ANIMATION NOTES [Archive] - cgTantra Forums

dynafx

20-05-2005, 01:58 PM

I'm Compiling, all
the animation principles and related notes, which is ny masters in this
field, and presenting it in one thread, so that, many can benefit from
these notes, and even the experienced animators should take notes of
these. 
 
Request to
tantrics, to mainting this thread by not posting any thanks and other
oneliners. If u want anything to add, please PM to mods/admins,
otherwise, it might be moderated. 
---------------------------------------------------------- ----------

dynafx

20-05-2005, 01:58 PM

<h1 align="center">Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation</h1>

Reference: John Lasseter, "Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D
Computer Animation", Computer Graphics, pp. 35-44, 21:4, July 1987
(SIGGRAPH 87). 

George Maestri, "Digital Character Animation", New Riders Press, 1996.

<h2>Introduction</h2>

Many of the principles of traditional animation were developed in the 1930's at the
Walt Disney studios. These principles were developed to make animation, especially
character animation, more realistic and entertaining. These principles can and should be
applied to 3D computer animation. 

<h2>Principles of Traditional Animation </h2>

The following principles were developed and named:


<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/squash_and_stretch.htm" target="_blank">Squash and Stretch </a>- defining the rigidity and mass
of an object by distorting its shape during an action </li><li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/timing.htm" target="_blank">Timing and Motion</a> - spacing actions to define the weight and
size of objects and the personality of characters </li><li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/anticipation.htm" target="_blank">Anticipation</a> - the preparation for an action </li><li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/staging.htm" target="_blank">Staging</a> - presenting an idea so that it is unmistakably clear </li><li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/follow_through.htm" target="_blank">Follow Through and Overlapping Action </a>- the termination
of an action and establishing its relationship to the next action </li><li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/straightaheadandpose.htm" target="_blank">Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action </a>-
The two contrasting approaches to the creation of movement </li><li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/slow_in_and_out.htm" target="_blank">Slow In and Out </a>- the spacing of the in-between frames
to achieve subtlety of timing and movement </li><li>Arcs - the visual path of action for natural movement </li><li><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/exaggeration.htm" target="_blank">Exaggeration</a> - Accentuating the essence of an idea via
the design and the action </li><li>. <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/secondary_action.htm" target="_blank">Secondary Action</a> - the action of an object
resulting from another action </li><li>. <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/appeal.htm" target="_blank">Appeal</a> - creating a design or an action that the audience
enjoys watching </li>
</ol>

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/personality.htm" target="_blank">Personality</a> in character animation is the goal of all of
the above.

<address>
<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/rain_lin.gif" height="4" width="800" border="0"> 
<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/anim0.htm" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/back.gif" height="40" width="40" border="0"> Main Animation Page</a> 
<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/toc.htm" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/back.gif" height="40" width="40" border="0"> HyperGraph Table of
Contents. </a> 
<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/hypergraph.htm" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/up.gif" height="40" width="40" border="0"> HyperGraph Home page.</a>
</address>

dynafx

20-05-2005, 01:59 PM

<h1 align="center"><a name="top"></a>Tricks to Animating Characters with a Computer</h1>

John Lasseter 

Pixar

Reference: These notes come from Course 1 at SIGGRAPH 94, "Animation
Tricks".

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"><a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#abstract" target="_blank">Abstract</a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#keyframes" target="_blank">Keyframes</a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#2dvs3d" target="_blank">2-D VS. 3-D </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#weight&size" target="_blank">WEIGHT & SIZE </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#thinking%20character" target="_blank">THE THINKING
CHARACTER </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#moving%20holds" target="_blank">MOVING HOLDS </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#emotion" target="_blank">EMOTION </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#readability%20of%20actions" target="_blank">READABILITY OF
ACTIONS </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#story%20trick" target="_blank">A STORY TRICK </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#ask%20why" target="_blank">ASK WHY </a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#references" target="_blank">REFERENCES</a>

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/redball.gif" height="14" width="14" border="0"> <a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/ollie_johnston.htm" target="_blank">Animation Notes from
Ollie Johnston</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<h2><a name="abstract"></a>ABSTRACT </h2>

When I presented the first animation I had created with a
computer, "The Aventures of Andr? and Wally B.," at Siggraph ?84, a number
of people asked me what cool new software I had used to achieve such believable
characters. I explained to them that the software was a keyframe animation system, not
much different in theory than other systems that were around then. What was different was
that I was using basic animation principles that I had learned as a traditional animator.
It was not the software that gave life to the characters, it was these principles of
animation, these tricks of the trade that animators had developed over fifty years ago. I
was surprised at how few people in the computer animation community were aware of these
principles.

