The exciting adventure in a magical world with multiple dimensions where your imagination can run free is the world of 3D animation. Swim in the deep blue sea teeming with colorful tropical fish that you can almost touch and feel with your fingers. Walk through a fierce blizzard where you can feel the icy wind and touch the magical snowflakes with your fingers. Walk through the Sahara desert while you can see the hot sand blowing in your face, watch the camels as if they were real and enjoy the experience almost as if you were there now.
That’s why skilled 3D animators are the most sought after artists in the 3D world. The main reason they are in demand is that producing believable and entertaining animations requires a lot of skill and practice.
A 3D animator must be a type of actor to be able to represent each movement in sequence. It is a complicated set of skills and knowledge that is acquired through hard work and practice. This is usually achieved through years of studying acting and how objects move etc.
Keen observation may be the most important skill to develop as an animator. Observe the life around you [such as the fish in the ocean] and the way objects move. Draw pictures, take notes and try to give meaning to what you observe. Don’t just study animation. Try studying movies, attending plays, and even reading comics to understand how poses and movement create moods and communicate messages without using words. New animators would benefit from the old masters of 20th century animation: Walt Disney, Art Babbitt, Grim Natwick, and Ken Anderson. The principles used to bring characters like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny to life are still as relevant today as they were then. In fact, the first place to look for a new 3D animator is in the old 2D artists’ animation manuals.
The novice 3D animator would do well to focus on the basics first: how to make a ball move from one place to another and how to make it bounce. Later, as he explores character animation, he’ll need to understand what determines a good walk and how to reduce “floating,” a common problem for new animators where the character moves as if underwater.
Most importantly, animators must practice their craft repeatedly. Just like modeling, animation takes time and patience. Even experienced animators can create many test movies before getting a good final result. A good animator can make a normal model come to life, while a bad animator can make even the best models look amateurish. Persistence breeds success and, like any trade, is the key to creating ultimate success.
Allow yourself to immerse yourself in an amazing world where every creature and dimensionless object transforms into real life.