Animated characters and creatures, from traditional hand-drawn, to cutting edge computer generated, all share certain things in common. All must move naturally enough that the audience suspends it´s disbelieve and engages in the story. A properly modeled, rigged, and animated character's movements are thus based in basic anatomical principles. An understanding of these principles empowers artists to entertain their audiences with powerful scientific tools in their toolkits.
These powerful tools come from anatomy, physics, and behavior. However, they do not need to be difficult for artists to use, as they come from areas of study that are common to anatomy and art. Stuart Sumida's presentation will demonstrate how important anatomical principles can inform the construction, movement, mechanics, and behavior of animated characters, both animal and human. Examples will be offered from traditional hand-drawn examples, computer animated characters, and photorealistic characters, and CGI creatures. The range of application can stretch from animation to visual effects, to video games, to theme park attractions.
Dr. Stuart Sumida is a paleontologist with the California State University San Bernardino who has published three books and over 70 journal articles, specializing in the biological transformations that took place as back-boned animals adapted to life on land. He is also one of the most sought after anatomical consultants to the entertainment industry, working on more than 60 feature-length films, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Lilo and Stitch, the first and last Harry Potter films, the How to Train Your Dragon series for DreamWorks, Life of Pi, Ratatouille for Pixar, and many more. He also served as a consultant to animators to video games such as Horizon Zero Dawn, academy-award winning Zootopia, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and DreamWorks' Abominable.
He has worked on a variety of television projects, including helping develop the animal characters in the HBO/BBC series His Dark Materials. He has also served as an anatomical and biomechanical consultant for a large, yeti-like audio-animatronics creature for the Expedition Everest thrill ride attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida.
