pass the scene on to the "inbetweener" to complete the series of drawings, exposing each drawing for one or two frames as requested by the animator. The inbetweener completes the labeling of the drawings and makes sure that all drawings completed are listed on the xsheet. Again, as each department finishes its job, the work is exposed on the xsheet. The idea is this; at the end of a scene's trip through the studio, anybody should be able to look at the xsheet and understand precisely what is happening. Camera moves and exposures, layouts and props, character stacking order against the background and overlays, are all listed in the xsheet, and initialed and dated by each artist as they complete their task.

The animation can actually be projected smoothly using one drawing for every two frames of film. We provide twelve drawings for every second of film that goes by. If the animator provides poses of the characters on 8's, they will be referred to as "Extremes" or "Keys". We prefer the word extreme for "ruff" drawings because we will refer to the cleaned up extremes as "Keys" at a later stage in production. The animator will create drawings for frames 1, 9, 17, 25, 33, etc., or every eighth frame, leaving 3 drawings to be done "inbetween" the extremes. Each extreme will have the animator's "timing chart" at the upper right side of the drawing. Sometimes there will be more than one timing chart provided. These charts describe the drawing positions necessary to create smooth motion and intensity between the extreme drawings. The animator should also number his drawings at the lower right corner of each page. This number depicts the frame number that the drawing represents and will be exposed on the xsheet.

At the bottom of each sheet of animation paper are 3 registration peg holes. The holes fit tightly on the registration pegs of the animation disc or "peg bar". The standard is a round peg hole in the middle and rectangular peg holes 4" to it's left and one 4" to the right (most animation discs in the US, Canada and Europe use this standard). The animator or the assistant will list the sequence number between the left peg hole and the center hole and in the space between the center peg hole and the right peg hole will be the scene number. This is important since there are many drawings in a scene, many scenes in a sequence and this system of marking each drawing, extreme, breakdown and inbetween with sequence, scene and frame numbers will be helpful (and time saving) to the departments that follow. You should always use care when placing the drawings on or removing them from the registration pegs. Reinforce the holes or they could rip and destroy your hard work by putting drawings out of alignment. Sometimes an animator will mark the drawing numbers at the upper right. It is then the assistant animator's responsibility to make sure that the drawings are marked correctly at the bottom right and that the extreme drawings are clearly legible and close to the approved character model design. The assistant must get approval from the animator for any changes to the extreme drawings.

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Storyboard

HOW WE STORYBOARD

Building the storyboard is an integral part of putting together an animated feature. The process provides not only a visual interpretation of the script, it also allows designers in each department to get a feel for what is being presented on screen.

Creating the visual story composed of consecutive storysketch panels that depict the action and staging of the film's script is the first step in the animation production process. The concepts and timing intiated here will be built upon by twenty or more departments, converting them into a final full color film. The storyboard is the basic game plan, the vision of continuity that will drive the entire production.

Storyboarding involves working from a film script and dialogue tracks to set a story down in picture or illustration form; rather like a comic book. The storyboard functions as the blueprint for an animated film. The following is a breakdown of the story-sketch artist's set up, and the thought and drawing processes involved.

THOUGHT PROCESSES

There is also a method for the thought process when creating boards. Consult your director to find out as much as you can regarding your sequence. Story sketch, if done properly, looks easy, but the thinking involved is complex.

THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:

1. PLOT POINTS: Learn the script and how to differentiate between significant pivital action on which the plot hinges and entertaining business. When in doubt - consult your director.
2. ENTERTAINMENT: Does the scene possess entertainment value...drama, humor, shock, fear, endearment, etc?
3. SETTING: Where does the action take place? Desert or forest or ocean...etc. what time is it? Again, when in doubt, consult your director - and your script.
4. STAGING: Where are the characters in relation to one another? What is the action and how can it be conveyed in the simplest, most direct way possible?
5. CUTTING: This can be very elusive. Be aware of action and character placement. It also involves the pacing from sketch to sketch, that is, how much time you allow for each sketch to be displayed.

We cannot emphasize enough, if you have questions, consult the director. Making a feature-length animated film is a team effort, communication is vital!

