Tissa David told us " At first all animators animate themselves. Every action you create is done as though you yourself were doing it. An animated walk is your walk. To be an animation actor you must strive to create an action as if it were done by someone you are not."

By the way, that picture is not Tissa, she'd kick me in the goulash if I didn't point that out. I just couldn't find a good one of her. It's a self portrait of Eduard Meissonier. He was the head of the French Academy of Arts and a leading figure in painting in his time.
He was a classical academician and thought the Impressionists were all phonies who couldn't draw.