OUR FOLLOWERS ASKED SEZGIN ÖZTÜRK WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CHARACTER ANIMATION
Our followers asked what they want to know about character animation; Sezgin Öztürk, Anima School instructor and 3D animator, replied.
Here comes everything you need to know about the area, through Sezgin Öztürk’s answers…
Could you please tell us about yourself?
I was born in 1983. After graduating from Eskişehir Fine Arts High School, I started to study cartoon (animation) at Anadolu University. During my university years, I became interested in many different areas. I was fond of creating animation more than others, so I decided to enter the sector as a 3D animator.
What made you interested in this area?
In the 90s, we had a neighbor who was a doctor. Although he was a doctor, he was very good at drawing and he was also working with 3D programs. Thanks to him, I met 3D world for the first time. As time went on, I decided to choose suitable schools to become professional in this area.
What are your opinions on the sector?
The use of 3D is becoming more and more common each passing day. Students who decide to enter this field, have a chance to work in different areas, such as movies, ads, TV series and games. We even have many students who work for stock sites and make money from home. Especially in the last three years, the number of companies creating animations for YouTube has increased dearly. YouTube became a good opportunity for those who decide to enter this area.
What personality traits do you need to have to be a good animator?
In order to be a good animator, you need to love observing, to be disciplined and to have a constant desire to take your work to a higher level.
What department should you study in order to be successful in character animation?
When we observe our student profile for the last 6 years, we see many people that graduated from different departments, and decided to start their career as an animator. Of course it is important to study at university, but it is even more important to value your time at university and improve yourself consciously.
Do you prefer to use nHair for character hair, and nCloth for character clothes?
For hair, bristle and feather, Xgen offers great solutions. But if you want to work on something more advanced, Houdini may be a better choice. For clothing and Nsimulations, you can use nCloth.
How many stages does a character go through when it comes to rendering?
There are too many stages in a film pipeline. If we roughly put them in a line, we can say it goes like this: story - storyboard - animatic - layout - visual development (character design model, space designs) - riganimation - rendering - compositing. If you are going to create a project, you should follow these steps properly.
Can those who start from scratch be successful in this area?
Actually, starting with a clean page is a big advantage. When we observe our graduated students, we see that those who start from scratch improve faster than the others.
Which animators inspire you the most?
There are too many names… Glen Kean, Milt Kahl, Sergio Pablos and Carlos Baena are the main ones.
Do you suggest people to enter this sector? What are your suggestions?
Of course they should enter it. We need qualified employees in the sector. For the last two years, most of the experienced colleagues have expanded abroad. If you're good at what you do, you'll always be happy. This sector allows you to work as a freelance, and being a freelancer offers you an independent working atmosphere. The number of freelancers who solely work for foreign brands and projects, is also increasing each passing day.