These scenes all relate to one another in continuity, being various distances from the same object, but they affect us differently depending on their order. Trainees should study film techniques closely from books and films.

NECESSARY DRAWING SKILLS

1. CHARACTER DRAWING In order to get the film's characters to act and behave as you wish, a thorough understanding of their construction and proportions is necessary. Also, since we film everything from mice to humans, it is necessary to understand character size relationships, both to one another and to the setting.
2. PERSPECTIVES A thorough understanding of perspective is important for creating the illusion of three dimension in a sketch. Without it, scale is impossible to convey.
3. DESIGN A knowledge of design principles is just as important as a grasp of character drawing and perspective. It makes all the difference between excellent and mediocre storysketching. Skills will vary from one artist to another, as will difficulty of assignments. The same as with all other matters of great import, when in doubt, CONSULT YOUR DIRECTOR (and even when not in doubt).

This is the standard form most story sketches will take. This will differ slightly from vertical and horizontal camera "pan" moves, diagonal moves and camera trucks in and out.

PLEASE NOTE: These last four examples involve special camera moves. Instructions should be written on the sketch wherever they will not interfere with the drawing, i.e. outside the field guide framing.

Any special instructions involving characters, special effects animation or the layout should be written inside the field guide, but judiciously, to avoid obscuring the drawing.

This is a rough outline of the craft of story sketch. Be patient with yourself. It takes time to master all aspects of this job and develop the judgment necessary to excel.

KEY POINTS

• A SEQUENCE consists of a series of SCENES which follow a particular event from beginning to conclusion. In live action, a sequence is generally termed a scene, and the separate scenes that make up the sequence are shots.
• Be patient and consult the director frequently. Story sketch is a refining process and discussion sessions will improve your work.
• One foot of film equals 16 frames or two-thirds of a second (the amount of time it takes for 16 frames to travel through to projector). The footage numbers are noted in base 16, with the remainder noted to the right. Thus:   one foot = 1-00 or 16 frames   two feet = 2-00 or 32 frames   one and one-half feet = 1-08 (one foot and eight frames) or 24 frames (1 second)
• PLEASE NOTE: The story is constantly being amended. Changes will continue to be made as necessary for the benefit of the film. No storyboard is truly completed until the sequence is in final color, and even then there are occasional alterations.

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Layout

THE LAYOUT ARTIST

The Layout Artist sets the stage for the animation. This artist creates the set designs, rendering pencil background layouts for each production scene, referring to the story sketch and research materials gathered on the relevant geography, architecture and time period. Although the rendered layouts never appear in the final production, they are the catalyst for both the positioning and perspective of the animation, and the design of the final painted backgrounds.

Layout is the art of background design for animation. These designs are executed in graphite pencil on punched animation paper of various sizes, depending on the requirements for the scene. Part of the Layout Artist's responsibilities, besides drawing, is to determine how to construct the scene technically for the camera in order to capture the intentions of the story sketch. At the "bluebook" meeting held at the initiation of every sequence of the film, each scene is analyzed with the Director, Scene Planner, Special Effects Supervisor, and Layout representatives, to establish a game plan including how Layout should set the scene up.

The layout drawing provides a stage in which the animators will animate their characters and effects, as well as a blueprint or underdrawing, to be rendered in color by the Background Artists. Thus, Layout is the fork in the road which feeds two branches of the animation production process. The following illustrates this chain of events.

LAYOUT ELEMENTS

The Layout Artist often layers a scene with several levels of artwork which will move separately, or through and between the characters movements. The following planning diagram is attached to layouts to indicate these various levels, both layout and animation, the order they will work, and the registration pegs they will be on (top or bottom).

The Layout department is responsible for preparing these levels:

1. BACKGROUND (BG) This is the bottom-most element of the scene, to be painted on illustration board, all animation levels will work on top of this.
2. UNDERLAY (UL) This is a level depicting a prop or piece of background - separated for the sake of separate movement or background correction - that works above the background, but under animation levels.
3. OVERLAY/UNDERLAY (OL/UL) A cel level portraying a prop or background element that works above one level of animation, but below another.
4. OVERLAY Cel level portraying a prop or background element that works over all animation in the scene.
5. MODEL FOR EFFECTS When part of the background setting needs to be animating, Layout draws a reference drawing for the special effects animators to help them match the style and design of the background.
6. MULTIPLANE LEVELS The multiplane camera set-up involves multiple planes of animation artwork at different vertical positions beneath the camera. The purpose of multiplane is to create a dimensional life-like effect, and requires special planning by Layout.

