Like Rob said Talent and most important of all Experiance.
From my understanding while going to school to create 3D game content most of the instructors say the motion capture isn't even used very often. Most companies that create good 3D animations such as pixar, have artist who understand and have experiance in using the basic principals of good old 2D animation. Then they transfer that knowledge into 3D animations. This is evident when comparing a movie such as ToyStory to Finding Nemo.
Motion capture is usually only good if you're doing a some sort of athletic game where you don't really have to exagerate the movement. Or if you have a really good actor who knows how to experess themselves very well.
But typically if you are doing something that is fictional or even sometimes non fictional you want to exagerate most of the charcters movements and gestures to communicate clearly with the viewer what is going.
What I would recommend takeing a look at a couple of books such as:
- Cartoon Animation, By: Preston Blair
Great book for startup animators such as myself. Teaches
basic concepts to traditional animation which still apply
to 3D animation
- Humans in Motion and Animals in Motion, by E. Muybridge
Contains live photos of humans and animals doing normal
motions such as walking, running, and jumping. Could be
used as an alternate to motion capture
- The Animator's Workbook by Tony White
Another good book if you're starting out with animation
by teaching 2D principals
- The Illusion of Life
An amazing book by Disney animators on the concepts of how
Disney animates their picture. A must have if you're
serious about animating.
I would look for these books at a local Libary to see which one suits your needs. Another option would be to buy them used. Ask most proffesional 2D and 3D animators and most would tell you that it's essential to learn the 2D aspects of animating before going on to 3D.
But if your short on time and need to get those models done I would recommed Searching the web or stopping by a Bookstore like Barnes & Nobel to check out there computer section. There look for books on animating in 3D and those should be pretty helpfull too.
From my understanding while going to school to create 3D game content most of the instructors say the motion capture isn't even used very often. Most companies that create good 3D animations such as pixar, have artist who understand and have experiance in using the basic principals of good old 2D animation. Then they transfer that knowledge into 3D animations. This is evident when comparing a movie such as ToyStory to Finding Nemo.
Motion capture is usually only good if you're doing a some sort of athletic game where you don't really have to exagerate the movement. Or if you have a really good actor who knows how to experess themselves very well.
But typically if you are doing something that is fictional or even sometimes non fictional you want to exagerate most of the charcters movements and gestures to communicate clearly with the viewer what is going.
What I would recommend takeing a look at a couple of books such as:
- Cartoon Animation, By: Preston Blair
Great book for startup animators such as myself. Teaches
basic concepts to traditional animation which still apply
to 3D animation
- Humans in Motion and Animals in Motion, by E. Muybridge
Contains live photos of humans and animals doing normal
motions such as walking, running, and jumping. Could be
used as an alternate to motion capture
- The Animator's Workbook by Tony White
Another good book if you're starting out with animation
by teaching 2D principals
- The Illusion of Life
An amazing book by Disney animators on the concepts of how
Disney animates their picture. A must have if you're
serious about animating.
I would look for these books at a local Libary to see which one suits your needs. Another option would be to buy them used. Ask most proffesional 2D and 3D animators and most would tell you that it's essential to learn the 2D aspects of animating before going on to 3D.
But if your short on time and need to get those models done I would recommed Searching the web or stopping by a Bookstore like Barnes & Nobel to check out there computer section. There look for books on animating in 3D and those should be pretty helpfull too.