Traditional animation is basically one trick after another.
Whatever it takes to get it working right on the screen is fair game. It should be the
same in computer animation. At Pixar, we constantly use tricks, old and new, to get what
we need on the screen. In this talk, I will give away a few trade secrets that will be
useful to anyone attemping to animate characters with computers, regardless of the
software they are using.

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<h2><a name="keys"></a>KEYFRAMES </h2>

Most commercially available computer animation systems are
based on animating with keyframes. At first, this seems like the same thing as keyframes
in traditional hand-drawn animation, but it is slightly different, and therefore, you
should approach your animation differently. In hand-drawn animation, you work on the basic
poses of the scene first, drawing poses of the entire character so the timing and acting
can be worked out with a minimum of drawings created. Once the poses are finalized, then
the inbetween drawings are created to complete the action. With computer animation,
keyframes are values at certain frames for the articulation controls of a model, which are
usually set up in a hierarchy. The computer calculates the inbetweens values based on a
spline curve connecting the keyframe values.

When I first began animating with a computer, I was used to
hand-drawn animation and thought a keyframe in one medium was the same as the other. So I
worked on one complete pose, went ahead a few frames, then worked on the next pose. Well,
the inbetweens produced by the computer were completely useless. I ended up having a
keyframe at every frame to get the results I desired.

With computer animation, I learned to work down the hierarchy
of the model, and as I went, created separate keyframes for the different controls at each
level of the hierarchy. I found that controls at some levels needed only a few keyframes
where some at other levels needed keyframes on practically every frame. I also found that
I used far fewer keyframes overall and the inbetween values that the computer would
interpolate for me were far more useful. The important thing with this approach is to have
a clear idea of the action you want to achieve before you start. Plan out the action with
thumbnail sketches and plot timing ideas on an exposure sheet. Have these next to you as
you block out the basic animation. You will find that you will always refer back to these.

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<h2><a name="2dvs3d"></a>2-D VS. 3-D </h2>

One of the biggest differences between hand-drawn animation
and computer animation is the fact that computer animation is truly three dimensional. The
first run cycle I ever animated on the computer looked great from the side view, but when
I looked at it from the front, the arms were going through the body and the knees were
bending the wrong way. From then on I always animated with two views of my character
always showing, so that I could always tell if the animation was working from all sides.

Since computer animation is truly 3-D, you can re-use the
animation of a scene or parts of the animation and not tell that it is the exact same
motion. Many times, if you simply look at a scene of animation from a different camera
angle, it will look completely different. Sometimes, it may seem too similar, so just vary
the timing of the motion or change the motion of an arm or head and it will cease to
resemble the original. This is great for crowd shots, where the re-use of animation is an
easy way to keep the crowd alive.

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<h2><a name="weight&size"></a>WEIGHT & SIZE </h2>

The computer gives the ability to create images that look
absolutely real. Especially with the latest techniques in rendering, texture mapping, ray
tracing and radiosity, you can make an object look just like it?s made of marble or
rubber or whatever you wish. But to make it look like marble or rubber when it is in
motion, has very little to do with the way the object is rendered. It has everything to do
with the way the object is animated. It is animation that gives an object its physical
properties. More that anything else, the timing of the movement of an object defines the
weight of that object.

Two objects, identical in size and shape, can appear to have
two vastly different weights by manipulating timing alone. The heavier an object is, the
greater its mass, and the more force that is required to change its motion. A heavy body
is slower to accelerate than a light one. It takes a large force to get a bowling ball
moving; but once moving, it tends to keep moving at the same speed and requires some force
to stop it.

When dealing with heavy objects, one must allow plenty of time
and force to start, stop or change their movements, in order to make their weight look
convincing. Light objects have much less resistance to change of movement and thus require
much less time to start moving. The flick of a finger is enough to make a balloon
accelerate away. When moving, it has little momentum and even the friction of the air
quickly slows it up.

The way an object behaves on the screen, the effect of weight
that it gives, depend mostly on the spacing of the poses and less on the poses themselves.
Again, no matter how well rendered a bowling ball may be, it does not look like a bowling
ball if it doesn?t behave like one when it is animated.

The proper timing of a motion can also contribute greatly to
the feeling of size and scale of an object or character. A giant has much more weight,
more mass, more inertia than a normal man; therefore he moves more slowly. Like a bowling
ball, he takes more time to get started and once moving, takes more time to stop. Any
changes of movement take place more slowly. Conversely, a tiny character has less inertia
than normal, so his movements tend to be quicker. 

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<a name="thinking character"></a>THE THINKING CHARACTER 

When animating characters, every movement, every action must
exist for a reason. If a character were to move about in a series of unrelated actions, it
would seem obvious that the animator was moving it, not the character itself. All the
movements and actions of a character are the result of its thought process. In creating a
"thinking character," the animator gives life to the character by connecting its
actions with a thought process. Walt Disney said, "In most instances, the driving
forces behind the action is the mood, the personality, the attitude of the
character?or all three. Therefore, the mind is the pilot. We think of things before
the body does them." 

