In the blocking stage of my dialogue animation, I began implementing key elements drawn from my reference footage and feedback I received. One of the first considerations was character orientation—I kept the character facing the camera more directly, using a maximum of a ¾ angle. This was to ensure that the head and body didn’t shift too far to the side like they did in my reference, which made facial expressions harder to read. Since the character is speaking to someone just off-camera, it made sense to have the upper body turned toward the viewer, prioritizing clarity over realism.
Initially, I had considered having the character’s body turned away to reflect their perceived superiority, but I quickly realized that in 3D animation, visibility and silhouette are key. I also applied George’s general class feedback: avoid disconnecting facial and body movement. Instead, the head and face should move in relation to the body. I began incorporating subtle upper body movement that matched the character’s expressions and gestures, which George praised for enhancing expressiveness—something I’ll continue refining.
In terms of critique, George pointed out that animating the eyebrows as if they’re connected in a unified curved motion reads much better than moving each brow separately. When he demonstrated this on my animation, I agreed—it cleaned up the motion significantly. I’ll be implementing this across future work.
Another issue was the mouth shapes. I initially had them too flat, which made expressions look stiff. Raising the corners and shaping the mouth more like a semicircle helped improve clarity, even if it strays slightly from realism. I’ll also be focusing on placing the teeth more intentionally going forward.
For the eyes, I was leaving the lids slightly open even when “closed,” which left a pixel of white visible—something that actually disrupted the look more than I expected. I’ve since corrected this to allow the eyelids to fully close and meet in a clean arc. I also had the eyelids slightly overlapping the iris, which gave the character an unintended “drugged” look. While I was trying to portray a regal, detached expression with heavy eyelids, I now understand that I can still lower the lids for that effect without obscuring the iris.
I’ve also started syncing eyebrow movement with the eyelids—when the eyebrows raise, the upper lids should follow, and when they lower, the lids come down too. This adds a more natural skin-pulling effect.
Finally, I received positive feedback on how I animated the jaw—there’s a good amount of movement, which adds a lively, stylized touch to the character. George said it reminded him of King Julian from Madagascar, which I take as a compliment—DreamWorks nails personality-driven facial animation.
Overall, this blocking phase has taught me a lot about how small adjustments can make a massive difference in clarity, appeal, and character.