One of the most important things about any project is the ability to save time. Perfectionists need to save time in order to improve their work. Directors should have the project in advance to review the work over and over again and handle any changes before the deadline. Large studies must be ahead of schedule.

So here comes the bummer. Who is responsible for delivering an animation on time? Well. Bad news. Your. Yes, you, the entertainer. The fate of humanity rests on your shoulders, think of yourself as a hero on a journey who needs a couple of tips to make the adventure more pleasant and short.

I HAVE A HIGH APM (Actions per minute)

To be faster at anything, you must have a way of measuring actions per minute. There are two ways to copy and paste anything in the virtual world. Navigate to the EDIT menu and select COPY, then move the mouse again to the EDIT menu and then click PASTE. Gold! You can press and hold the CTRL key on your keyboard (CMD on Mac), and quickly press “C” and then “V”. Right? Using your keyboard can get a higher APM than navigating through menus.

Use shortcuts! I’ve seen some pros navigate menus to get things done, it’s embarrassing. Believe it or not, just by using shortcuts I’m 20% faster than other animators. And that? Well, when I do freelance projects, clients hire me because they know that I deliver ahead of time, because even though we do the same things sharing the same process, I do it faster (using shortcuts).

Customize shortcuts. Some programs like After Effects don’t allow you to customize your shortcuts, but if you can, DO IT! The best keyboard profile is the one that handles your most used shortcuts close to your right hand. The less your right hand has to move from left to right on the keyboard, the better. This is why you should try to have all the main functions close by in your keyboard “mapping”. Some examples can be: CTRL + F, CTRL + G, CTRL + TAB, CTRL + SHIFT + W, SHIFT + 3, ALT + SHIFT + 3, etc. They are all very close.

Consider using a gaming keyboard, gaming mouse, or gaming keyboard. The one I recommend the most is the gaming keyboard (like the Razer Orbweaver or Logitech G13) because when the software doesn’t support customization of shortcuts, you can customize your keyboard to have all the main functions side by side, and better yet, Instead of pressing 3 keys (like CTRL + SHFT + P), you only press one key on your keyboard.

Automate using macros. You can do this if you have a gaming mouse, gaming keyboard, or gaming keyboard. A macro is a sequence of keystrokes that can be automated with a single press of a dedicated key on your keyboard. For example. On side effects

II. OPTIMIZE YOUR ANIMATION PROCESS

Optimizing means making the most of the resources at your disposal for your project. So the best way to approach your animation process is by handling the 2 most important things in any project. Your pipeline and initial keyframes

Optimized pipeline. The folder structure of all your files is vital to manage the project with ease. Have separate folders for your sounds, music, images, video references, characters, and project files (toon boom, after effects, etc.). In our studio, if we do a bit of motion graphics, we have them in a folder called AFTER EFFECTS, and the main project in a folder called TOON BOOM, then the animation edited in PREMIERE. So if any changes need to be made, we know what folder to look for, and if we need an audio file, we know exactly where to find it. All animation schools are teaching the importance of this, and not just because it looks cleaner and more beautiful, but because it works.

Set up key poses first, handle details later. Yes, yes, you want to impress your boss or your friends, with how expressive your characters can be. It’s best if you lock (pose your character) the important keyframes first, the starting position, the middle of the action, and the aftermath. And then add additional animation later.

III. USE GOOD EQUIPMENT (Avoid unreliable ones)

Using a good quality platform is essential, having to modify keyframes and poses only means that the platform is not good and wastes your time. A good platform allows you to be free and more creative, because you can make your character change his posture with ease, so your animation process is more dynamic. If you can’t create a good platform then either outsource (have someone do it for you) or use the platform just to get the key poses, then forget about the platform and handle the extra animation (like hands, tail, hair) manually.

A quick way to know if your team is good is to understand inverse kinematics and have it on your team. If you don’t know what inverse kinematics means, check out this video: http://vimeo.com/96444901

IV. RECYCLE WHAT YOU CAN

Recycle keyframes. Don’t waste time locking the character again, when the pose is very similar to a previously locked one, you can copy and paste keyframes and modify them. For example, if you have a fighter hit low and then need a high hit, copy and paste the pose and then modify it. You will have the correct hip rotation, foot position and you only need to modify the height position of the fist and perhaps the torso. That’s faster than having to block everything.

Recycle animations. I mean a keyframe sequence here. The most common example is the blinking of the eyes. Instead of opening and closing your eyes manually on the timeline, copy and paste keyframes into it. Another example would be a walk cycle – if you need the character to walk and do something with their hands, like command other characters, you can recycle the animation, but remove the keyframes from the torso, hands, and head, and animate. they. In this way, half the work is already done.

Use older animations for reference. Sometimes the timing is perfect and the animation curves (for interpolation) give you the smoothness you were looking for, but now, you are working on another project and you are having trouble, you just can’t figure out what you did. This is when a preview animation can serve as a reference. All you have to do is check the number of frames between keyframes, to get the correct timing and check the animation curves.

Instead of wasting time trying to achieve the same result, you can save time by getting the calculations correct when checking a previous project. Like the timing and interpolation of the keyframes of the legs in an Angry Walk cycle, in which each step was so energetic it made children laugh.