LAYOUT CONSIDERATIONS

In staging the scene, there are several considerations the artist must explore.

1. STAGING How can the background best support the animation and direct the viewer's attention to the important action of a scene?
2. PERSPECTIVE How can we best give the illusion that the characters are in a three-dimensional environment rather than a flat drawing?
3. SETTING How can we create a living world for the characters, and what props and elements would best fit that world? (For example: The architecture and props of An American Tail had to reflect 19th century New York.) Research is often necessary to create accurate settings.
4. MOOD How can the layout best enhance the dramatic intent of a scene? (comical, sad, scary...)
5. TECHNICAL How must the scene be designed to achieve the desired effect within the limitations of the animation camera.

LAYOUT REQUIREMENTS

A Layout Artist requires a working knowledge of perspective, design, and the workings of the animation camera. Also, they need to understand the jobs of the character animation, effect animation, inking and background painting. They must also have the ability to draw a wide variety of subject matter in many different styles.

KEY POINTS

• A rough layout solves some of the basic problems of a scene, such as separating levels, determining pan lengths and establishing the perspective and style.
• The style of the drawing must adhere to that set by the production designer. Don't hesitate to ask questions if in doubt.
• The Director initials the layout when he has approved it.

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BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND PAINTING

The characters and special effects in an animated film are altered every frame or every other frame to create the illusion of action, but the environment surrounding them is generally held behind (or in front of) them for an entire scene. The backgrounds (BG's), overlays (OL's), and underlays (UL's) are masterfully rendered paintings based on the drawings created by the layout department. They create the imaginary world that the characters inhabit and through the subtle use of lighting and color, serve to compose and spotlight the action as well as give emotional impact and continuity to each sequence. The Background Department's paintings play a vital role in creating a believable and moving world onscreen.

The background is the "set" or environment that the character or animating cel works over. The background must always complement and enhance the character, never overpower it. A specialized artist is required who is aware of different techniques designed to work well with the character and effects animation.

Backgrounds generally are painted "soft", with a spotlight effect on the area to be the center of attention. Certain areas in this spotlight need to be rendered sharply and more distinctly. The Background Artist must develop an eye to recognize where this has to be done. Often, the layout drawing will specify certain spots to be emphazized, as well as "registration" lines where the character comes in contact with the props in the background.

PAINTING THE BACKGROUND

A layout drawing is transferred using graphite paper onto an illustration board cut to the size required for the scene. The board is sprayed with water and a general light wash of the lightest color is applied The artist uses an approved "color key", or color sketch of the scene, to fill in the color. As the painting progresses, darker values are put in until the painting is completed. The BG is scanned into the computer and a color model or character level is placed over the background to check for readability against the painting. Any adjustment required is done at this time.

COLOR KEYS OR COLOR SKETCHES

Usually created by the Color Stylist or Art Director, "Color Keys" are small color renderings of the key scenes in a sequence, establishing the mood and possible progressions from dark to light or warm to cool colors during the sequence, also known as color orchestration. The background painter must always be aware of the mood and color needed for his specific painting, as well as checking the action of the characters in his scene and the layout of the area in which they are acting. Overlays/underlays, or OL/UL's are painted on separate levels. Windsor and Newton® Gouache water-based paint is the usual medium of choice.

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The Animator

The animator's job is to act out (animate) the character's actions in the story, enhancing and fleshing out the personality established by the voice talent and the director, in an effort to bring the characters to life.

