- Pierre Alexandre
Tricks of the Trade GDC Notes

Tricks of the Trade
Jake Clark, Sophie Evans, Raul Ibarra, Sylvia Chong, Zack Wolfe, Melissa Shim (Animation Bootcamp)
**please acknowledge that those notes aren’t exactly representative of the speaker(s)’ presentation. I tried to stick to the slides as much as possible. Those notes are here to give you a first taste before the original presentation releases on internet**
JAKE CLARK
. Nail down your main poses ASAP (before creating the motion)
. Consider each individual elements (how every part of the character will move)
. Rough you poses light first (3D animators = pose quickly your characters, then refine their poses later)
. Keep your animation sincere (KISS)
. Contrast (poses, rythm…)
SOPHIE EVANS
. Make your workspace work for you (custom and efficient layout in the DCC)
. Cameras : composition, FOV, DOF…
. Lessons from yoga : go to the uncomfortable zone (at the intersection between painful and comfortable)
. Failure is OK, it helps you grow
RAUL IBARRA
. Break the common workflow if it’s not suited to you! (choose your path)
. Animate hips first
. Look at the stain (imagine character as a shape)
. Find your rythm : record your voice, shoot video reference, listen to a song…
SYLVIA CHONG
. Get comfortable with constraints
. Block faster by breaking the rules (be creative with how you use the rig)
. Speed up polishing by simulating secondary motion
. Work smarter not harder
ZACK WOLFE
. Plural skills is good : design + animation
. « Designing animations » : how can you optimize your workflow? (e.g. : re-usable animations between different characters)
. Collaborate with designers
. Use animation to create your design ( e.g. : use the 12 principles and apply them to a design craft)
. Animation is a visual language
. See it from a different perspective
MELISSA SHIM
. Networking can be awkward
. Have a reason to connect
. Be professional (don’t use Facebook)
. Know yourself and your audience (have clear goals)
. Be self-aware of your work (be kind to yourself)
. Do your researches (for your application)
. Always be learning (as for feedback)
. Don’t let failure get you down
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