the easiest thing to animate
over my years as an animator, and enjoying other artists' animations, there's one thing i've learned is really easy to animate, whether you're a beginner or a pro. and no, it's not a bouncing ball.
it's fish.
yeah, that's right. fish! if you can take a basic shape, add a triangle-shaped tail and a dot for an eye, move it around, and call it a fish, who's going to argue? fish are even easier to animate in CGI; probably the easiest animals to animate in CGI, since they're one of the few animals where you don't have to animate walk cycles. why else were there so many 3D aquarium screensavers? just drag the model around and make it wiggle, and boom! fish animation!
so uh, to any aspiring animators out there: add fish to your list of "first things to learn how to animate". and have fun!
now, speaking of fish, i'd also like to take a crack at an end-of-post pet photo. everyone, meet Sebastian! he's looking forward to getting to know you all. :)
