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Squash and Stretch Timing Anticipation Staging Follow Through & Overlapping Action Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose Action. Slow In and Slow Out Arcs Exaggeration Secondary Action Appeal. Principles of Animation. Squash and Stretch Bouncing Ball Example.
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Squash and Stretch • Timing • Anticipation • Staging • Follow Through & Overlapping Action • Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose Action • Slow In and Slow Out • Arcs • Exaggeration • Secondary Action • Appeal Principles of Animation
Squash and StretchBouncing Ball Example The ball on the right moves at a constant speed with squash/stretch. The ball on the left moves at a constant speed with no squash/stretch. The ball in the center does slow in and out with a squash/stretch.
Timing • Relays the idea behind the action • Even spacing between frames = constant speed • Frames that are closer together are sped up. • Frames that are far apart slow down.
Anticipation • Action has three parts • Preparation for the action (anticipation) • Action itself • Termination of the action (follow through) • Need anticipation to: • Make actions natural • Muscle movement (kicking a ball) • Prepare audience for the following action • Direct attention to another part of the screen
Anticipation http://www.naptime.com/flash/principles/Cannon-06.html
Staging • Present the idea so it is unmistakably clear. • Audience can only see one thing at a time. • The setting and character position is very enlightening to the audience.
Follow through • Actions rarely come to sudden stops • There are leading parts, other participating parts and appendages • Action starts by leading part • Main action follows • Appendages continue to move longer • Heavy ones drag along longer
Follow Through • Audience likes to see resolution of action • Discontinuities are unsettling
Overlapping action • Add variations to timing of loose parts • Little extra actions make it more interesting • New action starts BEFORE previous one stops
Pose to Pose Action http://www.freetoon.com/prestonblair/anims/chapt2.htm
Straight Ahead Action • You're not quite sure how things will turn out until you are done. • It is spontaneous and less formal. • Rotoscoping is a good example of Straight Ahead Action
Slow in and slow out Few actions happen at a constant speed. Cars accelerate and decelerate. Animations should be planned around the physics of the movement. • Even spacing between frames = constant speed • Better to have gradual acceleration and slowing down
Arcs • Arcs are used in animation because they create motion that is more expressive. • A straight line is more stiff and dull • In nature, movement is in an arc not in a straight line
Exaggeration • Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. It¹s like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. • In feature animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural. • Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal. • Use good taste and common sense to keep from becoming too theatrical and excessively animated
Exaggeration Doug Compton of Karmatoons.com explains exaggeration like this:
Secondary Action • This action is often caused by or supporting the primary action. • Example: 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.
Secondary Action • The Karmatoons character Mr. B has a hat. It trails along behind him as he runs. • Running is the primary action • The hat moving is the secondary action.
Exaggeration and secondary action • Keep it balanced • Have some natural elements and some exaggerated ones • Secondary action – results directly from primary action • Gives natural complexity • Can be missed if happens in the middle of major move • Should be obvious but kept secondary The secondary action of Luxo Jr's forward motion is the rippling of his power cord.
Appeal & Personality • A live performer has charisma. • An animated character has appeal. • Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. • All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, comic or cute.
Personality • Character personality, or appeal as it was originally called, facilitates the emotional connection between character and audience. Characters must be well developed, have an interesting personality, and have a clear set of desires or needs that drive their behavior and actions.