EXAMPLES WORKFLOW EDITION

Mike Nguyen

''....In regard to an animated character, my thoughts follow along this thread :

The essence of a being is the soul.
The soul inhabits a shell (character design).
The spirit of a soul (character personality) affects its shell resulting in a distinct mannerism, both in gesture and texture of movement.
The soul has feelings and responding to life with emotions.
The temperament of the soul determine the strength of emotion.
Emotion reflects through interaction with the shell, pending on graphic looks, flexibility of skeletal structure, numbers of compartment, make and feel of mass, to numbers of joints.....''

Jason Schleifer

''...There are two things that really nail emotion for me in a character. One is the pose, and the other is the change between poses. It's really key to make sure that you're aware of how much emotion can come from the change that happens over time. You may find that you can draw a great concerned brow pose, but how concerned does it really feel? It isn't until you tighten that brow just a little bit more that the real concern comes out. Or if you release the tension just a touch, suddenly the character feels a little lighter. Remember we're looking at moving pictures. Don't forget about making the pose move to really make the emotion come through....''

Jason Martinsen

'' ... Now I can start the shot with a solid idea in mind. I find a strong key pose that really symbolizes what the character is saying and feeling, even if the pose is not in your shot exactly, and refer to this thoughout my posing. Never stray too far from it emotionally except in really strong takes or action, where great contrast is needed. Emotion comes from the face, nail it then let the posture and silhouette do the rest. If the character is facing away from the camera, the tilt and angle of the head says everything, with the slump of the shoulders and the tension or lack of in the hands and body..... ''

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