Remember the part when Donkey sings “I'm a Believer” and everyone has a dance party? What about when Shrek turns his earwax1 into a candle?
In the first Shrek movie, a wisecracking2 donkey helps a defensive ogre3 learn to love—first a princess-turned-ogre, then himself, and eventually all the residents of a fairy-tale forest. In Shrek 2, set for release4 in May, the honeymoon is over. Shrek must now face his wife's unhappy parents, the king and queen of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away. It is twice upon a time—a comedy sequel5 to make us wonder once more: How can animation look so real? How do you get lucky enough to do that for a living?
Read asked those questions of Kelly Asbury, one of three Dream Works directors in charge of6 Shrek 2, and he said that luck plays only a minor role; hard work is the star. “There are steps you have to take, but there is no set way to do it,” says Asbury.
One Man's Story
As a kid in Beaumont, Texas, in the 1960s, Asbury already knew that he wanted to take his drawing talent to Hollywood. “It was still when The Wonderful World of Disney was on [television] every Sunday night. I remember sitting there watching it,” he says. “That was my touchstone7. My eye was on that prize8.”
In high school, Asbury set his sights on the California Institute of the Arts, a visual and performing arts school founded by Walt Disney, creator of the Disney empire. Young Asbury was refused admission9—twice. Was he disappointed? Sure. But after concentrating on the basics of art at another university, he came to call those setbacks “a blessing10.” When at last accepted at his first pick, he was more than ready to greet opportunity.
“A lot of people try to parachute11 into things,” says Asbury. “But there really is no such thing as overnight success.”
After college, Asbury worked as a cleanup12 story artist. “I started doing what are called 'cleanup in-betweens,'” he says. “I'd have to fill in blanks to make action flow smoothly.”
That's how he learned the craft of storytelling—frame by cartoon frame. Soon he was focusing on backgrounds and camera moves. From there, it was the challenges of an art director, concerned with color and overall13 design.
“If [you know you] want to work in animated features14—or any goal, for that matter—learn about what you want to do as much as possible,” says Asbury. “Never lose sight of what you want to do, but be a sponge15 for everything.”
Another Dimension
As Asbury rode waves of success, animation went through a sea change. “Since 1983, every film has had some form of computer animation,” he says. The computer has brought about16, in his words, “a true age of discovery.”
According to Asbury, “2-D animation is what for decades we were most accustomed to—a drawing on a sheet of paper that's photographed and [given] the illusion17 of movement and life.”
“3-D animation is the term that has been adapted to computer animation,” he says. “A computer creates a character and a world—a set and a puppet18—that are made up of numbers [coding] and pixels [small elements that form the picture].”
That technology can convey a cartoonish or a realistic world.
Secrets of Animation
1. PENCIL ME IN19
Before artists even turn on a computer, they create storyboards, which are sketches of every scene. “It's kind of like a comic strip,” says directing animator Donnachada Daly.
2. BODY DOUBLES
After scanning clay sculptures20 of the characters into the computer, animators position the 3-D images on a basic background. It's like your teacher telling you where to stand in a play.
3. GET MOVING
In this step, animators add movement to the characters. Using more than 300 computer commands, they can control every muscles in Shrek's face. “It's as if you're sculpting with your mouse,” Daly says.
4. FINAL TOUCHES FOR COATS
Animators “grew” 3-D fur on Puss In Boots and Donkey. A computer program wraps the fur around the body instead of covering just one side. It's similar to how you'd paint a plastic model.
5. CROWD CONTROL
New technology allowed animators to create 2,000 different crowd characters, each of which can move individually21.
① HOW CHEESY22
To see how the crowd characters turn as Shrek walks by, animators monitor the two “cheese wedges23” on top of the cylinders at left. The top wedge shows head movement, and the bottom wedge shows body movement.
② NUMBERS GAME
Here, animators check the number of men, women, and kids in the crowd to make sure the scene is realistically balanced.
③ WARDROBE!
Animators created computer “rules” so hats match hairstyles and shirts don't clash with pants. “We gave the computer a fashion sense,” says effects animator Seth Lippman.