To convey the idea that the thoughts of a character are
driving its actions, a simple trick is in the anticipation; always lead with the eyes or
the head. If the character has eyes, the eyes should move first, locking the focus of its
action a few frames before the head. The head should move next, followed a few frames
later by his body and the main action. The eyes of a character are the windows to its
thoughts; the character?s thoughts are conveyed throught the actions of its eyes.

If the character has no eyes, such as an inanimate object like
a Luxo lamp, it is even more important to lead with the head. The number of frames to lead
the eyes and head depends on how much thought precedes the main action. The animator must
first understand a character?s thought process for any given action. Consider a
character wanting to snatch some cheese from a mouse trap; the eyes will lead the snatch
by quite a bit because this is a big decision. The character needs time to think,
"...Hmm...This looks tricky, is this cheese really worth it or is it just processed
American cheese food?...Oh what the heck...," he decides, and snatches the cheese.

Conversely, if the action is a character ducking to miss a low
flying sheep, the anticipation of the eyes leading the action should be just a couple of
frames. "What the...," and the next thing, he is spitting wool out of his mouth.

The only time that the eyes or head would not lead the action
would be when an external force is driving the character?s movements, as opposed to
his thought process. For example, if that character was hit in the back by the low flying
sheep, the force of the impact would cause the body to move first, snapping the head back
and dragging it behind the main action of the body.

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<a name="moving holds"></a>MOVING HOLDS 

In hand-drawn animation, it is very common to animate an
action, then slow into a pose and hold the drawing of that pose for several frames, then
move into action again. Being two dimensional animation, the action stays alive even with
the use of held drawings. The same goes for puppet and clay animation. But in 3-D computer
animation, as soon as you go into a held pose, the action dies immediately. I?ve seen
it happen with every animator that came out of traditional animation.

It must be the combination of the dimensional, realistic look
and the smooth motion (usually on "ones") that makes a hold cause the motion to
die. The eye picks it up immediately, it begins to look like robotic motion. To combat
this, use a "moving hold." Instead of having every part of the character stop,
have some part continue to move slightly in the same direction, like an arm, a head, or
even have the whole body.

Even the slightest movement will keep your character alive.
Sometimes an action that feels believable in traditional animation, looks too cartoony in
computer animation. Because of the realistic look of computer animation, an animator need
to be aware of how far to push the motion. The motion should match the design of the
character and the world. Animating very cartoony motion with lots of squash and stretch on
a realistic looking object may not look believable, as would realistic motion on a
caricatured object.

This is the pitfall of using motion capture devices to create
final animation. Motion capture from human actors will always look realistic... for a
human. But apply that motion to a chicken and it will look like a human in a chicken suit.
You can use the motion capture data as a starting place, tweak the timing and poses to
make it more caricatured, then apply it to the chicken and the motion will match the
design of the character.

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<a name="emotion"></a>EMOTION 

The personality of a character is conveyed through emotion and
emotion is the best indicator as to how fast an action should be. A character would not do
a particular action the same way in two different emotional states. When a character is
happy, the timing of his movements will be faster. Conversely, when sadness is upon the
character, the movements will be slower. An example of this, in Luxo Jr., is the action of
Jr. hopping. When he is chasing the ball, he is very excited and happy with all his
thoughts on the ball. His head is up looking at the ball, the timing of his hops are fast
as there is very little time spent on the ground between hops because he can?t wait
to get to the ball.

After he pops the ball, however, his hop changes drastically,
reflecting his sadness that the object of all his thoughts and energy just a moment ago is
now dead. As he hops off, his head is down, the timing of each hop is slower, with much
more time on the ground between hops. Before, he had a direction and a purpose to his hop.
Now he is just hopping off to nowhere. 1

To make a character?s personality seem real to an
audience, he must be different than the other characters on the screen. A simple way to
distinguish the personalities of your characters is through contrast of movement. No two
characters would do the same action in the same way. For example, in Luxo Jr., both Dad
and Jr. bat the ball with their heads. Yet Dad, who is larger and older, leans over the
ball and uses only his shade to bat it. Jr., however, is smaller, younger, and full of
energy, he whacks the ball with his whole shade, putting his whole body into it. 1

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<a name="readability of s"></a>READABILITY OF
ACTIONS 

Proper timing is critical to making ideas readable. It is
important to spend enough time (but no more) preparing the audience for: the anticipation
of an action; the action itself; and the reaction to the action (the follow through). If
too much time is spent on any of these, the audience?s attention will wander. If too
little time is spent, the movement may be finished before the audience notices it, thus
wasting the idea.

