誰非過客‧花是主人: 【AM T&T】決定動畫師的優劣要素？(Ⅲ) 天賦篇

Of course, we don't like to use the term "bad" in reference to animators, though we can all point to badly animated shots.

當然，我們不喜歡用「差勁」這樣的詞彙來形容動畫師，但我們卻都能指出哪些是糟糕的動畫。

Animation is both a technical and an artistic endeavor, and there are plenty of opportunities to fail in both those areas. The technical stuff is more academic and is based on real physics, and is therefore more easily taught and learned.

動畫是技術與藝術共同努力下的產物，然而你卻很可能兩塊領域都同時搞砸。技術部分偏學術，根據真實的物理現象來呈現，因此比較容易學習與傳授。

I'm relatively confident that you can teach anyone to animate basic physics, assuming they have the will to learn and at least an average intelligence. More complex body mechanics will take a stronger, more analytical mind and good observational skills. Acting and design are much more subjective, and they form the great divide.

我可以相對有把握地說，如果有人有心想學，而且有平均程度的智商，你能教會任何人動畫的基本物理法則。但是，更複雜的身體力學則需要更具分析思維的腦袋與更細膩的觀察力。動作的安排與設計非常的主觀，但這通常也是一部作品是好是壞的重要分水嶺。

The artistic side of animation is much harder to teach, because it can be hard to quantify. We know what we like, but how do we arrive there? Where does training end and talent begin?

動畫的藝術性非常難教導，因為這部分很難被量化。我們知道我們喜歡什麼，但我們未必都能好好表現出來。從哪開始是基礎培訓不再有用，需要發揮天分的時候？

I don't think that everyone has the capacity to be a great animator.

我不認為人人都能成為優秀的動畫師。

You can teach people about design principles, acting theory, storytelling conventions and staging, and they will improve to a degree, but there comes a point where a certain amount of natural ability is required. You have to have good acting instincts, you have to have a natural sense of timing, and you have to know how to entertain and audience.

你可以傳授別人設計法則、表演理論、敘事慣例、場面調度，而且他們也能達到一定水準，但重點來了，我們還是需要一些與生俱來的直覺能力。你必須有好的表演天性，你必須有天生的時間掌握(Timing)能力，你還必須知道如何讓觀眾開心。

I think "good" animators have an innate knack for performance and creating appealing poses and actions. A "bad" animator either hasn't learned enough to reach his or her potential yet, or just doesn't have that natural talent to rise above mediocrity.

我想，「好」的動畫師對於表演、創作引人注目的動作姿勢等，具有與生俱來的本領。至於一個「不好」的動畫師，要不是學的還不夠到足以開發自身潛力，不然就是他們根本沒那樣的天賦，能夠讓他們從庸碌人海中脫穎而出。

Comments

Q&A問與答

Good points, Frank and Dhar.

Frank and Dhar兩位讀者提出一些很好的觀點。

I should also have mentioned that talent alone does not make you a great animator either. Talent without discipline and hard work wont take you far. You definitely need to work to develop your acting and entertainment instincts, however strong they may naturally be.

我應該也要提到，空有天賦也無法讓人成為了不起的動畫師。缺乏紀律與努力的天賦不會讓你走得太遠。不管你的天賦有多厲害，你絕對還是需要努力工作來提升你的表演與娛樂直覺。

As a matter of example (so I hopeful don't sound like an elite jerk in this post): my animation has improved a lot over the past 10 years, through practice and observation, and the more I learn the more I realize I have a lot more to learn.

舉個例(我希望我的文章不會讓我看起來像是個菁英主義的渾蛋)：透過練習與觀察，我的動畫技巧在過去十年有很大的進步，我愈學愈知道自己的不足，還有很多要學習的地方。

But no matter how hard I work at it, I know I will NEVER be as great an animator as Doug Sweetland (or some of the other fantastic animators at Pixar). He has a certain inborn genius that can't be taught or learned.

但不管我怎麼努力，我知道我永遠不會成為一位偉大的動畫師，像是：DougSweetland或是一些在PIXAR的動畫大師。他們擁有天生的資質，這方面是無法教導或學來的。

You can choose to see this situation as inspiring or frustrating. For me, it's a little of both! Mostly I just enjoy what I'm doing and look forward to learning more.

你可以選擇要怎麼看待這樣的事情，覺得受到鼓舞或是灰心喪氣。對我來說，兩者兼具！大多時候，我只是對我所做的事情樂在其中，並期待學到更多。