Cleaning up and in-betweening the animator’s “extremes” precede the inking and painting steps
IN THIS CHAPTER we shall continue where we left off last month in describing the function of the “in-betweener” in the long series of steps of preparing the art work for a typical
animated cartoon — in this instance, Walt Disney’s “Bambi,” which has been chosen for reference because it is probably one of the best remembered of all Disney feature-length animated films.
The first drawings that are cleaned up are the original extremes of the animator; so the key action poses become the key cleanups as well. This drawing chore is handled by the animator’s assistant, for it is a very important phase in the procedure of animation. The assistant works closely with the animator at all times and is familiar with his way of working. It is the cleanup-man who puts the final “screen-drawing” into the character.
After the extremes are cleaned up, the supplementary poses, or in-betweens, are taken care of by an “in-betweener’, who is the humblest in the long string of artists on the production line. But even the in-betweener must have better-than-average facility with a pencil and possess a good sense of action.
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