William Joel · From fps #5 · November 1, 2005 | You've just finished your animation. All of the rendering, editing and special effects have been taken care of. The soundtrack has been laid down and you're ready to sit back and watch your masterpiece. Only, when you watch it reminds you of the story where the surgeon walks out of the operating room, turns to a nurse and says, "Have you seen my watch?"

Something is amiss. Something in your animation just doesn't feel right. Your watch is missing, and you don't know where to start looking for it.

What follows are five common mistakes that animators often make. I'm not implying that that these animators are lacking in their craft. Rather, because of issues of time or other resources, they have temporarily overlooked one or more tenets of good animation.

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You'll find it and many other articles in the November 2005 issue of fps, available for only 99 cents US.