The faster the movement, the more critical it is to make sure
the audience can follow what is happening. The action must not be so fast that the
audience cannot read it and understand the meaning of it. 4

To make sure an idea or action is unmistakably clear, the
audience?s eye must be led to exactly where it needs to be at the right moment, they
must not miss the idea or action. Timing, as well as staging and anticipation are all
integral to directing the audience?s eye. A well-staged anticipation will be wasted
if it is not timed properly. 1

It is important that only one idea is seen by the audience at
a time. If a lot of action is happening at once, the eye does not know where to look and
the main idea will be overlooked. The object of interest should be significantly
contrasted against the rest of the scene. In a still scene, the eye will be attracted to
movement. In a very busy scene, the eye will be attracted to something that is still. Each
idea or action must be timed and staged in the strongest and simplest way before going on
to the next idea or action. The animator is saying, in effect, "Look at this, now
look at this, and now look at this." 3

In most cases, an action should not be brought to a complete
stop before starting another action; the second action should overlap the first. This
slight overlapping maintains a flow and continuity between whole phrases of actions.

In Luxo Jr., it was very important that the audience was
looking in the right place at the right time, because the story, acting and emotion was
being put across with movement alone, in pantomime, and sometimes the movement was very
subtle. If the audience missed an action, an emotion would be missed, and the story would
suffer. So the action had to be timed and paced so that only Dad or Jr. was doing an
important action at any one time, never both. In the beginning of the film, Dad is
on-screen alone and your eye is on him. But as soon as Jr. hops on-screen, he is moving
faster than Dad; therefore the audience?s eye immediately goes to him and stays
there.

Most of the time Jr. is on-screen, Dad?s actions are
timed to be very subtle, so the attention of the audience is always on Jr. where most of
the story was being told. If Dad?s actions were important, Jr.?s actions were
toned down and Dad?s movements were emphasized then the attention of the audience
would transfer to Dad. For example, when Jr. looks up to Dad after he?s popped the
ball and Dad shakes his head, all eyes are on Jr. 1

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<a name="story trick"></a>A STORY TRICK 

In storytelling, the timing of ideas and actions is important
to the audience?s understanding of the story at any point in time. It is important
that the animation be timed to stay either slightly ahead of the audience?s
understanding of what?s going on with the story, or slightly behind. It makes the
story much more interesting than staying even with the audience. If the animation is too
far ahead, the audience will be confused; if the animation is too far behind, the
audience, will get bored; in either case, their attention will wander.

Action timed to be slightly ahead of the audience adds an
element of suspense and surprise; it keeps them guessing about what will happen next. An
example of this is at the beginning of Luxo Jr. Dad is on-screen, alone and still; the
audience believes they are looking at a plain inanimate lamp. Unexpectedly, a ball comes
rolling in from off-screen. At this point, both Dad and the audience are confused. The
audience?s interest is in what is to come next.

When the action is timed to be slightly behind the audience, a
story point is revealed to the audience before it is known to the character. The
entertainment comes in seeing the character discover what the audience already knows.
Another application of this is with a dim-witted character who is always behind; the
audience figures it out before he does.

Many of these tricks can be used in concert in any given scene
in order to achieve the strongest impact on an audience. At the end of the dream sequence
in Red?s Dream, Red juggles three balls and catches them with a big finish; the crowd
explodes into wild applause, and Red takes his bows. Slowly the circus ring dissolves to
the interior of the bike shop, the sound of the applause fades into the sound of rain, and
Red, unaware, continues to take his bows. At this point, the audiences has not caught on
to what is happening because the timing of the action is slightly ahead of the audience.
As the room appears, so does the large?50% OFF? tag hanging from Red?s
seat. The animation of the tag is timed to be light in weight; it flops around more
actively than anything else in the scene. This contrast of action directs the
audience?s attention to the tag which is a subtle reminder that Red is still in the
bike shop. The audience is now ahead of the character and watches Red discover where he
really is. Red?s actions were timed to be slow, accentuating his sad emotion. Timing
made the story points clear, the emotion stronger, and the character?s actions were a
result of his thought process; thus, the scene has a strong impact on the audience.