It would be impossible to effectively put into words a truly comprehensive primer on "How to Become an Animator" of classical-style animation. Years of preparation and training precede the full development of such an artist. An animator is not only an accomplished draftsman with the ability to draw with accuracy and believability, but must also have many other traits and skills at his or her fingertips. An animator must also have the sense of an actor to bring personality and entertainment to a character, the mind of a dancer to give grace and movement to a scene, the instinct of an athlete to portray dexterity and power, the ear of a musician to incorporate musical ideas with graphic images, a good eye for caricaturing both characters and action to exaggerate and extract the essence of the subject or activity, a strong sense of discipline in applying these skills with consistency and concentration and a love and devotion for the art form itself. There are also technical skills which are part of the "tools of the trade" that the animator needs to have command of, which will be touched upon here.

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Now for the Inbetweener

The starting place for most artists entering the world of animation is the Inbetween Department. This is the group of artists that help the animators and animation assistants complete the action of a scene. It is a very important step in your animation career. It is the department where you will learn the basics of animation.

An "inbetween" is one of the transition drawings between two "extreme" drawings. The extremes are called the animator's "key" drawings and demonstrate the extreme poses of an animated action. The inbetweens fill in the action between these key drawings (retaining their essence, not distracting from them). You will need to learn to work in a team and learn to imitate the animator's drawings and line quality. This is to reduce "flutter" or "flashing" of the drawings when viewed in continuity on video or projected on film. This is also to avoid any distractions when a ruff scene (a "ruff" is the first take of a scene and includes the rough, or uncleaned line quality, animation and layout) is cut into the film and viewed by an audience.

Once a scene has arrived at your desk. REVIEW it thoroughly. Check the hook up scenes on either side of yours so you know what is happening and where it is going. It will come to you bundled in the same cardboards that the animator received it in, with the same xsheet. It should have timing charts on all of the extreme drawings and each drawing should have been labeled properly at the bottom. Each of the completed drawings should have it's number marked in lead pencil on the exposure sheet. At the Bluth studios, we usually mark all required drawing numbers on the xsheet in blue pencil. The extreme numbers will be circled and after completion, blackened in with a standard HB pencil. Numbers representing incomplete drawings done by the animator or assistant animator will remain in blue until they are completed by the assistant or the inbetweener. This allows for an easy count of drawings to be done by the inbetweener, just count the blue numbers on the xsheet. Check to see that all of the animator's and assistant's drawings are included in the packaged scene. There may be special instructions regarding the timing charts or secondary or tertiary actions of clothing, hair or the props involved with the character's action. Review the xsheet. Be sure the animator's name is on the cover and on the first page of the xsheet itself. There are spaces for the animator's name, sequence and scene numbers. Be sure these are filled in with the correct information (sometimes, with so many people handling the scene, the xsheet comes apart or it gets separated from the scene, labeling everything allows us to put things back together easily).

Confirm with the animator whether the scene is on "two's" (described above), or if there are actions that require "one's" (a drawing for every frame. This may be necessary for camera pans so the character won't flutter or strobe against the background). Once you thoroughly understand the purpose of the scene and have reviewed the work to be done with the animator (or assistant), proceed with the inbetween process. Start with the completion of any unfinished breakdown drawings. Most "Original Ruff" (or "O.R.", the more common expression for "ruff") scenes are drawn in blue. You should match your drawings with the extremes and breakdowns of the animator and the assistant. This includes using the same make and model of the blue pencil that they used. Be sure that the animation paper is from the same source as the rest of the team. These drawings will be seen in the first ruff continuity of the movie by the director, producer and many studio executives, including the studio's licensing agents and promotional partners. It is important to make each scene look as good as possible, even for the first ruff test.

TEN SIMPLE STEPS TO A GOOD INBETWEEN

1. Look at the timing charts.
2. Roll the extremes and plot the arcs of the action.
3. Turn on the backlight and put the drawings in flipping order.
4. Now following the arcs and charts, build your foundation by drawing the shapes and the shapes between the lines.
5. Turn off the backlight.
6. Flip the drawings and build a solid 3 dimensional drawing on your foundation.
7. Put the drawings in rolling order and recheck the inbetween.
8. Turn on the backlight.
9. Shift the drawings off the pegs to check volumes and inbetween details.
10. Fix the final problems, using both the backlight and flipping.

As you will see, inbetweening is a logical process, and by following these simple steps your inbetweens should take less time, be more accurate, and be well-drawn. For a more detailed look at each of these, read on.

