2D Effects

Some of my favorite jobs are 2D.  After all I got my start 20 years ago as a traditional animator (Well, if we're picking straws, as a studio runner and line tester) The point is, I always come back to 2D animation if I can and I've done a lot of special effects work especially during my time at Elliott Animation working with Darren, Mike and Ray. Here are a couple examples of my 2D work, almost all of this was done in Flash.

My contribution to this Glassworks Cuvee spot is the 2D animation of the logo growth and reveal in the final shot.

Sayaveth Says:

About planning: You can also talk also about the people who film themselves, I think it really helps and builds your mind (to imagine better, later, what you want to do. like, a film in your head).

About TV: For a TV series I think it s REALLY important to have a personal schedule with the daily quota, deadlines and buffer.  I don’t start my shots without knowing what has to be done per day and thanks to that, I never have bad surprises. It is also important to go through all your shots first, to find the hard shots and give them more time than just the quota.

About Chris’ personal animation spreadsheet:  Yellow is what I sent for approvals, blue is wip, red is DL and you can see I am 1 day ahead and have 2 days buffer time. Thanks to what you also say: speed at the start of the production, then take it easy at the end when others have to come in on week ends

I schedule 3 whole days completely for the retakes. Others don’t and have to do new shots and retakes at the same time. Result is that retakes are not all done and they are behind schedule  Btw on the schedule i sent you, it s based on a 200 fr/day quota.

About maximizing your efficiency: Also, as you progress, check the other animators shots and see what has been approved. in TV series production, you want to be in "less is better" mode. So find out what the director likes and keep it to the minimum if you have no time. You work for approvals in these conditions

Chris Sayaveth is a critically acclaimed animator at OLM Digital, Tokyo.