I'm finding it hard to think of animation ideas to do. I see some many cool animations whether they are exercises, tests or showreel peices and I just wonder where you get your inspirations, ideas from?
I'm doing a write-up my my thought process from taking a scene from idea to final. Here's a rough excerpt:
First brain storm ideas-
Write down any ideas you have, even if
you don't think you'll follow through with it.
If you're having trouble coming up with
ideas-
Find different rigs that are
available. Looking at a character can get you in a different frame of
mind. Animator's Resource Kit is a good place to start.
Look at reference. This can be anything.
Movies, books, toys, objects, life experiences. Ideas are everywhere.
Context- What emotion are you aiming
for? Serious, funny, ecstatic. Think of a verb or adverb and try to
fit your idea into that.
What do you want to make up the scene?
Single character, multiple characters, props, environments.
There's a video on YouTube by Bloop Animation where he lists a number of exercises that he says can boost your demo reel. I've done a few of them myself.
Dialogue
Dog walk/run
Man hits ball with bat
Juggling
Throwing knives
Fight
Flower sack animation
Enjoying/Not enjoying food
Sword fight
Man on a pogo stick
Diving board
Expression changes
Laughter
Underwater
A bird flying
Lifting something heavy
They don't have to be done in any particular order. Just pick you one you think might be fun and have a go!!
I would add observation, probably the foundation for everything else. Observe everything, everywhere you go, everything you watch. How someone carries their shoulder when walking, browsing groceries, stand in the checkout line, walk their dog, order coffee. How the cashier hands you receipt, react to customers,. How an actor runs in a movie, how a background character walks through a shot.
when you come up with ideas, you don't pull them out of nothing. You rely on visual memory you've built up through observation. The more expansive your visual memory database is, the better ideas you'll be able to generate.
Recall that "gorilla" experiement, 50% people don't notice the gorilla walking through the basketball player. Train yourself to notice the gorilla.
Replies
First brain storm ideas-
Write down any ideas you have, even if you don't think you'll follow through with it.
If you're having trouble coming up with ideas-
Find different rigs that are available. Looking at a character can get you in a different frame of mind. Animator's Resource Kit is a good place to start.
Look at reference. This can be anything. Movies, books, toys, objects, life experiences. Ideas are everywhere.
Context- What emotion are you aiming for? Serious, funny, ecstatic. Think of a verb or adverb and try to fit your idea into that.
What do you want to make up the scene? Single character, multiple characters, props, environments.
They don't have to be done in any particular order. Just pick you one you think might be fun and have a go!!
I would add observation, probably the foundation for everything else. Observe everything, everywhere you go, everything you watch. How someone carries their shoulder when walking, browsing groceries, stand in the checkout line, walk their dog, order coffee. How the cashier hands you receipt, react to customers,. How an actor runs in a movie, how a background character walks through a shot.
when you come up with ideas, you don't pull them out of nothing. You rely on visual memory you've built up through observation. The more expansive your visual memory database is, the better ideas you'll be able to generate.
Recall that "gorilla" experiement, 50% people don't notice the gorilla walking through the basketball player. Train yourself to notice the gorilla.