1. CHECKING THE TIMING CHARTS

The timing chart is a guideline as to how to place your inbetweens. It is usually located in the upper right-hand corner of the extreme drawings, and in many cases there will be separate charts for different parts of the same drawing. Some animators also vary the location and style of the charts, but generally they fall into the following categories:

• 1/2: drawing 3 is halfway between 1 & 5.
• 1/3's: 3 is one-third between 1 & 7, drawing 5 is halfway between 3 & 7.
• 1/4's: 5 is halfway between drawings 1 & 9
• 3 is halfway between 1 & 5 and 7 is halfway between 5 & 9.
• 1/3 Favor: 3 is one-third between 1 & 5, favoring drawing 1.
• 1/2 & 1/4: drawing 3 is halfway between 1 & 7, drawing 5 is halfway between 3 & 7.

Some Animators also call for inbetweens favoring extremes. In these cases you have to use your own judgement, based on how the chart looks, where to put your inbetween. When the timing chart calls for a specific timing (i.e., halfway between the two extremes), there is only one place it can be exactly where the animator called for it. If the inbetween doesn't follow the charts, it is wrong. Always check with the animator or assitant animator.

2. ROLLING THE DRAWINGS TO PLOT THE ARCS (and a few notes on "follow-thru", "drag" and "overlap")

This is the most important part of doing your inbetween. It is called FINDING AND FOLLOWING THE ARCS. The movements of most living and inanimate things follow circular paths of action called ARCS. For example, the action of a hand gesture follows a circular path. The animator charts the positions of his drawings along this arc. He makes his key drawings and indicates where the inbetweens should be placed to keep the line of action on this curved path. Inbetweens done without following the arcs change the action radically, usually resulting in jerky and stilted animation.

If the animator hasn't indicated the arcs, you must find them yourself. To find the arcs, place the extremes you are inbetweening and the preceding and following extremes in sequence on the pegs. (In our example drawings 1, 3, 7 and 9.)

Now, by rolling the drawings in sequence, the arcs in the action become evident. Note all of these circular paths by making light indications on the keys or on your inbetween in blue pencil.

OVERLAP, FOLLOW-THRU, AND DRAG

Rolling the drawings, you should watch for places where the above animation principles are being employed and be sure that your inbetween doesn't stiffen the action.

To find overlap, follow-thru and drag determine the primary action. Anything attached (if flexible) will have an overlapping action. For instance, a foot does not just inbetween when leaving the ground. The ankle (primary action) leads while the toes complete their action then follow-thru.

In other words, appendages DRAG until the primary action changes direction. When their secondary action is spent, they overlap, follow-thru and drag.

For example, to keep things like hair, coat tails and dress hems soft and flexible, they must drag slightly at the beginning of, or during a move. And they must overlap at the end of a move or at a change of direction.

This principle for changing direction can be applied to anything flexible. Connection to the primary action (A) changes direction first, followed by the middle section (B). The tip, depending on the length and flexibility continues on its course of action until interrupted by the pull of the main body (A & B). (Hint: Study the action of hair, ears, falls, etc., with a strip of thin paper).

Following the animator's ruffs on all drags will contribute to good, loose animation.

3. TURN ON THE BACKLIGHT AND PUT THE DRAWINGS IN FLIPPING ORDER

Place the drawings on the pegs in the following order:

• First extreme
• Last extreme
• Place your inbetween on top

Turn on the backlight (the flourescent light behind the animation disk).

4. BUILD THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR INBETWEEN

Using the light, plot the position of the shapes and lines between the two keys. Make sure that you are following the arcs and are placing the shapes in the charted position. Finish drawing this skeleton for your inbetween by accurately placing the shapes between the shapes and the lines between the lines.

5. TURN OFF THE BACKLIGHT

6. FLIP THE DRAWINGS TO CHECK THE INBETWEEN

Grasp the drawings in the following manner:

Flip the drawings as indicated and you should be able to see the action. This is called FLIPPING. Now flip the drawings. Does the inbetween work smoothly? Are there any lines missing? Do any of the lines jiggle or get shorter or longer? Is anything out of arc? Fix these problems.

