The G.D. Chimera.

In a recent interview an animation candidate asked the question, "What do you guys use as inspiration?" I responded with, "Whatever we want."

It's not an over-generalization to say that everything inspires an animator. In fact, everything should. If you aren't noticing the subtleties of everyday things all around you all the time you're not doing your job.

Cues from real life are the greatest source of reference and inspiration I can think of. Every day I go outside and look around and notice some new thing happening with plants or animals or people. Simply questioning why things are the way they are brings about so many new observations it is astounding. It's so important to not only make these observations but to also understand the function behind them.

Outside of vestigial features everything you see in life exists for a very specific, very functional purpose. Everything from animal coloration to diet to the shape of teeth is important. Understanding why many animals have a lighter underbelly was totally eye-opening for me.

While making God of War III I had to work very hard to reconcile with the fact that we were animating mythological creatures that made zero sense anatomically. The Chimera, my least favorite among them, was particularly challenging. I struggled with walk cycles, idles, normal attacks, everything. The only thing I animated that didn't change all that much were the cs kills, perhaps because I was so fond of killing that thing. In any case it took a pass from at least 3 animators for everything else to complete the normal move set for the character.



I know most animators say they love a challenge but when a creature doesn't actually make sense it is very hard for me to wrap my head around it. It's not so much a challenge as it is a labor. There's no reference for something like this. There's no real life equivalent. There's no way this thing could even realistically walk. There's also a limited amount of time to experiment.

At the time we just had to "go for it." I still believe the unconventionality of the character led to a lengthy turnaround on not only the animation side but for combat design as well. No one really had a solid grasp on what this creature was. In the beginning we were set on a very specific plan that gave me all the freedom I wanted to determine how the heads would be killed off but we lacked a plan for nearly everything in between.

I have to wonder how the Chimera could have been better. Could it have made more sense? Shouldn't the lion have walked like a quadruped, too? Who knows? In the end people enjoyed fighting her(yea, she's a lady) and killing each individual head. I think it works to a degree but now I am so much more wary of designs that don't work from a perspective based on motion.

The bottom line is that creature design is best when it works anatomically. When something has correct anatomy then you can start to break the rules of its' form in motion, instead of the other way around. From concept art to modeling to rigging to design to animation to sound and effects, get as creative as you want so long as it makes sense. Things will go much more smoothly and efficiently.