People Behind the Scenes: Interview with Despicable Me animator Maxime Maleo : Bollywood News

How do you go about starting the animation process when you begin a scene?

To begin with, I spend the entire day drawing various sketches and ideas that I can imagine; this makes me more familiar to the character and the situation. With this I find the model type and the main poses of the character. In addition to this, I find the tempo and rhythm of the animation. You start questioning the character the more you draw. When Im satisfied with my sketches, Id get feedback from the director on improvising.

I think we should always follow a process, with this at the end you have something fine and very detailed. When Im clear of all doubts regarding direction, I start blocking the main poses of the character in the shot. I always emphasize on strong poses whether if its in 2D or 3D. When the blocking phase completes, I work on the breakdowns of those main poses. Then I polish all the in-betweens that I made only after Ive added antics and the other ingredients of the animation. These methods can be applied to any kind of film and shot. But the most important thing is to draw since it enhances the thinking process of the artist. Animation is not spontaneous; its about thinking first and then applying what you think about.

Where do you see the global animation industry going? What do you feel about the fate of the Indian and French animation industry?

Weve been doing animation for many years and till today it still seems limitless, I think were just starting the story of animation. With all the mythological content available, India has a great future in the industry. Animation is an intimate process; I still feel like a beginner. I remember one of my teachers in Les Gobelins told me that the best thing to do to stay on track is to keep learning all the time. With any new shot I feel like a rookie, because youll always have a shot that you dont know how to do. Thats why I love this job.