Acting 101 - Acting in Animation

I once touched this subject back when I had my blog on my WIX site but since the move, I've been meaning to go back and touch on this subject in a more subjective type of manner.

Acting, it's the most important tool in movies, cartoons, video games, etc. But you have to start somewhere or another. The image above is part of an acting class which is the starting ground for people in the acting field. 

However, when I see acting represented in classes like this, my brain interprets as actual acting reserved for Live-Action movies. For acting in animation, it's different story. Acting in cartoons vary but 75% of the time they aren't the same as live-action. 

Cookie from Atlantis demonstrates the unrealism in cartoon acting and he's getting paid in lettuce for it.

The trouble is, we we're desensitized in thinking all acting is like that which is not true. I know some animators out there that say that the acting you see in cartoons and anime are not representative of either reality or live-action films. For example, you don't see anybody holding the stock I don't know pose in real life like you see in so many cartoons out there.

This pose has become too overused in the past 50 years and counting.

Anyway, I tend to prefer animation acting that's more or less tied to live action acting. And no, I don't mean rotoscope but actual live-action acting.

Live action acting is far more nuanced than your standard cartoon acting. Why is that? Because it's naturally tied to your body movements, your muscle structure, your emotions, everything. 

Very few animators get this. I've seen claims where people say they take inspiration from Live action via reference but when I see that reference, I see people acting if they were in a cartoon.

"Look Ma, I'm a cartoon character."

It's effective, but I only recommend this for body mechanics exercises. You want live-action acting in your animations, study the live action films, the acting principles, and the acting teachers said actors studied under. There's a reason acting classes have ice breakers, to understand the techniques you're learning from.

There's this book on Sanford Meisner that I read back in art school and I think it's a very good read. 

For those aspiring animators out there, instead of making your drawings or 3D rigs act like they're in a Disney movie, study the techniques from Meisner himself. Watch those live-action movies and get a sense of how different the acting is from those movies vs. animation or anime. 

So how to get this book? Go to your local bookstore, Goodwill, or even buy a copy from Amazon.

To those who want it digital, buying a PDF isn't hard.

I'll get into more about acting in the future but until then, keep your drawings and rigs tied to acting techniques from the great masterminds of acting like Sanford Meisner.