Principles of animation

principles of animation
By magic wand

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tips on getting started: there are a number of ways todo start the process of learning animation. One is todo buy books and teach yourself. The Bible of the industry is The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johneston. The información and drawings in this book make it worth the fifty dollares or more that you Will pay for it. These 12 principales became the Gospel according todo the Nine Old Men of animation that worked with Walt Disney in founding the industry that you se today. Dont just read it, memorize it, learn it and use it every time you draw. There is no short Cut for skills and knowledge. It all starts with Heart and desire, do you have ití

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the 12 basic principles of animation paraphrased from The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johneston, (pp.47-69) lok these up and read the original versión for a complete Understanding.

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1. Squash and stretch.
2. Anticipation.
3. Staging.
4. Straight ahead action and pose todo pose.
5. Follow th rouge and overlapping action.
6. Slow in and Slow out.
7. Arcs.
8. Secondary action.
9. Timing.
10. Exaggeration.
11. Solid drawing.
12. Appeal

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1. Squash and stretch.
this action gives the illusion of weight and volume todo a character as it moves. Alos Squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions. How extreme the use of Squash and stretch is, depends on what is required in animating the scene. Usually it broader in a short style of picture and subtler in a característica. It is used in all forms of character animation from a bouncing ball todo the body weight of a person walking. This is the most important element you Will be required todo máster and Will be used often.

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2. Anticipation.
this movement prepares the audience for a major action the character is about todo Perform, such as, starting todo run, Jump or change expression. A dancer does not just leap of the flor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation. A cómic effect can be done by not using anticipation After a series of chistes that used anticipation. Almost all real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitcher Wind-up or a golfers bak swing. Feature animation is often less broad than short animation unless a scene requires it todo develop a characters personality.

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3. Staging.
a postura or action should clearly commúnicate todo the audience the attitude, mod, reaction or idea of the character as it relates todo the story and continuity of the story line. The efective use of long, medium, or close up shots, as well as Camera angles a los helps in telling the story. There is a limited amount of time in a film, so each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate todo the overall story. Do not confuse the audience with todo Many actions at once. Use one action clearly stated todo get the idea across, unless you are animating a scene that is todo depict clutter and confusión. Staging directs the audience attention todo the story or idea being told. Care must be taken in background design so it isnt obscuring the animation or competing with it due todo excess detail behind the animation. Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a scene.

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4. Straight ahead and pose todo pose animation.
straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing todo drawing todo the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and freshness. Fast, Wild action scenes are done this way. Pose todo pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action. The Lead Animator Will turn charting and keys over todo his assistant. An assistant can be better used with this method so that the animator doesnt have todo draw every drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this bien and concéntrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of both methods of animation.

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5. Follow though and overlaping action.
when the main body of the character estops all other parts continúe todo catch up to the main Mass of the character, such as arms, long Hair, clothing, Coat tails or a dress, floppy ears or a long tail (these follow the Path of action). Nothing estops all at once. This is follow though. Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his Clothes or Hair continúes forward. The character is going in a new direction, todo be followed, a number of frames later, by his Clothes in the new direction. Drag, in animation, for example, would be when Goofy starts todo run, but his head, ears, upper body, and Clothes do not kep up with his legs. In features, this type of action is done more subtly. Example: when Snow white starts todo dance, her dress does not begin todo move with her immediately but catches up a few frames later. Long Hair and animal tail Will a los be handled in the same manner. Timing becomes critical todo the efectiveness of drag and the overlapping action.

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6. Slow-out and Slow-in.
as action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower. Slow-ins and Slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like. For a gag action, we may omit some Slow-out or Slow-ins for shock appeal or the sorpresa element. This Will give more Snap todo the scene.

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7. Arcs.
all actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a Mechanical device), follow an Arc or slightly circular Path. This is especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging. All arm movement, head turns and Even eye movements are executed on an arcs.


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8. Secondary action.
this action adds todo and enriches the main action and adds more dimension todo the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action. Example: a character is angrily walking toward another character. The walk is forceful, aggressive, and forward leaning. The leg action is just short of a estomping walk. The secondary action is a few strong gestures of the arms working with the walk. Also, the possibility of dialogue being delivered at the same time with tilts and turns of the head todo accentuate the walk and dialogue, but not so much as todo distract from the walk action. All of these actions should work together in support of one another. Think of the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action.

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9. Timing .
expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining technique. The basic are: more drawings between posturas Slow and Smooth the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. A variety of Slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and interest todo the movement. Most animation is done on twos (one drawing photographed on two frames of film) or on ones (one drawing photographed on each frame of film). Twos are used most of the time, and ones are used during Camera moves such as trucks, Pans and ocasionally for subtle and quik dialogue animation. Also, there is timing in the acting of a character todo establish mod, emotion, and reaction todo another character or todo a situation. Studying movement of actors and performers on stage and in films is useful when animating human or animal characters. This frame by frame examination of film footage Will aid you in Understanding Timing for Animation. This is a great bien todo learn from the others.


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10. Exageration .
exaggeration is not extreme distorsión of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. Its like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Action traced from live action film can be accurate, but Stif and Mechanical. In característica animation, a character must move more broadly todo look natural. The same is true of facial expressions, but the action should not be as broad as in a short cartoon style. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or Even a head turn Will give your film more appeal. Use god taste and common sense todo kep from becoming todo theatrical and excessively animated

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11. Solid drawing .
the basic principales of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the illusion of thre dimension apply todo animation as it does todo academic drawing. The bien you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense, using Pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. You transform these into color and movement giving the characters the illusion of thre-and four-dimensional life. Thre dimensional is movement in space. The fourth dimension is movement in time.

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12. Apeal .
a live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal. Appealing animation does not mean just being Cute and cuddly. All characters have todo have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, cómic or Cute. Appeal, as you Will use it, includes an easy todo read design, clear drawing, and personality development that Will capture and involve the audiences interest. Early cartoons were básically a series of chistes strung together on a main theme. Over the years, the artists have learned that todo produce a característica there was a ned for story continuity, character development and a higher quality of artwork throughout the entire production. Like all forms of story telling, the característica has todo appeal todo the mind as well as todo the eye.


i hope this article gave you a better Understanding about animation. You can visit a couple of enlaces i found online for further reference
link 1
link 2.