Thumbnails - A Planning Tool !

An animation is a time-consuming process. The animator needs to dedicate lots of hours on a shot of few seconds to create a perfect movement. This dedication and an eye to details create an animation of a terrific quality.

It is always suggested to plan your shot or character design before starting your work. Scribble your ideas on paper and you will definitely come up with a better option.

If you are not thumbnailing your ideas then you are probably gambling your precious production time on a hope, that, your outcome will be a quality work.

Thumbnail Sketches are like quick Notes for Artists !

Thumbnail sketches can work as a memory aid to help you remember important features of a subject while making notes for an animation or drawing. Often artists use thumbnail sketches to plan pictures. You can quickly experiment with format and composition, placing just the major features - such as the horizon and any large objects, and indicating movement and balance.

How to sketch Thumbnail drawings?

Visualize your subject or picture stripped of all details, through squinted eyes, or in poor light. All you see are big rough shapes and some lines. That's all you need for a thumbnail. 

First draw a basic shape like square, circle or triangle according to your character requirement. Draw it with tiny, abbreviated proportions. Get the basic line of action, shoulder and hip angles with respect to the action. Outline the key shape and quickly hatch the dark areas. That's my workflow to draw Thumbnails.

Here is few Example of Thumbnails done by Animator Carlos Baena as a part of planning for movie Ratatouille and Cars.

Many animators skip thumbnailing because they think it is complicated. I used to think like this when I was working as a trainee animator! In my early days as an animator, I scoffed at thumbnailing (and storyboarding), choosing instead to dive right in. Only later did I realize a very important lesson in not only animation but life:

"Every hour spent planning will save you twice that time animating."