This week’s lecture focused on creature animation and the importance of observation before starting production. One of the most valuable lessons for me was understanding that animation should begin with research and reference gathering rather than immediately opening Maya. The lecture highlighted the importance of studying movement, locomotion, anatomy, and behaviour before creating animation. This made me reflect on my own workflow, as I sometimes focus too quickly on animation production without fully analysing how a character or creature moves. I realised that strong animation is built on careful observation, and that understanding the logic behind movement is just as important as the animation itself.

Alongside the lecture, I continued developing my Dialogue Shot Blocking Plus assignment. Based on feedback from the previous dialogue exercise, I decided to re-record my live-action reference. This time, I intentionally pushed the acting further by making the performance more exaggerated and cartoony, while also adjusting the camera angle to create a stronger composition. The difference was immediately noticeable. The new reference felt much more dynamic and expressive, and the resulting animation communicated the character’s emotions more clearly. This experience helped me understand that animation often requires stronger poses and clearer acting choices than those found in everyday life.

Compared to my previous dialogue assignment, I felt much more confident during the blocking stage. Having already gone through the process once, I had a better understanding of where key poses should be placed and which moments were most important for communicating the character’s intentions. Rather than adding keyframes mechanically, I started thinking more carefully about the purpose of each pose and how it contributed to the overall performance. As a result, I became more willing to make bold choices with timing, posing, and facial expressions.

Overall, this week reinforced the importance of preparation and performance design. I learned that stronger references lead to stronger animation, and that successful blocking is not just about creating movement but about communicating emotion, intention, and character through clear performance choices.