BUILD A SOLID 3-DIMENSIONAL DRAWING ON YOUR FOUNDATION

Now make sure your inbetween works as a 3-Dimensional drawing. Flip the drawings to ensure that details such as eyes are drawn in perspective and are firmly anchored to the main mass of the face structure. Check to see if things such as legs and arms look solid rather than flat and that the lines wrap around the forms. Think of the drawing as a real object and try to imagine the unseen side of the form. Sculpt as you draw. Look closely at the extremes as you flip and see the way the forms are described. Try to match the animator's drawing, and, most of all, try to capture that fleeting essence that will give life to your drawing.

If your drawing looks flat or warped, it is probably because it hasn't been inbetweened 3-dimensionally. This can be overcome by building your inbetween using basic shapes such as cubes, balls, and cylinders. After laying in the basic forms it is a simple matter to add the details. It is extremely important to construct your inbetween or the animated shapes will look like they are made of JELL-O®, and details will float instead of being anchored to the main masses.

This kind of problem is illustrated below in some sketches from the book, THE ILLUSION OF LIFE:

The straight inbetween will look like this with the nose and cheeks mashed in.

In the plan at left, inbetween 2 is halfway between 1 & 3.

Drawing 2 is now placed in space halfway between 1 & 3, with some of the far cheek showing and the nose where it ought to be on the head.

USING BASIC SHAPES AS AN AID IN DIFFICULT DRAWINGS

There is no substitute for good drawing, and the logical approach is to rely on basic shapes to get that good drawing. Most of the problems that come up are when a character, or a piece of that character, moves far enough so it can't be inbetweened (lines between lines) and it has to actually be drawn. All of a sudden, here's a hand that has to be drawn - FROM SCRATCH! No model! You think no hand, ear or tail ever got into that position before that. The extremes were easy to draw, but the inbetweens are almost impossible.

7. ROLLING AND CHECKING THE INBETWEEN

Now that you've got a good drawing that seems to inbetween properly, put the drawings in rolling order. Roll through the drawings and re-check the inbetween for all the things we have been talking about; drawings out of arc, jittering and crawling lines, changing volumes, floating details and any other inbetweening problems.

8. TURN ON THE BACKLIGHT

9. SHIFT THE DRAWINGS OFF THE PEGS TO CHECK VOLUMES AND INBETWEEN DETAILS

10. DO A FINAL CHECK OF THE INBETWEEN

Roll through and flip the drawings to do a final check of the inbetween. Fix the problems if there are any.

NOTE: Pay special attention to the inbetweening of eyes. Make sure the distance between the eyes, the eyebrows, and the color separations inbetween properly. Also keep the eyelid from wobbling or changing angle during blinks. This can be done easily, as explained earlier, by shifting the drawings off the pegs and checking the spacing and angle of the inbetween.

START THE NEXT INBETWEEN

After every five or six inbetweens, take your drawings to your supervisor or the animator to be checked. Also, if you get stuck on a drawing problem, ask for help. Someone experienced can usually solve your problem quickly.

By using these methods, you'll discover how simple inbetweening is. You'll easily get up to a speed of sixteen or more inbetweens every day. So let's get inbetweening. We have a film to make!

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Character Clean Up

CLEAN UP 101

The Character Animator concentrates on the action and acting in a scene, drawing loosely and fluidly, sometimes without considerable regard for pencil line quality or subtleties of shapes and volume continuity. It is the Clean-Up Department that "cleans-up" the animator's rough sketches, assuring that the same character drawn by twelve different animators will look like the product of a single hand, and that the series of drawings will maintain consistent line quality and volumes. The cleaned up drawing should be completely ready for a final production scan and to be painted in a designated color scheme, so the Clean-Up Artist must be sure that each area of the drawing is clearly and sharply defined. Above all, it is the job of the clean-up artist to remain faithful to the subtleties of timing and action that the animator has set forth.

INTRODUCTION TO CHARACTER CLEAN-UP

The Clean-Up Department finalizes, or "cleans-up", the animator's rough drawings, ensures that the characters are drawn accurately and consistent design, style, and line quality are maintained. The department is broken down into two parts, "Key Clean-Up" and "Character Clean-Up".

