James Chiang Explains What Makes a Great Animator

The animator who brought you surfing penguins

Animator, Director and artist James "JC" Chiang has worked as an animator on many feature films including Robots, Ice Age - The Meltdown, Surf's Up and Open Season, and was animation director on the 2008 Veggie Tales movie. He teaches animation, and is a also an accomplished fine artist in his own right. We asked him to explain what, exactly, makes a great animator.

How did you get into animation?

JC: My career in animation started when I chose to leave my career in business to go back to art school. At the time, I still didn't know that much about animation as a career. When I realized I really wanted to draw for a living, I went to Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada, whose grueling program really sets your mind straight about the need for fundamentals and the importance of drawing. It's where I saw for the first time the really rough animation drawings by Glen Keane. It was incredibly inspiring.

Sheridan College, Toronto

Then of course, I started flipping the paper, and voila! Seeing the drawings come alive, by my own hands, that did it for me. I knew then, that I've made the right choice to study animation and become a professional. My experiences, which range from being a part of Disney, Lucas, Blue Sky and Sony, and later on, the opportunity to supervise/direct overseas, all stem from that first big decision.

Nude by James Chiang. Oil & canvas

What makes a great animator?

JC: A lot of things! But it really has a lot to do with the basics. And I mean profoundly basic things like passion, which is a real love and respect for the craft. Then, mastering the fundamentals, which requires a devotion to a sort of daily practice until it's all second nature - weight, timing, arcs, overlap, follow thru, lead & follow, etc. 

The Illusion of Life - the first book to set out The 12 Principles of Animation

Daily drawing and observation of life/reality/other art is also important - I've not seen too many animators that draw really well be poor animators. Another thing is being professional - such as being really organized with your work, being accountable to deadlines, and making solid presentations of your work to your superiors. In essence, it's about being really reliable. You don't want to stress out your supervisors/managers, you want to make their job easier. 

Another big thing is perseverance and patience. It takes a long time to become a good animator (never mind a great one!) There has to be a dedication to the craft beyond the job. Now, that doesn't mean animating all day and night, but rather, making sure your body and mind are healthy, and in the right mind set to accept and learn from criticism/mistakes, being prepared to make it through tough deadlines during crunch, or when times are slow, to keep working at your craft so that you're always getting better. This process of getting better happens a lot slower than many people would like. 

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work.

T Dan Hofstedt explains The Secret of Animation

T. Dan Hofstedt - animation supremo

My old friend and former kumrad at Disney animation, T Dan Hofsted, recently posted at Facebook a reply to a student asking how to become an animator. T Dan is one of the best animators I know, a veteran of countless Disney hits including The Lion King, Pocahontas, Hercules and Mulan, so he ought to know a thing or two about how to make it as an animator. Here is what he wrote:

"I recently received a letter from an aspiring animation student asking me how to become an animator. I have been asked this question many times over the years. I myself asked that very same question when I was first starting out, so I try to give back and offer some kind of guidance that will hopefully give them some insight.

I also get asked by friends and relatives who have a friend or son or niece or nephew or grandchild who shows some talent and interest in animation. Here is one answer...

T Dan brought Mr Arrow to life in Treasure Planet

"THE SECRET OF ANIMATION"

"There is no "secret formula" other than good old fashioned hard work and dedication. The more you do something, the better you will get.

Drawing is the foundation of all good animation, even if you are working mainly on a computer. Therefore, make a habit of carrying a sketchbook and drawing the world around you. People, pets, buildings, zoo animals, athletic events, dancers, bus riders, people in meetings, actors off the television, etc. Draw draw draw.

Getting the acting right. Photo: Wikipedia

How do I choose acting shots? There are so many possibilities, it is difficult to choose. But a simple contrast of emotions is a good place to start. A character going from happy to sad, or tired to awake, or from concerned to relieved, or from confident to scared. Anything that shows that the character is experiencing a change in emotion that the audience can believe and identify with has the potential to be a strong animation scene.

My last tip for you is what I used to tell all my students at Animation Mentor. I call it "The Secret of Animation."

What is animation? The word animation means to "give life" or "be alive," or as Frank & Ollie's famous book describes it, "The Illusion of Life." So, LIFE is at the core of what animation is. By definition, anything that is alive is animated, right? You, your family, your friends, your pets, the animals at the zoo, the grocer down the street are ANIMATED because they are living and breathing creatures. They possess life. So, the art of animation is to portray LIFE in the characters you draw or manipulate in the computer. Living creatures possess the ability to experience life around them through their 5 senses: Seeing, Hearing, Tasting, Touching and Smelling (you can add a 6th sense of inward intuition to the list). Only living creatures possess this ability to see, hear, taste, touch and smell.

The Five senses. Photo: Wikipedia

So, when you animate something, the only way to convince your audience that your characters are alive (truly animated) is to show them experiencing their world through their senses. If they see something, show them seeing something eye direction, attention to the object, etc. If they hear something, show them hearing something. If they taste something, show them tasting something. If they touch something or are being touched by something, show that clearly. And if they are smelling something, show them smelling something.

But that is only the start. After you show them experience their world through their senses, your character must then have a reaction to what their senses have just experienced. What they think and feel about what they are experiencing is the rest of the job.

This is the Secret of Animation. Only living creatures possess the ability to experience their world through their senses, and only living breathing conscious creatures can have reactions to what they experience. These reactions reveal their personality. And then you have a truly ANIMATED character.

Anything you put on your reel should be your best work, and anything that shows a character with convincing portrayal of life is a good scene, in my opinion.

So, good luck with it."


To see more of T Dan's excellent work, visit www.t-dan.com.  For practical advice on careers in digital media, read about what our graduates had to say at the recent Graduate Panel. Check out this post on how to set up an small business. Also learn about your first client project, read out our post on Portfolio Careers, and read this piece on Survival as a Freelancer. Study the nuts and bolts of freelance life by reading our guide to invoicing clients, and our guide to freelancers and taxes.  For more on careers in general, check out our guide to animation careers here, and also take a look at this map of digital studios - a great place to start your search for work in the business. Finally see our article on the jobs page at awn.com