The most difficult gig in animation

If I were to ask you,"what do you think the most DIFFICULT job in animation is?" What would you say?

Well lets touch on that for a sec. Now there are tons of jobs that people have that go into making an animated feature. I'd like to touch on the last 17 years of the traditionally animated feature.

So again, Aside from the director..what has been the most DIFFICULT job in the field of animation?

The most difficult job in animation in my opinion is/was ........The 'Inbetweener'.

That's right my lil poopies. The lowly, grunt known as the 'inbetweener'.

You say: "Handel! Your off your nut! The INBETWEENER??? Your a doofus! Your an imbecile of the highest degree!"

Nay say I. Here's is my reasoning. And just for the sake of clarity, lets just say inbetweener and cleanup in general with an emphasis on inbetweener.
1) The inbetweener....the GOOD inbetweener, HAS GOT to know how to draw. AND draw well. He has got to come to the table and know that it is NOT about tracing. It is about DRAWING and about the performance in the animation. He must not only draw really well, but he MUST know about all the mechanics of drawing. Such as line quality, and also on occasion line weight and thick and thins. He must know about charts, and how to read them and on occasion "interpret" them. He must be able to 'tap' into the style of the animator, and get every bit of emotion he can out of the roughs and bring them into the cleanups (of which he will hopefully have the benefit of a very experienced key cleanup person to follow up from).

He has to deal with not only the ego and high standards from a demanding supervising key (cleanup), but also the ego and high standards of a very demanding animator who has spent countless hours trying to get not only the acting and performance across but also DRAW the damn thing on model and with flair, who is also going to be watching how EVERY cleanup line is put down.

So ALL this along with the fact that inbetweening is so technical and mechanically tedious, not to mention that it is a thankless job, makes this one of the most difficult gigs in animation. And in my mind, one of the most important in traditional animation.

The most "important" you say Mr Handel? Yup. Here's why.
If you are watching an animated movie, and are engrossed in the 'story', and all of a sudden you get a drawing that flickers, or jumps or God forbid is even a hair off in thickness,, All of a sudden your audience is yanked out of the performance. It creates a mental speed bump that no matter how beautiful the animation, or how competent the story is....Your interrupted. Brought out of the illusion.
Imagine, that that small little 'smidge' of a line thickness that looks so minor on a sheet of paper..when its up on a big screen- bigger than life...that small 'smidge' is HUGE and noticeable and therefore.....speed bump.

rather important wouldn't you say? Of course.

So to you, Oh grunt inbetweener...I tip my hairpiece to you! For all the pressures that you take in and deal with. For all the ego's that you have to smile and put up with. For all the crap that comes with your thankless tasks. I DO thank you. At least the ones that give a damn.

NOW....

As for what I...Handel...consider the 'easiest' job in animation. (some of you are going to see this coming).

"Storyboarding".

Yup. NOW I KNOW WHAT YOUR THINKING!!!! Oh Handel is picking on us again!! Oh Handel is displaying is hatred of Board Artists again!!"
Let me stop you right there before you curl up in a fetal position and shiver in your own pee puddle.
Again, There is not ONE job...NOT ONE job that is 'easy' in animation. Each job, even the guy that tacks up and preps the boards for story guys, job is a difficult one. Each gig in the process of animation comes with its challenges and difficulties. And each one is to be respected.
But out of all of them....in my opinion, board artists have the 'easier' of all of the gigs. Because they DON'T have all the technical crap that everyone in PRODUCTION has to deal with.
In fact, when people ask me how they can get into the field of animation. I tell them to work their butts off. You know...all the usual stuff. But I also tell them that 'story' will have the least demands on them.

Here's why I say that. And lets just cover a few of the production gigs:

KEYS and Inbetweeners (as I said) have to know how to draw. They do. they have to adapt to the styles of both the animator and be under close scrutiny of the animator and key's (cleanup).
It has GOT to be on. They have to nail it. They have to be THINKING both MECHANICALLY (charts, line quality, etc) and ORGANICALLY (the animation and keeping the life in it).

ANIMATORS: Have to not only make the performance but also draw very well, and in different styles. Along with the typical things such as that, they must also in these days of technology, learn to animate with different tools...these days, the computer. So they need to learn the software to do that. Be it Maya, Max, Flash...whatever. And they have to learn it QUICK!
Quite frankly, for someone to have to go from traditional to 3d...it really is like learning to walk all over again! While all of the principals STILL apply, the rout to get to that can be totally different. I liken it to giving yourself a lobotomy and putting the left side of your brain in the spot that your right side was sittin. And placing your right side of your brain- where your left was sitting!

Some do fine, some not so fine and just hate it because it IS so different. I'm not sure but I think one of those that does not feel too comfortable with the 3d technique might be Eric Goldberg. Another is James Baxter. Its a different pair of feet! It really is.
As technology grows and changes, everyone must change and adapt to and with it.
Everyone except......storyboard artists.

That's riiiight. they aren't saddled with the need to learn any new software. Nor do they need to learn and change techniques to adapt to the changing tech. They still do the scribbles on paper.
Oh sure! They'll say; "HEY!! I just got myself a cintique (or a wacom tablet).
Nuh uhh. Ain't the same thing, Chelsea. And that would be so lame to even bring that up. You aren't needing to learn ANYTHING by getting a wacom other than to know how and where to plug in your usb.
So! When you add this fact to the fact that board artists do NOT have to even draw
1) On model:
They aren't expected to draw on model and to their defense on this, Its not important for them to draw on model (and they aren't called to draw on model), just as long as they draw clear and fast. So there isn't any pressures as far as that, that animators and key cleanups are faced with.
2) They aren't even expected to draw particularly well either, much less on model. Just fast and clear. Luckily many of them DO in fact draw very well, indeed. But there is not a pressure to do so.

In fact, they are subject to scrutiny really from the director only. One could say that an inbetweener is subject to scrutiny from the animator, key cleanup, AND Director. Therefore hearkening back to my first point as far as inbetweener being the most difficult gig.

I could go on, but I think that you get my point. So anyone looking for a gig in animation, you might want to consider what it is your looking for. Animation is great! But if you want something where you can just do the work and not have to worry about keeping current or learning the latest:
technique or software, or drawing on model or even drawing well, and just basically coast on some levels. You really might want to think about a position in story.
But be warned! It is NOT an easy position as there IS no easy positions in animation. But there is 'easier' and less demanding.

Storyboarding may be your ticket.