We are drawn to animation through characters. It is the main core of a great story. I learned that character animation is one of the most important, but also hardest things to be done in this process. At first, I began to delve into animation. But I very quickly realized it was not a simple matter to make a character; it was to make it alive.
If you are a beginner, do not worry about the background. Just focus on how your characters move, react, and feel. I have seen many beginners get stuck at this stage. A poorly animated character can ruin an entire scene.
The global animation market is worth about $391 billion. Mastering character animation is essential for success in this growing industry. In this blog, I’ll share eight tips for improving your approach to character animation.
Observe Surroundings for Inspiration
There is no other way to learn animation except by observing your surroundings. You don’t have to copy someone’s work or watch a YouTube video. Just look around and see how everything moves from one place to another.
The best thing about taking observations from surroundings is that your work would look closer to reality. Don’t just start animating after you’ve done with storyboarding. Do deep research on your characters and learn their movements by taking inspiration from real life.
Re-use
Some animations are standard, and you will only waste your time if you do it again and again. Save the basic animations like laughing, walking, or eating, and then use them whenever needed. This is an excellent and much-recommended approach used primarily in 2D animation services.
If you work at a 2D services company or an explainer video production house, you can create reusable character animations or templates. This allows everyone on the team to use the same assets, ensuring consistency across the project. It also brings uniformity to character movements, making them look natural and cohesive, just like in real life.
Time And Space
Learning about the time and space concept can help you a lot in your journey of character animation. We live in a hypothetical fabric of space and time; every moment in space or the real world also means we’ve moved in time.
This is mainly taught in physics, but learning about this topic would also help you in animation. This will help you keep the events in the correct order and also help you avoid mismanagement of affairs.
Learn How Gravity Works
Most animators neglect the effect of gravity and only keep it in focus when the character is falling from someplace. However, gravity affects everybody, whether they are in rest or motion. With the help of this concept, you’ve to understand the weight of your objects and characters and then start animating.
See your surroundings to check how gravity is affecting different things. For example, if you’re making something fall, make sure that you keep gravity in mind and then make it happen. Gravity plays a part in all sorts of animations, from falling to walking.
Make a Video of Real World
Another great approach you should follow is making a video of the real world. See the natural world and then animate your characters. After you’re completely done with your animations with the help of real-life inspirations, compare that animation with a real-life video.
This will help you see the differences and eradicate the errors from your video. Also, you can give the best-finishing touches by comparing your video with a real-life one. This approach will help you master your work and be your best. You can also make this a necessary process when doing your work, and you will see a significant change and improvement in your career.
Reactions
The reactions of the characters are also critical. How they respond to different things should be completely different. We see that in some animations, the characters always smile or smile with the same intensity or show no emotions to conversations or sensations.
If you’ve done with your animation, then you must check whether your characters are working and reacting correctly to the surroundings and actions. This is an essential thing, but most animators forget it, and then people find such mistakes that bring disgrace to the animator.
Stationary Movements
Some movements are done on stationary characters. Character animation doesn’t only mean that your character should walk, dance, wave, and smile. Some other animations come under this domain, such as changes in emotion, facial expressions, eyeball movements, and much more.
These movements give a realistic touch to the characters and help you get a better product overall. You should keep them in mind during the animation phase and take a second look at them during the quality assurance phase of your video.
Most Used Movements First
Most characters’ most used movements are walking, but it depends on the project. So, whatever the most used movements are, draw them first. This will help you to use them again in your animations. You can also use them as a base for other animations.
Conclusion
These are some of the best tips we gathered from our team’s most experienced and expert animators. If you’re a beginner and want to succeed in this field, these tips would be beneficial, and you can achieve ideal results by using these tips for character animation.
We at Animated Videos have the best animators on board, and we aim to keep bringing you exciting tips and tricks to help you in your journey. If you want the best 2D animation services, contact Animated Videos, as we provide the best services at the most affordable prices.