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<a name="ask why"></a>ASK WHY 

In every step of the production of your animation, the story,
the design, the staging, the animation, the editing, the lighting, the sound, etc., ask
yourself why? Why is this here? Does it further the story? Does it support the whole? To
create successful animation, you must understand why an object moves before you can figure
out how it should move. Character animation isn?t the fact that an object looks like
a character or has a face or hands. Character animation is when an object moves like it is
alive, when it looks like it is thinking and all of its movements are generated by its own
thought process. It is the change of shape that shows that a character is thinking. It is
the thinking that gives the illusion of life. It is the life that gives meaning to the
expression. 3 As Saint-Exup?ry wrote, ?It?s not the eyes, but the
glance - not the lips, but the smile...? 2

Every single movement of your character should be there for a
purpose, to support the story and the personality of your character. It is animation after
all and any kind of motion is possible, and in the world of your story any kind of rules
can exist. But there must be rules for your world to be believable. For example, if a
character in your story can?t fly and then all of a sudden he can fly for no reason,
your world and story will lose credibility with your audience. The movement of your
character and the world of your story should feel perfectly natural to the audience. As
soon as something looks wrong or out of place, your audience will pop out of your story
and think about how weird that looked and you?ve lost them. The goal is to create a
personality of a character and a storyline that will suck your audience in and keep them
entertained for the length of your film. When a film achieves this goal, the audience will
lose track of time and forget about all their worldly cares. For all that any audience
truly wants is to be entertained.

<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/lasseter_s94.htm#top" target="_blank">Top</a>

<hr style="height: 2px;">

<a name="references"></a>REFERENCES

1. Lasseter, John, "Principles of Traditional Animation
Applied to 3D Computer Animation," SIGGRAPH ?87, Computer Graphics, Vol. 21, No.
4, pp. 35-44, July, 1987.

2. Saint-Exup?ry, Wind,
Sand and Stars, Harcourt, Brace and Co., New York,
1932.

3. Thomas, Frank and Johnston, Ollie, Disney Animation? The Illusion of Life, Abbeville Press, New York, 1981.

4. Whitaker, Harold and Halas, John, Timing for Animation, Focal
Press, London, 1981.

<img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/rain_lin.gif" height="4" width="540" border="0"> 
<a href="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/anim0.htm" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/icons/back.gif" height="40" width="40" border="0"> Main Animation
Page</a>

dynafx

20-05-2005, 02:00 PM

<center>Ed Hooks Acting Class Notes 
Taken by Angie Jones, <a href="http://www.spicycricket.com/" target="new" target="_blank">http://www.spicycricket.com</a>
</center>
 


