Could You Discuss Blocking Techniques?

I am a copied-pairs-blocking kinda animator. I never knew there was a name for this technique until I started mentoring at Animation Mentor! I am the first to admit that I have issues with switching between different types of tangents when I'm animating. :) I think animators with a classical animation background find blocking with stepped keys to be very intuitive, since that mimics closely how blocking animation traditionally would work. I think choosing a method for blocking has much to do with your sensibilities, and not as much with how other folks say you 'should' or 'shouldn't'. As with other facets of animating, every animator will find a way of working that makes sense for themselves.

My background is in performance...acting and dance. So for me, it's about creating motion, which in my view is perceptionally different from thinking about it as a series of still images (even though it is essentially just that). I tend to visualize my shot as a series of moves rather than a series of poses. When I'm blocking my shot, it is just as important for me to work out the timing of my main poses of course, but I find it much more intuitive to also see how the pose transitions are working right off the bat as well. So with copied pairs, I'm getting the pose timing happening, along with more fluid breakdowns going from one pose to another by using splined tangents rather than the stop-motion-on-fours feel that you get from blocking with stepped keys. You can definitely get a good sense of the timing from either method - it's really just a personal preference. And I find it much easier to go into adding more detail and developing the shot from that base rather than having to switch types of tangents after the initial blocking.

Guest Blogger Dana Boadway