誰非過客‧花是主人: 【AM T&T】決定動畫師的優劣要素？(Ⅱ) 態度篇

There are a lot of things that separate a good animator and a bad animator.

已經有太多方法可以區別動畫師的優劣了。

I will skip the obvious things like talent, speed, good mechanics, fundamentals, etc. There are a lot of animators out there that have all of those qualities.

所以，我們撇開像是天份、效率、正確的力學觀念、動畫基本法則這些明顯的因素不談，因為我知道很多動畫師都能達到上述提及的水準。(編按：我覺得光是達到這個水準，在台灣都可謂鳳毛麟角，起碼閣主我還有很長很長的路要學習與經驗)

I know for me, two things that inspire me are an animator's attention to detail and creativity. Of course, all shots have to tell the story, sell the emotion, have good body mechanics, timing, weight, etc. What is unfortunate is that a lot of times a shot will have all of those elements, and then the animator will consider it done. I've been guilty of it myself.

但是，對我來說，還有兩件事是我特別看重的，那就是動畫師對細節的堅持和表演上的創意。當然，所有的鏡頭都是在說故事、抒發情感、表現出適當的身體力學、時間節奏與重量感等等基本條件，可惜的是，很多時候，動畫師往往認為鏡頭只要擁有這些條件，工作就算完成了，我自己則是對這樣的做事態度很有罪惡感。

A good animator will work his shots until they are good enough to be in the film. A great animator will take it that extra 5 percent past what is required and make it amazing.

優秀的動畫師會在他的鏡頭上持續努力，直到影片中呈現的畫面達到要求的水準；而真正偉大的動畫師則會精益求精，他會努力的想辦法使作品達到105分，超越過去的100分，要觀眾為之驚艷。

Feet don't land square to the floor most of the time, and fingers don't grab an object and then stop moving. Eye lids are constantly reacting to what is happening in the eyes, and the face has so many ticks and tiny oddities that it is overwhelming.

優秀動畫師手中的角色會有幾個特點：他們的腳不會死板板地一直黏在地上，他們的手指不因抓到物品而停下動作，他們的眼皮會不斷隨著眼睛所見而有所反應，他們的臉上不時會有小抽搐等細微的表情變化。

The animators that blow me away always seem to take the time to add the small imperfections that make a shot feel real. Sometimes there are small details that you feel more than you see. However, if they weren't there it wouldn't feel nearly as sweet.

那些讓我佩服的五體投地的動畫師，他們似乎總有時間在鏡頭中加入些小小的瑕疵(imperfections)，讓整個畫面看起來更真實。有些時候，這些小細節你未必能一眼瞧出，但是你能感受到它帶來的影響。畢竟，如果沒有這些細節，影片就不可能那樣的觸動人心。

The other thing that really gets me pumped about a shot is an acting choice that I would never have thought of. Some animators are able to come up with ways of expressing an emotion or an idea that are wildly original but seem to not be out of place for the character. It is very obvious in those moments that the animator put in the effort to avoid the cliches and brainstormed until they had something special.

除了上面提到的細節，另一個會讓我感到興奮莫名的點，就是動畫師設計出了一個我想都沒想過的動作或表情。有些動畫師就是有辦法想出各種方法來表達情感，或是冒出一些天馬行空的原創想法，而且很適合角色，讓你覺得值得一試。影片中有些時刻你會很明顯感受到，動畫師努力的想避免陳腔濫調，他們絞盡腦汁，直到有些特別的點子出現。

So, I guess I could sum up my view of a good animator as someone who has all of the skills but also takes real pride in their work. They aren't just trying to get their shots approved by the director, and they aren't running with the first idea that will work. They are not just trying to get four seconds of footage into the film. They are trying to create four seconds of inspired animation that will help elevate the film.

所以，我猜我可以總結我對動畫師孰優孰劣的看法了：優秀的動畫師不僅要擁有必需的技巧，還要真心對自己的作品感到驕傲。他們不只想通過導演那一關，或是直接採用第一個可行的方案。他們不只是完成影片裡的四秒鐘，他們是想要創造能提升影片層次的四秒鐘，激發觀眾的想像力。

I've seen animators that have been in the industry for many, many years and still labor over their shots that way. I am hoping that I can end up being one of them even after I've been doing this for a few decades.

我看過一些待在業界很多很多年的動畫師，他們仍然用這種煞費苦心的態度來創作。我希望即使經過了數十年，我仍不改其志，最終達到與這些前輩們同樣的境界。

Comments

(編按：以下是作者Q&A的部分，很精彩所以就順手翻了)

It's true that in animation, just like every other field, there will be some people that just view it as a way to pay the bills. In my experience that isn't usually the case. You will definitely find different levels of effort, but nearly all animators want any work with their name on it to be good. Animation is just way to challenging to do if you don't love it.
沒錯，跟各行各業一樣，一定會有人做動畫只為了混口飯吃。不過，我的經驗是這種情形並不常見。你一定會發現，儘管大家的企圖心不盡相同，但是幾乎所有的動畫師都希望參與的作品是部傑作。如果你不熱愛動畫，那麼幹這行只是在折磨自己。

One of the more common scenarios is working on a production that doesn't have the time or the budget for animators to really polish their work to the level they would like. If a job requires you to produce 20 seconds of animation per week, there just isn't enough time to make it spectacular.

更常見的一種狀況是案子很趕，或者預算不足，導致動畫師根本來不及將動畫做到心目中的盡善盡美。假如一個工作是需要你每個禮拜生產20秒的動畫，那麼你絕對不夠時間來讓表演精彩。(編按：這不是你的錯)

Many animators will have to face the situation of hitting deadlines at the cost of quality, which can be painful as an artist. The jobs that really allow the time to do high quality work are a definite luxury. Those of us (myself included) that are fortunate enough to be in such a position should definitely be grateful.
很多動畫師一定會面臨一種狀況：降低品質以求準時完成，這是非常令人難以接受的事，尤其是我們常常以藝術家自居。那些允許你有時間做高品質動畫的工作絕對是奢侈的享受，有些動畫師(包括我在內)非常幸運的能參與其中，我們會好好惜福並且心存感激。

Keep setting those keys and keep that passion alive!!

繼續做動畫！別讓你的熱情熄滅了！