Creativity

So what motivated my posting of Jan's email in my last entry? Well, since beginning my career as an animator, I have become acutely aware that we involved in computer animation are sometimes a bit too concerned with the techie elements at the expense of the creative side of things. I include myself in this statement, for it is all to easy to let the computer influence a piece of animation as it develops. Jan's advice to think first as an animator, then a story-teller and THEN a computer animator is a very sound philosophy, and indicative of a common Pixar sentiment, but is still very hard to apply when confronted with the demands of production.

It is possible to be these creatives though, and just takes a bit of resolve. Upon receipt of the assignment, whatever it may be, the temptation is to get clicking away, but why not take some time to sit with a bit of paper and plan out what you want to achieve? That's what I do, and it actually helps me to keep things clear when I get to pushing buttons. I also try to ask myself questions about the nature and motivation behind the piece, and then aim to answer these questions through the work. Doing these two things really can make a difference. For if you know what you are going for, then you'll be much less likely to accept something the computer can offer you.