The Importance of the Internal Silhouette

When I work, personal or professional, especially in my first pass, I'm dealing with poses.

Having clear posing is vital to having an action or attitude being understood by the audience the first time they watch a piece of animation. Especially in visual effects, shots go by too quickly for any hint of confusion. In Maya, it's beneficial to turn off all the lights to see the silhouette of your creature or character and how well it reads. The problem with this method is that it doesn't take into account a character's internal silhouette, how contrast and shape within the character's outline make a pose readable.

If we only relied on the external silhouette we wouldn't get very naturalistic animation with arms always out and away from the body. Poses like this can and do work, obviously, but it shouldn't be the only way we assess a pose.

In order to combat this I came up with a script while I was working on Guardians of the Galaxy. It takes the low res proxy geo for a character, sorts it out into display layers based on the body part names (torso, leg, etc.) and then applies flat coloured shaders to those parts on a new render layer. I wish I could release this one to the public but naming conventions are impossible to predict from rig to rig, so I'll have to stick with the broad concept (though I am looking at ways to package this into a tool I can share).

This not only helps with internal silhouette visibility, but with what I was talking about last week; seeing your animation with fresh eyes. Because all of the body parts are wildly different colours it is that much easier to pick them out visually as the animation is playing. You can also use the display layers to focus on one thing, like hips and legs for instance, or just an arm. I use this all the time, and will some times work in this mode for hours despite its eye searing nature. 

It's important to note that this is just one tool in the toolbox. It works quite well with the lights off silhouette I mentioned earlier, and the flat shading from last week. It's especially important to avoid tunnel vision while working, as it could result in a character made up of separate parts that have no relation to one another. Nothing moves in complete isolation in the body and it is vital to remember the other parts even though they might be hidden.

Strong, effective posing is more than an outline. Being aware of internal shapes and how they relate to the external silhouette expands how an animator is able to communicate with the audience, making room for more nuanced and authentic performances.

Keep on keyframing!