Key clean-up artists begin the clean-up of a scene. They take the animator's rough extreme, or key, action drawings and establish the cleaned up design and style for the entire scene.

The character clean-up artists (clean-up inbetweeners) follow key clean-up's extreme drawing designs and complete the remainder of the drawings in the series illustrating the action. These drawings are referred to as "break down" and "inbetween" drawings. Break-down drawings break down the action more narrowly than the extremes, and the inbetween drawings complete the frame-by-frame action.

It is necessary for members of both levels of the department to understand the fundamentals of line quality, design, structure and animation. A clean-up artist who doesn't understand the principles of animation employed by the animator to create the scene is bound to render an injustice to the work. As a result, much of the training of a Clean -Up Artist overlaps with animation training.

There are many skills that the clean-up artist must hone. It is not only their job to remain faithful to the action using the notes and timing charts written by the animator to inform the follow-up artists of the nuances, they must also tighten the lines to bring the character "on model" using the character model sheets designed during pre-production and and make sure that all separate color areas are fully enclosed. It is imperative that the clean-up artist be an excellent draftsman, combining a knowledge of line density, width, and taper along with anatomy construction, volume and mass, to create an appealing and consistent series of drawings.

The key clean-up artists must be semi-experts in all of the above, and are often chosen from the ranks of the clean-up inbetweeners. Attention to detail and quality making one of Don Bluth's classically animated films can be so demanding that experienced professionals from other studios often must begin by intbetweening or breaking down scenes before moving into Key Clean-Up.

CLEAN-UP INBTEWEENER

What is clean-up inbetweening and what must an artist be able to do to qualify?

The artist must be able to make a clean, sharp line and also clean-up a messy one. They need to have a basic understanding of movement and animation so they can do this without changing the shape of the line or losing any of the animation.

The artist must have the ability to see a shape between two extreme shapes and be able to retain all construction and flow of animation.

Before

After

PUTTING A CHARACTER ON MODEL

Every scene must be put "on model". Model sheets are created as contruction guides for each character and they depict the character in different poses and at different angles. Through the study of the model sheets and some practice, the clean-up artist will be able to draw the characters precisely in each scene. Putting a scene "on model" basically means changing the character drawings to look exactly like those on the model sheet without changing any of the animation. This takes experience and a working understanding of the distortion techniques used for squashing and stretching and the charatcers' actions including "drag" and "overlap".

The Model Sheet

TEN STEPS TO A GOOD CLEAN-UP INBETWEEN

1. Make sure all elements are there.
2. Check for reinforcements.
3. Be sure you understand your assignment when you get the scene. Don't be afraid to ask questions.
4. Be sure all ruff inbetweens - except very tight inbetweens - have been done. Clean up the ruff inbetween; occasionally you may be required to make a new drawing.
5. Match the line density and width to the cleaned up line of the keys.
6. Are all the inbetweens good looking drawings? It is important to avoid a "neanderthal" look.
7. Make sure the drawings are all numbered in the lower right-hand corner.

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Special Effects

EFX ANIMATOR

EFX INBETWEENER

To create the full, fluid look of classical animation, extraordinary attention must be paid to each and every drawing in the film because the drawing count is so immense. An eighty-five minute movie consists of 122400 frames of film. This is 7650 feet of film. There are 16 frames per foot and 24 frames per second. The animators suggest the action with extreme action poses that must be connected with the drawings that will come in between those extremes. The inbetweener must understand and remain faithful to the action of the animator's extremes and follow the timing guidelines which the they have set down. Inbetweening is no small task. It can make or break each scene and will determine the quality of the final product.

SHOOT THE LINE TEST

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Editorial

Classical Animation is the term applied to the style of full, rich animation that Don Bluth Films produces. It is the precision and care in each step of the production that separates our work from most other modern producers of animation. Editorial plays a critical role in helping to create this style. The sound or dialogue editor works with the director to assemble a soundtrack for the film from which the storysketch artists work. The soundreader's frame by frame written log of the dialogue is the animator's bible in evoking believability and depth when the characters speak. As the production progresses, the editorial crews are constantly assembling the sound and picture reels until they evolve into the finished film. From beginning to end, Editorial involves a concentration and accuracy directly reflected in the quality of the final product.

