As an animator it often find myself explaining to people is the fact that I rarely touch a pencil to draw for work. A vast majority of people just assume from the get go that any animator needs to be good at drawing. It’s a reasonable assumption since every one, of course, has the iconic images of the beautiful Disney classics and how they were hand drawn by the old masters.
The reality is, however, that as a 3D animator, drawing skills are absolutely not required. However, it is highly recommended to have at least basic drawing skills nonetheless.
Drawing is arguably the single most important secondary skill for any animator.
There are two sides to this question of course. It can be confusing to hear that it’s not required to know how to draw, yet everyone tells students that they highly recommend for everyone to draw at least a little bit.
Why is Drawing not a Requirement?
If you have ever looked at a 3D software and moved around a puppet, or even if you have only watched someone do it then you quickly came to realize that a digital puppet, in a 3D software, being posed and animated through the software does not need to be drawn by hand.
These days, there is a much higher variety of visual styles that can be achieved in 3D, that is why most directors choose to do it in CG and then there is, of course, the hyperrealistic animation that is done for today’s Visual Effects blockbusters that could never be achieved through traditional methods.
Today’s visual taste has basically surpassed the quality that hand drawn animation delivers.
With the 3D style, there are other skills that are much more important and become much more of a requirement to be a good 3D animator than drawing skills.
A Sense of movement and physicality is paramount. Being able to observe movement or being able to feel how your character’s weight should be shifting is much more important in the highly detailed work that is being done in today’s 3D animation and visual effects studios.
Observing and replicating tiny details and mannerisms and being able to apply them in a way that makes sense for that particular character is a true art in itself.
Timing all the different actions together so that it feels natural instead of rehearsed or choreographed along with creating a believable emotional performance based on who your character is and the situation he or she is in is what separates the truly great animators.
On my path through the largest Visual Effects studios in the world, i have encountered countless animators who couldn’t draw yet have crafted some of the most epic fight scenes on their own without putting a single sketch on paper.
Each artist’s process is different and for many in this industry, there are lots of other ways to achieve realistic motion, choreograph epic fights or craft genuine emotional performances.
Why should you learn to draw nonetheless?
While we now know that drawing is not a must have requirement as a 3D animator, it is nonetheless the most important skill animators at any level should be practicing. Here are just a few examples of why that is.
Training your eye and capturing an essence quickly
Especially in live or on location drawing artists learn to capture the essence of a pose or character quickly as their subjects are more often than not in constant motion or at least don’t hold poses for very long. This translates straight into assessing animation and spotting details in a character’s motion that might need smoothing, slowing down or speeding up.
Anatomy
Especially through life drawing exercises, an artist learns anatomy. Knowing how things work together and which muscle moves which body part is giving insights into what actions or poses might be physically possible and what does not make sense.
Posing
Drawing teaches how to pose a character for maximum appeal or how to make a pose more dynamic.
It also teaches about silhouette and how to tell a story nonverbally.
Weight
Drawing humans or animals ingrains a sense for weight into an artist’s subconscious. Be it to not lose balance in a pose as well as in estimating how long an action should take due to a character’s weight.
Aesthetics and thinking like an artist
Over time, artists learn to simplify their drawings. Suggesting forms and shapes and letting the observer’s brain fill in the blanks. Some artists might exaggerate or distort their work to evoke a feeling or convey a message. This way of thinking is the next step in an artist’s development. One’s work suddenly becomes more than just the study of a subject but it becomes a subjective expression of how this artist sees it.
Planning
Many animators quickly sketch out what they want to animate. It is much faster and less tedious than starting to work in the software straight away. Being able to quickly sketch out a sequence of drawings to explore posing, choreography or just to get a feel for the scene is increasing the efficiency of a modern animators workflow substantially.
There is an alternative to planning with sketches, however, Just as many animators choose to lock themselves in a room and record themselves performing what they imagine for the shot.
This is an extremely quick way of trying out thoughts as well as a great process to spark inspiration and quickly try it out. Especially for more realistic kinds of animation, this is just as valid a planning technique as sketching.
More opportunity
Animators who can draw are also creating more opportunities for themselves. Roles in storyboarding or previs are often coming up temporarily as part of pre production and if studios can fill those roles with animators instead of having to hire outsiders they don’t have to create a new position for this. These animators are then also able to roll back into animation afterward, already knowing the project and the director’s taste.
These artists are predestined for Lead and Supervising roles as their knowledge of the process is deeper than regular artists.
Many animators also prefer supervisors who know how to draw as they are then able to draw over one’s work to better visualize what they would like to see in a certain shot. Memories of Glen Kean drawing over shots in front of the whole Disney Animation team while working on Tangled comes to mind.
I remember vividly working with a great supervisor at Weta Digital who had a rare ability to draw improved poses at lightning speed over our work while we were working on Avengers: Infinity War. This helped so much capturing the unique exaggerated comic book style of posing the heroes.
The best drawing practices for animators
There are million ways to learn how to draw, but not all methods are the most efficient for animators. Drawing as a secondary skill needs to fulfill a purpose, so here is an overview of the most practically applicable exercises you yourself could start doing to improve your drawing skills.
Life Drawing
Easily the best thing to do.
In every major city, there should be tons of life drawing classes on offer. Uninstructed is perfectly fine.
Just make sure there is decent lighting that’s not too sterile and test out various locations to find the places that have the best models who pose creatively so you can really get challenged.
You will learn how to capture the essence of a pose quickly in short 30sec to 5min poses but also try to go for longer pose sessions up to 2-3 hours. That will teach you a whole new set of skills, light, and shadow among others.
Bargue copy. The Traditional French Academic Method.
Doing these extremely long, extremely detailed studies will teach you a whole new way of thinking about your subject. You will learn to intuitively measure shapes against each other. You will gain a whole new sense of proportion and you will truly learn how light and shadow work.
This is an extreme way of learning as it tests one’s patience to the extreme. It is, however, one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had on my artistic journey.
Sketching in public places
Get outside. To the mall, the beach, the airport. It doesn’t matter where you go. Just sit down and draw the people around you. This is a difficult exercise in capturing one pose while the subject is in motion. Done consistently, this is also the best way to train one’s eye to see details in animation that might be hidden to the untrained eye.
Take courses
If you want to take things to another level and get more serious, you can also take instructed courses online. Here are a few that could be of interest.
Samantha Youssef – Studio Technique
Samantha is a former Disney 2D animator and offers lovely online workshops. She is a talented artist and an excellent teacher. Her site is absolutely worth checking out.
CGMA – CG Master Academy
CGMA is the prime location when it comes to digital and traditional art. Their courses in any category of traditional art education are among the best the web has to offer.
Pluralsight
A Huge institution that covers lots of bases. A subscription there is absolutely worth it and also lets you train any other skill you might need on your journey to become a better animator.