View source for Blocking (animation)

{{Short description|Animation technique}}
{{refimprove|date=September 2020}}
'''Blocking''' is an [[animation]] technique in which key [[Pose (computer vision)|poses]] are created to establish timing and placement of characters and [[Theatrical property|prop]]s in a given scene or shot.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://animatorschecklist.com/glossary-o-los-terminos-mas-usados-en-animacion-3d/|title={{!}} GLOSSARY or the most used terms in 3D animation|date=21 March 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-28}}</ref> This technique is most commonly used in [[3D computer graphics|3D]] [[computer animation]], where it is sometimes referred to as ''Stepped animation''.

Blocking is often the first step in the [[Pose to pose animation|pose-to-pose]] style of animating, as opposed to the [[Straight ahead animation|straight-ahead style of animation]] (though it sometimes plays a role in straight-ahead as well). Blocking poses are not necessarily exclusively [[keyframe]]s. Blocked-in poses may also include important in-betweens, extremes, and breakdowns necessary to establishing the flow and timing of a particular shot.

In 3D, the animation curves of a blocked shot are often created using "stepped" or "square" tangencies, which provides no [[Interpolation (computer graphics)|interpolation]] between animation poses. This allows the animator to see the poses of the animation without any strange and/or unintentional automatic interpolation. While this is sometimes problematic due to [[gimbal lock]], seeing the poses in this way allows the animator to adjust the timing of an animation quickly, without the distraction of the [[software]]'s automatic interpolation. In some cases, interpolation in 3d animation is avoided all together to create the illusion of 2d animation with 3d models. Instances of this occurs in the animated movie, [[Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imageworks.com/our-craft/feature-animation/movies/spider-man-spider-verse|title=Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse|website=Sony Pictures Imageworks|language=en|access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/how-spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-changed-animation.html|title=How Spider-Man:Into the Spider-Verse changed animation|website=www.vulture.com|date=18 January 2019 |access-date=2019-08-29}}</ref> and in the game, [[Guilty Gear Xrd]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.4gamer.net/games/216/G021678/20140714079/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728031949/http://www.4gamer.net/games/216/G021678/20140714079/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-07-28|title=WebCite query result|website=www.webcitation.org|access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/breaking-down-the-animation-of-guilty-gear-and-dragonba-1836849279|title=Breaking Down The Animation Of Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ|last=Alexandra|first=Heather|website=Kotaku|date=31 July 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Blocking (stage)]]

== References ==
<references />{{Animation}}

[[Category:Animation techniques]]


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