(The following post is my attempt to write about working on the last film I worked on without actually writing about the last film I worked on because I legally could not blog about it.  We’ll see how it goes…)

I’m going to tell you the secret of being a great animator.

And you only have to do one thing.

Animate.

That’s it.

Having been lucky enough to work around James Baxter for a number of years (someone who I consider to be the greatest living animator around), I can tell you that that is his ultimate weapon.

He doesn’t check emails.  He doesn’t compulsively surf YouTube.  He doesn’t keep a blog.  He doesn’t read blogs.  He doesn’t watch TV or eat or sleep or do anything that resembles a sane modern life.

All he does is animate.

And that’s all you have to do.

You don’t have to come up with new words to describe basic animation concepts like Settles or Moving Holds.  You don’t need to analyze old animation.  You don’t need to go to acting school or write long biographies about what your character’s favorite food to eat is.

And you shouldn’t try to prove to everyone how good an animator you are when you are actually animating.

The one thing that makes James stand out from everyone else I’ve ever worked with is that he animates from the perspective of not trying to prove himself to others.  There are no rules as far as he is concerned.  He just makes the scene look cool.

So what should you do with your scene?

You should simply be truthful to the character and make it look really really sweet.