Intro by Angie Jones: 
I wanted to provide those who couldn't attend this workshop some of my notes, BUT! I
recommend this class to any animator who has ever been stuck on where to go with a
character on a scene. Which is basically all of us at one time or another ? : ) It is
definately worth the time, travel and money. 
Let me begin with, I do not think I have laughed as hard as I did those two days, in
years. : ) 
On top of that, the mix of Ed Hooks acting stories and input with Jo McGinley's improv
exercises provided excellent tools to quickly pinpoint how you interpret your character.
They provided a vocabulary with the laban methods that enable you to make a quick, concise
judgment of who the character is and how he/she would act in the circumstances given. In
addition, I have taken some acting classes that used the laban techniques and exercises
before, and those weren't even half as entertaining or informative as those Jo had us
perform. They have catered the acting techniques and stories to specifcally help animators
with issues and they are trying hard to relate the two art forms. 
I am providing some of my notes from the class below, but the bottom line is you got to be
there and participate in the class to really get the "whole enchilada's" worth of
information and tools. My notes are way sparse compared to what you get if you attend. I
highly recommend this class!! I know they are going to offer it again. 
I hope this helps somebody I know it has already inspired me to use these tools. 
Angie <hr> 
Acting for Animators 
A Weekend Workshop by Ed Hooks 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">1) Always remember where the character is coming from. Fix the moment before your
scene. What profession am I? Waiting for a bus? 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">2) Important quotes from Disney: 
"In order to be funny, you have to touch somebody's heart" 
"The mind is the pilot" 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">3) EMPATHY, is the most important thing about acting. People to study, Charlie Chaplin =
empathy; Buster Keaton = sympathy; Harold Lloyd, etc. People relate to emotion. 
Chaplin Story to explain the different between sympathy and empathy. 
Chaplin gets foot stuck in a bucket. Keaton would try to shake it off erratically to get
the quick, cheap laugh. Chaplin would try to keep his dignity and through embarrassment
hide the bucket behind him causing empathy for his problem. This is more clever and more
funny. The laughter can be stretched too through his trying to hide the fact his foot is
tuck in the bucket. After the intitial erratic move by Keaton the laugh is done and it
looked practiced int he first place. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">4) Suspension of Disbelief: 
Samuel Coolridge said, "Suspending disbelief that you are in the theater watching
something is what good actors do." 
Peter Brook of the Royal Shakespeare Company said, "A tension line between the actor them
self, a tension line between them self and other actors, and a tension line between them
self and the audience are what suspend that disbelief. If those three things are not
there the suspension of that disbelief is lost" 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">5) Conflict: 
There are 3 kinds of conflict, conflict with self, with situation and with other
characters. Those are your obstacles. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">6) Definition of Emotion: "Automatic Value Response" he got this from a psychiatrist.
When he asked the psychiatrist how many emotions can "go off" at once, the psychiatrist
replied "all of them...it's called shock." 
To get emotions to the surface animators re-motivate an emotion for days over and over.
Actors do not do this. It is immediate for them and then gone. 
A scene is a negotiation of conflict. 
Description from Anthony Hopkins of how he played the butler in Remains of the Day: 
"The trick to playing the butler is that all of the space in the room belonged to the
master. The butler only has permission to be there." It is a negotiation of space. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">7) EMPATHY: 
Act to survive, we all do it to live...what is the survival mechanism in this character?
Charlie Chaplin's Autobiography-- said "conceptual is common to people regardless to
country--universals are important to silent film." 
Empathy is different than Sympathy, this is why Charlie Chaplin was the bigger star. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">8) Overacting: 
"cheap animation" = overacting, the more subtle stuff like looking busy when you are in a
shocking, embarrassing situation instead of going for the overreaction of shock for a
"cheap laugh." 
THE AUDIENCE IS SMARTER THAN YOU THINK - DO NOT OVER ANIMATE. 
We are wired to read facial expression from far away in order to make a value judgment of
the other person. 
Just a glance, subtle motion can say soooo much --- it makes the scene resonate. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">9) Difference between comedy and drama: 
Neil Simon Story: 
I was in a fight with my wife and she was cooking dinner in the kitchen. She reaches in
the ice box for some frozen peas and slams them down on the counter. This is drama, but
if she had thrown them at me (N.S.) it would have been comedy--that is how fine the line
is. It becomes comedy when it is an "extension" of the moment. 