The Sound Editor records, transfers and assembles the soundtrack including music, dialogue and special sound effects. The Picture Editor cuts and assembles the film picture to match the soundtrack. The Assistant Sound Editor is responsible for the accurate reading of all dialogue, breaking it down to consonants and vowels on a frame by frame basis.

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Documenting the Scene

THE EXPOSURE SHEET

Getting It Down

The exposure sheet is the only communication between the departments regarding the exact contents and nature of a scene. If the exposure sheet (x-sheet) is filled out wrong, everyone will be confused, and the Scene Planner will commit suicide. Or murder. If the x-sheet is filled out right, everyone will "get it", and the scene planners will be happy. It's all in your hands...

Here's a teacher's pet, A+ example of a properly filled out x-sheet:

1. Note the order of the camera instruction columns. This is correct. You need not list them all - only the elements that are moving, but list those according to this order: T.P., B.P., AUX PEGS, and ROT. All bed and camera moves are currently performed in the computer, but this gives the viewer the intention of the planning of the scene.
2. The levels of animation are listed in columns from bottom-most level to topmost level as you read from left to right. The BG (background) is always on the bottom, and has a number which should be written on the first line of the column. The names of the levels are written atop each column, and letter symbols are used before the numbers to distinguish the levels.
3. DON'T EXPOSE YOUR ANIMATION IN ANY OLD COLUMN. There used to be only four levels allowed for a single camera pass. Any more cels, and the images would develop a bluish haze. The advent of digital scanning and compositing allows for an unlimited number of levels that can be included in a scene. Refer to the Blue Book to see what other levels will be in the scene, and determine in which column your level will probably be in when all is said and done. You can eliminate confusion and the necessity to copy over the columns into their proper positions later on.
4. Note, the "fielding block" atop the camera section. It contains three bits of information: set-up, fielding, and movement (if any). Previously, I explained the difference between set-up and fielding. A 16F¢ scene must say also that is is a 16F set-up. A 12F scene, almost without exception, should be written as such: This means the camera bed is set up for 16 field peg bar spacing, but the camera is fielded into 12-field, 4 fields South, but none East or West.

A vertical tilt pan should look like this: This indicates an 11 1/2F¢ fielding on a 16 field set up, at 90 degrees counterclockwise tilt.

Lastly, if there is a movement in the scene, the type of move and final position should also be listed in the fielding box.

16¢ means 16-Field, centered in all directions. 8F/4N+2W means 8-Field, moved 4 north and 2 west.

1. Pan increments are meaningless to the cameraman unless there is a notation as to which peg hole he is to place at 5000 when he puts the background or overlay in the scene. "C" at 5000 written above the B.P. column lets him know this.
2. Changeovers - The pan bar on an animation disk is only 32 inches long. A background may be 100 inches long. Clearly, at some point, Mr. Camera will run out of pan bar and have to lift off his background to slide the bar back to its beginning. The background stays in exactly the same place. There will be no notice of this on film. Only, the peg holes of the background will "change over" to different pegs on the pan bar. Thus, if a pan starts clear at one end of the bar, at 6600 (where it is now at 3400), so that you can start the 32 inches all over again. In so doing, "C" will be lifted off 5000, and when the bar is slid back, peg hole "G" will end up at 5000. On the x-sheet, you would circle in RED the increment of the change-over (the numbers will suddenly jump from 3400 to 6600) and write in red beside it: >CHANGE-OVER TO "G" AT 5000.
3. Fades and Cross-Dissolves - There is a proper notation for these. A fade is indicated in a free column in the camera section by a red "carrot", pointing toward the black end of the fade and opening toward full aperture. A cross-dissolve (x-dissolve) is indicated by a red "X" in the camera column, extending from dissolve start to finish, with the center of the "X" corresponding with the center of the dissolve. A x-dissolve scene requires additional footage to be exposed on the new x-sheet, which allows the ghost of the old scene to still be dissolving out of the new scene, even after its "count-footage" has expired.

Life Drawing > Anticipation and Staging > Squash and Stretch > Dialogue > Method > Process > Equipment

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