90%

Most of the time when I give a designer an animation I try to follow three rules: that the file is set up properly, that it conveys the information necessary for design, and that it looks decent enough to potentially ship that way. Even if we are testing something that I know is temporary I will still try to adhere to those first two rules and hope to hit the third. I try to get the animation at least 90% of the way there.

Having a universally adhered to workflow is something I have wanted at every studio I've been at but it doesn't ever happen. Even when all of the animators are trained in the same way there is still that Artist Brain, one that works in its' own way, often strangely unique for whatever the necessity, and production usually doesn't give a shit so long as the work gets done. The only thing you can do to ensure that files are easy to understand is to work cleanly, in an organized way that makes sense intuitively, and pray everyone else is doing the same. In my entire career I've only encountered a handful of other animators who work similarly to me enough that I can work on their files without frustration, and even then, we still do some things differently. 

Because I abhor blocking animation, and because I work fast, it's easy enough for me to start from scratch and make things improve. I try to make the best animation possible within time constraints. Sometimes that's a day, sometimes less. Sometimes a designer will need something in a few minutes. I'm happy to do it, if only because it improves their iterations on ideas, and doesn't eat up my day. If anything, these test animations are a way to learn, but if you have a clear direction, 90% is a pretty good goal.

 Handing an animation off to design is a strange thing. The work will often be questioned, or criticized, or given notes, all from someone who probably doesn't understand motion as well as you do. As an animator it's important to make those criticisms yourself beforehand. Often I will hand something off, plainly admitting, "I know what you're going to say. Just get it in the game and I'll fix x." Because whatever x is isn't going to hold back the Idea a designer wants, I'm alright with putting things in that aren't necessarily going to ship. Design tests ideas, and the animators get to shape them through motion. With a file that is 90% of the way there design can often implement their full ideas, and I can iterate on motion. The overall point is, though, that the intent is what's important, not necessarily making the best animation possible.

GOW III examples.

Here are some examples of work I did on God of War III. They're really not my favorites, but I think they might showcase some things unique in that game. These are very first pass incarnations of the actual animations that went in the game.
The first is the Cerberus ride, which was new to the franchise. I'm still not quite happy with how the timing worked out, but people seemed to like the idea of riding an enemy in the series. I did the Cyclops ride as well, which is in Ascention.

                                        

                                      

   

Here's the infamous head rip, before we had an actual way to animate the head coming off.

                          
I also worked on the Chimera.

And Hercules....

The next is a Hermes run cycle, hard to tell without the video actually on repeat, but the designers sped it up by about 4x when it is seen in game. 

I did this animation for the Hades fight, among many others, but this was one of the most fun.

 

Finally, the squirrel, which I loved a lot. There was a time when the animators had a bit of time to work on these ancillary background characters when we didn't have much else to do. The rig was rudimentary at best, but it was nice to mess around with. I doubt it made the final game, but it was moments like these that made me most happy. Just something unusual you don't often get to do as a combat animator.