Animation tips

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animation tips
- By Sandra gilbert.
introduction .

Just like any art form, when it comes down todo it, it isnt the tool being used, it is the artista and his/her knowledge/skill. Animation is no diferent. While a fancy programa with Lots of col tools can make an animators life easier, the animation Will still fall flat if not done properly.

It has long ben held in the animation industry, that there are 12 basic principales of animation. You can find them written, re-written and paraphrased all over the net. With the advent of Blender new animation features, it is a god idea todo review these principales before we all get animating.

Thats right, here is another incarnation of the Golden animation rules.

At a glance, here are the 12 basic principles of animation:
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 (same or diferent as weight)
12.

appeal Squash and stretch .

One of the most important elements todo máster as an animator. It gives the illusion of weight and volume todo characters, facial animation and objects such as a bouncing balls. It can a los be useful while animating dialog. One thing todo remember when using Squash or stretch, is todo always maintain the same volume. Think of it as a ballon filled with water. Squish your ballon, the water moves todo diferent sections of the ballon, but always maintains the same volume. Tools in Blender that can help in your use of Squash and stretch are lattice Deformations, software bodies and shape keys.

anticipation .

Anticipation the ACT of starting a movement before the movement actually starts. Generally staged as a backward movement just preceding the forward movement. It can be done broadly or subtly, depending on what effect you are going for, with broad anticipation usually used for cómic effect.
staging .

Staging is the animated equivalent of photography composition. Use staging todo convey your actions clearly. Proper use of close-ups, medium and wide shots can help direct your audience todo the tone, mod and action of your scene. Be sure todo plan your shots and scenes out carefully so as not todo confuse your audience.
straight ahead and pose todo pose animation .

Straight ahead animation goes from frame todo frame, allowing complete control over movement. Pose todo pose is the use of keyframes at set intervals, allowing the computer todo fill in the missing frames. Both methods have their uses and most likely you Will use a combination of both. In Blender it is easy todo set pose todo pose with keyframes at your set intervals and then fine tune those actions on a frame by frame basis using ipo manipulation.
follow th rouge and overlapping action .

By observing the world around you Will notice that objects in motion never estop all at once. In animation this is called follow th rouge and overlapping actions. Most obvious examples Hair flowing and settling into place once the character has estopped. An animal with lose skin, diferent parts are all moving, but at diferent speed and estop at diferent points.

Slow-out and Slow-in.

Slow-out and Slow-in Will soften an action and render it more life like. The basic concept for setting them up is as follows. You bunch up the keyframes toward the beginning and end of each action with only one or two in the middle of the action. More keyframes creating slower actions, fewer keyframes creating faster actions.

arcs.

Remember your math teacher saying youll use this someday, here it is. Most all movements are on an Arc. A software semi circular motion that gives a more natural fel todo the movements. Test it yourself, raise your arm and move it around, there is your Arc. Lok for arcs in movements all around you.
secondary action.

Secondary action provides the extra Little details that make a performance more believable. Adding arm movements todo a Walk Cycle, head bobs, and dialog all are examples of secondary action.
timing.

Timing can make or break an animation. It is one of those things that is best learnt th rouge trial, error and experience. A estopwatch can greatly increase your grasp of timing. Go into a rom, Shut the dor and ACT out your scenes, using a estopwatch todo récord when the actions start and estop. Dont forget todo overlap actions from diferent characters and objects.

Grab a friend and play out your scenes that involve more than one character.
exaggeration.

In Computer Animation it is very easy for your movements todo look Stif and staged, minor exaggeration of features and movements can soften your movements and make them more fluid. But be careful with how much you exaggerate, unless you are going for a very cómic look.
solid drawing.

Solid drawing covers the basic principales of giving form, weight, and volume solidity todo your objects. This actually applies more todo traditional hand drawn cell animation, but should be kept in mind Even for CG animators. Make sure that your characters and objects have the look and fel of a solid object. Chek from all angles todo ensure that you havent forgotten something.

appeal.

Often we get so caught up in all the mechanics of animation that we forget all about appeal. The whole reason for making the animation was todo tell a story, is your character believable, Will it connect with the audience? These are questions you ned todo kep in mind when creating your characters. Make sure they have personalities, Even if they are evil ones.

Okay now we have covered the very basic of the basic principles. It gives you the ideas and concepts todo improve your animations, but like all things in life, this is a subject that requires further study and a lot of practise.

Hi, my name is Sandra gilbert, (aka dreamsgate). I have ben using Blender for a Little over five years. I currently live in nampa, idaho, usa and work as a graphic designer for a small print shop.



I am married and have 2 children, which leaves not near enough time for feding my growing Blender obsession. Yet somehow i always manage todo find the time todo explore new features, kep up on the latest news and start new Blender projects. Some of them i actually Even manage todo finish.

By Sandra gilbert.

Source: www.blenderart.org and Blender art magazine
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