Comedy is much harder to do than drama because it is drama PLUS! 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">10) Working with short takes...convert the motivation from want to NEED 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">11) Motivation: 
Why are they doing that? The externals are what animators are concerned with BUT they are
a result of the internal The purpose of the movement is destination. Keep the motivation
in mind always. The audience is looking for the extraordinary moment not the ordinary
moment. When something really good or bad happens to you the mind gets bathed in
adrenaline and we remember that moment -- use it, these are the important moments. 
Balla in Ants - her important moment was "The day I realized he is not such a fool." 
The big problem for animators and acting is that they have to focus on the externals of a
character like facial and body movement while actors know those things are a RESULT of
what is going on internally; therefore, actors begin with the internals and do not work
with the externals...those are the result! 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">12) Scorsese uses story boards but the actor doesn't see those, they use the script for
motivation. If you are stuck ask for the script and read many pages before that scene to
get your character's motivation. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">13) There is a BIG difference between stereotype and archetype. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">14) Hannibal Lector story from Silence of the Lambs 
Anthony Hopkins in in the prison and Jodi Foster is describing the death of her father.
Hannibal listens and he shows he is stimulated by the images of gore and blood, but at the
same time he identifies with her loss of a father making him seem just a little human
too. This gives his evil character more depth and makes him less one dimensional. 
A good villain is a normal person with a fatal flaw...great villain Cruella De Ville --
she just wanted a coat made of puppy skins. The complexity is through where she is a a
person -- age status. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">15) Anticipation is bad acting. Expectancy will kill your scene. Don't tell them what
is funny with over acting, keep it honest. The temptation is to act MORE - but you do not
have to. 
Great places for human undertone and empathy: 
Charlie Chaplin movies Gold Rush, City Lights and Modern Times. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">16) Ed said his one regret regarding Ants is that he couldn't get a handicapped or
limping character into any scene. He wanted it there as a fact of life...no comment on
it...just a part of life. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">17) Character Bios: 
<li>Age
</li><li>Height
</li><li>Weight
</li><li>Gender
</li><li>Childhood
</li><li>Ethnic Background
</li><li>Profession
</li><li>Dreams
</li><li>Morals
</li><li>Health
</li><li>Environment
</li><li>Education
</li><li>Sex Life
</li><li>Intelligence
</li><li>Idiocyncracies
</li><li>Need/Purpose
</li><li>Body Structure 
The audience doesn't have to know the character's long term purpose or objective, but!
that long term purpose effects the character's short term actions. 
If you look into another character's eyes for more than 10 seconds you better be ready to
fight or make love. 
IMPROV NOTES 
"The more obvious you are the more original you appear" Keith Johnstone (king of improv) 
1st offer leads the scene and the diatribe between actors has to unfold the story
quickly. You can reincorporate previous events to bring about familiarity. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">Good exercise: 
What do you do as your morning ritual? Everybody is different. 
Improv improves the plasticity of the brain. Treat your imagination with such respect
because if you do not you will get writer's block. Nurture it and do not beat yourself up
over how you 1st came up with a way to act a scene out. 
Goal = To make the other actor look good. This takes away the pressure from yourself. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">Jack Lemon story from the movie Missing: 
Jack said he worked this character through the hat he always wore. Since he is
desperately trying to find his son and no one will help he acts like his hat is what is
keep a lid on his emotions and holding everything together. When he finally takes his hat
off he falls apart. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">Laban: 
There is sooo much here on this and it really is so visual and you need to just do it...I
won't go into detail or try to give notes since I really didn't take any. I will only say
that this is where you get a vocabulary to apply to hammering down a character in a very
short time which is what improv people have to do all of the time. It is extremely
valuable and I encourage you to try to get into the class to experience it. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">Power Centers and Status: 
This has nothing really to do with money or power and more to do with how you see yourself
in the world and where you place YOURSELF in an environment. 
High Status = Very Still, make eye contact, comfortable. 
Low Status = Looking down a lot, touching face, uncomfortable. 
Body language encompasses your power center and politicians really understand that. When
a politician speaks you don't hear what they say you watch their body language. 
Watch any scene with the sound turned off and you will immediately see the good acting and
the bad acting</li>

