Some handy tricks from Mike Walling

Last semester I've had a very detailed conversation with one campus mentor Mike Walling. He gave me some really dandy tricks and I thought it would be useful for the other students to share them.




Hey Gianmichele!

Sorry for not getting back to you until now. I never get e-mail at my animationmentor address so I never check it. I guess I better start checking it more often. Thanks for the comments. I'm glad I was able to help some. Yeah hitting walls is a challenge when using the blocking method. You have to put more time and energy into making it flow and feel natural. One thing that helps me and those around me is to shoot footage of myself doing the action. There is always going to be subtle movements in your torso and head that you may not be aware of. Especially if you are doing a dialouge piece. If you have any kind of attitude in your performance your going to have rythum in your body that is hard to come up with on your own. Your might want to look at some of the pixar films and really look at some of the better shots for example. You will be able to look at the shot and try and figure out where the poses are, how they are getting from pose to pose and mostly what they are doing once they get there so that it doesn't look like it's hitting walls; or as I call it pose to pose looking. I think it's also a mind set that you have to get past. It's easy to block out the poses and then spline them, but it's another thing to do those same poses and then be able to look at those poses as just moments in an action and not necessarily the pose as a destination. Anyway I hope that helps some. Most of the problems your having will impove with time because you are developing your eye as you do this stuff. I guarantee that when you look back at your stuff in 5 years you will be amazed, so make sure you keep all of your stuff around for reference to the past. I hope we will talk again! Keep it up! I think what you guys are doing is awsome and you will reap the benefits.

Cheers!

-Mike