还记得那一幕吗，毛驴唱着“我是个信徒”，人们翩翩起舞？还有史莱克把耳屎变成蜡烛那一段？
在《怪物史莱克I》中，有一头妙语连珠的毛驴帮助一个心存戒备的怪物学会了爱——先是一个变成怪物的公主，然后是史莱克自己，最终还有童话森林的全体居民。定于5月发行的《怪物史莱克II》中，蜜月结束了，现在史莱克必须面对不满他的岳父、岳母，也就是遥远王国的国王和王后。这部喜剧片的续集让我们再次感到惊奇：动画怎么能拍得这么逼真？怎样才能有幸靠制作动画谋生？
就此问题，《阅读》寻问了梦工厂三位负责《怪物史莱克II》的导演之一凯利·阿斯伯利。阿斯伯利说，影片的成功并不光凭运气，努力工作才是最重要的。他还说：“你必须一步步地去做，但怎么做却没有固定的模式。”
一个男人的故事
20世纪60年代，阿斯伯利还是美国德州博蒙特地区的一个普通孩子，那时他就立志要在好莱坞展示自己的绘画才能。他说：“当时，每周日晚电视台还在播放《迪斯尼的美好世界》，我还记得坐在电视前观看的情景。我的志向那时就表现出来了，那精彩的节目令我恋恋不舍。”
上中学时，阿斯伯利把加州艺术学院作为自己的目标，那是一所由迪斯尼帝国的缔造者华特·迪斯尼创办的、融观赏与表演于一体的艺术学校。这所学校两次都未录取阿斯伯利。他失望吗？当然失望，但当他在另一所大学领悟到艺术的真谛后，他逐渐把这些挫折看作“一件好事”。当他最终被自己的首选大学录取时，他早已是跃跃欲试了。
阿斯伯利曾说过：“许多人都想一步到位，但天下哪有一夜成名的事啊！”
大学毕业后，阿斯伯利成了补白画家，他说：“我是从所谓的‘画中补白’开始做起的。我要在书的空白处画上插图，让故事情节平稳地发展。”
就这样他学到了讲故事的技巧，即按动画的框架进行设计。不久他开始注意背景和摄像步骤。既要注意色彩，又要关注整体设计，这些对于一个艺术导演来说是确实是一次挑战。
阿斯伯利说：“如果（你想）搞动画片这一行，或者有任何其他目标，对你想做的事要尽量多学。要牢记你的志向，但也要善于学习各种知识。”
另一空间
当阿斯伯利获得了一连串的成功时，动画制作发生了翻天覆地的变化。他说：“从1983年起，每部影片都有某些形式的电脑动画制作。”电脑的使用，用他的话说，带来了“一个真正的发现的时代。”
通过阿斯伯利，我们了解到：“二维动画是我们几十年来一直惯用的手法——先在纸上画画，然后进行拍照，赋予它动作和生命的幻象。”
他说：“三维动画这个术语是为适应电脑动画而产生的。电脑创造了一个人物和世界——即一个布景和一个木偶——这些场景和木偶由大量的数学（编码）和像素（图像的最小要素）组成。”
这种科技既可以表达漫画的感情世界，也可以反映现实世界。
动画制作揭秘
1.用铅笔作画
在画家们打开电脑之前，他们会制作一些故事板，用于素描所有的故事情景，“就像一种连环画，”动画制作指导唐纳切达·达利说。
2.身兼二职
动画制作者们先把人物的泥塑雕像扫描到电脑里，然后在基本的背景上给三维形象排位，就像演出时老师教你如何站位一样。
3.动起来
在这一步骤中，动画制作者为人物加上动作。通过300多条电脑指令，他们可以控制史莱克脸上的每一块肌肉。达利说，“这就像你在用鼠标进行雕刻。”
4.最后定型——选择衣装
动画制作者利用三维技术让“靴子和驴”里的猫长上皮毛。电脑程序要给猫的全身都加上皮毛，不是只加一面。这就类似于给一个塑料模型上色。
5.人群的控制
新的科技允许动画制作者创造两千个不同的角色，并且每一个都能单独活动。
① 造价低廉
为了看清史莱克走过时群众角色是如何行动的，动画制作人员控制左侧圆柱上端的两块奶酪状的楔子。上端的楔子表示头部动作，下端的楔子表示身体动作。
② 数字游戏
在这一步，动画制作者要查看人群中男人、女人以及孩子的数量，使场景中的人数能跟现实生活一样保持平衡。
③ 服装
动画制作人制定了“电脑规则”，所以帽子会与发型配套，衬衫不会与裤子发生冲突。动画效果设计师司塞思·李普曼说，“我们赋予电脑一种时髦感！”
1. earwax n． 耳屎
2． wisecracking adj． 妙语连珠的
3． ogre n． 怪物
4． release n． 发行
5． sequel n． 续集
6． in charge of 负责…
7． touchstone n． 试金石
8． prize [praiz] n． 珍品
9． admission n． 入学
10． blessing n． 好事，幸事
11． parachute v． 跳伞
12． cleanup n． 清扫
13． overall adj． 整体的
14． feature n． 故事片
15． sponge n． 海绵
16． bring about 引起，带来
17． illusion n． 幻觉
18． puppet n． 木偶
19． pencil in 用铅笔添入
20． sculpture n． 雕塑
21． individually adv． 单个地
22． cheesy adj． 廉价的
23． wedge n． 楔子