how much does drawing play a role in the animation industry

# 1 02-04-2008 , 05:55 AM

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how much does drawing play a role in the animation industry

I've been doing my general studies for about a year now and am starting to lean towards the animation field again, since it was my main interest in highschool. I'm not the best drawer but I'm sure through classes I could become better, but as the title says, how much does drawing come into play in the professional field of animation? Thanks

Last edited by jbannick; 02-04-2008 at 05:59 AM.

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# 2 02-04-2008 , 08:13 AM

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If u wanna b a good animator, den u must have 2 think its layout first den it will be clear 2 u to animate it. layout means the rough sketch of everything in action. it will make ur vision clear n u can fix almost all of the problems previously . bt if u won't have the layout den u might get confused with wht u want n hw u animate. in sum cases u cn also face problems with the type of animation u want . so the layout solves ur problem with animation n camera layout. n for the layout u should b atleast an O.K. sketch artist.
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hope it is clear 4 u now.
:bow: thnx

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# 3 02-04-2008 , 08:30 AM

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i agree but disagree at the same time cause i know enough people who draw carppy on paper but then open up photoshop or even ms paint and they're like... gods

depends on how you think of "sketching" i guess user added image

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# 4 02-04-2008 , 11:53 AM

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frankly its essential, the difference between people who can draw / understand visual language is phenomenal.

Its like asking if its a good idea to know how to mix cement if your a builder.

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# 5 02-04-2008 , 11:55 AM

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Originally posted by LauriePriest
frankly its essential, the difference between people who can draw / understand visual language is phenomenal.

Its like asking if its a good idea to know how to mix cement if your a builder.

Originally Posted by

lol i wish i thought of that answer...

BUT... the guys i know that can draw have never done any better with maya or lightwave than the guys who could photoshop user added image

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# 6 02-04-2008 , 01:26 PM

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i have to agree with LauriePriest.

i just don't think photoshop or maya or any art software is going to hide your lack of drawing ability. i see plenty of fully realised models that just look crappy when you start to really look at them.

having said that though, i've also seen some pretty shoddy art work in both games and film, so i don't think it's essential to get a job.

i also don't think though, that to be good at drawing means that you have to be making perfectly anatomically accurate drawings. in fact, i see lots of people who spend all their time trying to do that and yet their artwork just looks stiff and dead to me.

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# 7 02-04-2008 , 01:54 PM

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I wouldent say essential to be a good drawer.

Its an advantage and a time saver, you see some great sketches that end up well. not being too good in the end, and pretty poor sketches that end up being great models. As long as youve got good ref and understand the form your going for, then thats enough.

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# 8 02-04-2008 , 04:50 PM

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Arran-

I can not believe you gave the answer that you gave to him, Oh My God dude why not just say too him "just give up" and learn none of the things the employers do look for when hiring.

Good draftsmanship is always the key, in helping your skill set when learning Modeling software, I can not believe you said what you did, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Arran walk into Dream Works with an attitude like that and lets see how far you get, Oh my God!! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Thanks

Savnac :headbang: :attn: :headbang:

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# 9 02-04-2008 , 05:28 PM

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er - i'm not sure you understood me. i'm not saying that you shouldn't attempt to be as good as you want to be. all i'm saying is, you see plenty of crappy art, (whether it's painting, 3d, music, cooking, tv, whatever) wherever you look, so obviously someone is getting paid to make crappy art. and in any case it's all a question of taste.

and no i don't think good draftsmanship is always the key. something might look like it's 'bad', yet still be successful. i think south park is much better animation/art than half the stuff i see pretending to be.

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# 10 02-04-2008 , 06:18 PM

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Arran-

You sound very angry, please forgive my response to this thread. It's just that the way you answered him, you made it sound like , just do not rely on good drawing skills to get you through.

Again, I would challenge you to go to DreamWorks or any of the major studios with that way of thinking and see how far you get. Dude I work in the indusrty, and I was on t he board judging what was considered a good artist to hire or not so dude watch what you say to people whom my take your advice on what to do or not.

Just a friendly suggestion,

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# 11 02-04-2008 , 07:10 PM

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angry?? whatever. thanks for the advice. user added image

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# 12 02-04-2008 , 11:34 PM

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if you're into hiring why don't you tell us exaclty what you and the rest of the industry hire based on and for what positions?
Because I've spoken to a lot of people at various companies in my area and while they all believe you can turn any good artists into a 3d artist, it is not a skill that they hire for.
If they are looking for concept art, or traditional hand drawn stuff yeah they go for the natural artist.
But for hiring a 3d modeler position they say that they would take someone who may not have the drawing skills but show that they understand how things work and can model them and demonstrate that ability rather well.

Many people can grasp the concepts of art but cannot practice them in your traditional pen and paper format. I think it is silly this day in age to say that someone who can't draw won't get a job at pixar or dreamworks because of the fact they can't draw.

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# 13 03-04-2008 , 12:05 AM

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Alexander-

His drawing skills are very important, regarding the long run. Again on the review board that I was a part of, we looked for guys that show a strong draftsmanship in Anatomy, Layout and Scene Planing, and a few other things.

As for what Arran said to that young artist, I felt that we show encourage him to continue perfecting his drawing abilities, because believe me he will need it in this field.

Never be a one trick pony, show the employer that there's more too your skill set, so that when there 18 of you standing in line for employment, he or she would stand out and may land a good position.

Yes you can learn how to model, however!!!!! you need a foundation in drawing in 2d and visualizing in 3D as well to execute the process.

I would love to see if Arran would try and go too one of the company that I mention and apply for a position.

I bet you that they will request to see his drawing to see what level of an artist that he might fit into or not, Arran this is just an example ok,,, but anyways drawing skills should never take the back seat to the 3D phase, it will come in handy, in regards communicating to a team of skill draftsmen, I promise you.

Savnac:bow:

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# 14 03-04-2008 , 02:00 AM

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Originally posted by Savnac
Arran-

I can not believe you gave the answer that you gave to him, Oh My God dude why not just say too him "just give up" and learn none of the things the employers do look for when hiring.

Good draftsmanship is always the key, in helping your skill set when learning Modeling software, I can not believe you said what you did, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Arran walk into Dream Works with an attitude like that and lets see how far you get, Oh my God!! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Originally Posted by

First of all, full disclosure- Iâ€™m a friend of arranâ€™s and not savnac, so let my bias be known. I almost never post but reading this couldnâ€™t resist. Having said that, I think you, not arran, come off as the angry one- hostile, even. Were all those â€œha ha haâ€s and â€œoh my god"s really necessary?

I donâ€™t read what arran said as being negative. I think he is saying that there are a lot of different ways to make it into the industry- you donâ€™t have to be a perfect draftsperson or know every corner of maya. A combination of skills is required and there are lots of different positions to fill. And like in any industry there are varying levels of achievement- not everyone can work for dreamworks, but that doesnâ€™t mean you canâ€™t get a job. I donâ€™t see him say anywhere that you shouldnâ€™t try to be the best you can at what you do. That seems like a realistic and encouraging thing to say to someone who is trying to get started.

So since you are such the proponent of excellence in draftsmanship I wanted to see your work. But when I looked you up all I found were posts requesting tutorials. Search for arran and you will find nothing but models that evidence his ability to draw. Hmm. How ironic. And isnâ€™t it interesting how you went from being in charge of hiring to being on a board with something to do with hiring, like, once?

Thanks for the laugh, savnac.
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Last edited by luckycat; 03-04-2008 at 02:22 AM.

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# 15 03-04-2008 , 02:13 AM

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I'm going to have to agree with luckycat.

I will also say that I don't think drawing is important but understanding it is. Some people just can't work a pencil and paper to make their vision. I can't draw a dog to save my life but I could model a dog with better detail and realism.

Being able to draw will also be helpful... all depends on where you're going. There doesn't seem to be much of a right or wrong answer, just personal opinions basically.

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how much does drawing play a role in the animation industry

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