dynafx

20-05-2005, 02:01 PM

<center>Richard Williams Animation Master Class Notes 
Taken by Dave Bailey
</center>
 

DISCLAIMER: The posting of
these notes is in no way meant to undermine Richard Williams or his
class. They are instead provided to share information as well as
generate interest in this class. We have the utmost respect for Mr.
Williams and anyone interested in attending Richard Williams' class is highly
encouraged to do so. Did we say highly? We meant to say, GO TO HIS
CLASS! From every source we've ever heard from, it is clear that any
notes on the subject, such as the ones below, barely scratch the
surface of the experience of actually attending the classes. 
While these notes fall in the category of public domain, we are doing
our best to contact Mr. Williams for his endorsement/approval. 
 
<hr> 


The Richard Williams Animation Master Class was an incredible
experience. Mr. Williams is a very personable, entertaining and
competent teacher. The three days were crammed full of theories,
examples and entertaining stories. This gray haired balding gentleman
would race across the stage, jump about or crawl on all fours in the
effort of getting the concepts across. I made over 40 pages of notes
and sketches. Although the class is geared toward traditional cell
animation most of what is discussed is applicable to CG. 
Just a small disclaimer, most of these notes are my interpretation of
what Mr. Williams said. Also most of my notes are in the form of crude
quickly drawn examples. Without the sketches some of what is noted
below is not as easily understood. If there is something that is not
clear or you just don't agree with let me know and I will try to
clarify as best I can. <a href="mailto:Dbailey@pixinc.com" target="_blank">Dbailey@pixinc.com</a> 
Note: any reference to timing is based on 24 fps 
"Sophisticated Use of the Basics" -- Animation Master Class by Richard Williams 
What is animation? 
<li>Change is the basis of all animation
</li><li>There are two types of animation Morphing and the type that gives the illusion of life. </li><li> Animation is all in the timing and spacing
</li><li>You must show where the weight is, where it is coming from and where the weight is going to. 
KEY FRAMES - are the story telling frames (The story board drawings) 
Frames where the character makes contact (heel strike pose, touching an object, etc.) 
EXTREMES - are the where there is a change of direction.
They are NOT Key Frames. 
BREAKDOWNS are the middle or passing position. 
On breakdowns always add an extra bit of movement -- almost anything will work. 
Don't go from A to B. Go from A to Z to B 
Methods of Working:
</li><li>1) Straight-Ahead - Just start and see what happens. (Creative but lacks control)
</li><li>2) Pose to Pose - (Lots of control but restricts creativity)
</li><li>3) The "Best" Method - A combination of "Pose to Pose" and "Straight Ahead". 
Steps to take before animating:
</li><li>1) Before working turn off all other stimulus --"UNPLUG"
</li><li>2) Write down what you want to do
</li><li>3) Act it out
</li><li>4) Work out the timing
</li><li>5) Then animate 
The "Best" animating method
</li><li>Step 1 - Do the KEY frames (the story telling poses)
</li><li>Step 2 - Do the frames that have to be there (the contact frames)
</li><li>Step 3 - Do the breakdown poses (passing/middle poses) Don't forget to add that extra bit of action.
</li><li>Step 4 - Do Straight Ahead Runs of different parts in hierarchical order 
Testing along the way. 
(Hips first followed by legs then arms then head. Drapery is always last) 
GENERAL GUIDES & TIPS 
The human eye can not see (comprehend) an action done in less then 5
frames, for an action to be readable it must be done in 5 or more
frames. 
The way I under stood this to mean was that the 5 frames could include
the anticipation of the movement. For example a character could be held
in a 5 frame anticipation and be off the screen in the 6th. The use of
ease-in or ease-out would also be included in those 5 frames. 
Mr. Williams also stressed that all the things he was teaching were
general guidelines and theories and one should always have the courage
to break the rules. Experiment and test often, the only thing that
matters is if the final animation works! 
Never exit the frame in less than 5 frames. 
On in-betweens don't animate in a straight-line use curved paths 
For fast/hard impacts, skip the actual impact frame. Go immediately from action to reaction. 
A character should never take off or land on both feet at the same time. 
Blinks frequently happen on a passing pose. 
There are generally two frames between the open and closed positions of an eye during a blink. 
WALKS & RUNS 
On a walk only one foot leaves the ground at a time 
On a run both feet leave the ground for at least 1 frame and the character is always down on the passing pose. 
Always create your heel strike poses first. 
A normal walk is on march-time - a heel strikes the ground every 12 frames 
A Hollywood cartoon walk heel-strike is every 8 frames 
A stroll heel-strike is every 16 frames 
A normal run heel-strike is every 8 frames 
Heel-strikes on the fastest run possible occurs every 4 frames (this only works for small characters) 
OVERLAPPING ACTION 
Overlapping action is action that does not happen all at once. 
I changed the word "breaking" to "bending" in the line below while
taking my notes. It helped me differentiate between "A successive
breaking of joints" - (breaking up the movement of an articulated
object) and "breaking a joint" - (unnatural bending) Both concepts are
used for the same purpose of getting smooth curvaceous movement. The
whole idea of the broken joint is that it is unnoticeable to the eye,
so, yes it can be used for realistic animation. 
A successive bending of joints limber up movement -- It's an unfolding action.
If twinning is happening, think about what parts can be delayed. 
Another example of overlapping action is delaying the movement of loose
fatty tissue (Jowls) behind the quicker moving muscle and bone (skull). 
COUNTER ACTION 
A counter action is where one part moves in the opposite direction to counter the weight and thrust of another part. 
BREAKING JOINTS 
The unnatural bending of joints to obtain curvaceous movement with straight line segments. 
If the successive frames with broken joints are less than five and less
then the number of frames with non-broken joints the distortion will
not be noticed. 
To really add SNAP to a movement put one "crazy" position the frame before the extreme position. 
The word "crazy" was Mr. Williams' but I think it's a bit misleading.
It is not an extreme. It is a slightly out of joint position a frame
before the Extreme. After the extreme you would ease into a held
position. 
He gave the following example: (Please pardon my crude diagrams) 
The example he gave was an arm making a pointing motion. Starting with
the arm bent at the elbow (V), hand pointing up. On the end frame 7 the
arm is straight out (---), hand pointing forward. On frame 6 the hand
is close to its final position but the elbow is broken in a reverse
bend upward about 20 degrees (^-). I would not really call frame 6 an
extreme more like a semi out of place in-between. 
DIALOGUE 
</li><li>Consonants must have 2 frames to read - steal from the preceding sound if needed.
</li><li>Hit the mouth accent on the vowel.
</li><li>Vowels need 2 poses an accent pose and a cushion pose.
</li><li>Pop the mouth open on vowels with an accent pose and immediately ease into a cushion pose
</li><li> "Boil it down" - Keep the mouth movement simple.
</li><li>Form the words (watch singers)
</li><li>Lift the head 3-4 frames in advance of the modulation.
</li><li>Upper teeth are anchored to the skull.
</li><li>Women usually show upper teeth only.
</li><li>Men (50/50) show upper or lower teeth only a rare few show both.
</li><li>The tongue is hooked at the back of the lower jaw, not stuck in the throat
</li><li>Never in-between the tongue, always snap it from one position to the next.
</li><li>When giving dialogue a character should be progressing (or regressing) somewhere.
</li><li>Get the body action right then add the mouth. 
Break up the action and the dialog - do one thing at a time!
For example talk then point or point then talk 
Animate dialogue on level sync, then in post, test delaying the voice audio by approximately 2 frames to see what works best.</li>

dynafx

20-05-2005, 02:07 PM

<center>Principles of Animation 
Article excerpt written by John Lasseter, Pixar, San Rafael, California 
ACM Computer Graphics, Volume 21, Number 4, July 1987 
PRINCIPLES OF TRADITIONAL ANIMATION 
APPLIED TO 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION

</center>
 

Between the late 1920's and the late 1930's animation grew from a
novelty to an art form at the Walt Disney Studio. With every picture,
actions became more convincing, and characters were emerging as true
personalities. Audiences were enthusiastic and many of the animators
were satisfied, however it was clear to Walt Disney that the level of
animation and existing character were not adequate to pursue new story
lines-- characters were limited to certain types of action and,
audience acceptance notwithstanding, they were not appealing to the
eye. It was apparent to Walt Disney that no one could successfully
animate a humanized figure or a life-like animal; a new drawing
approach was necessary to improve the level of animation exemplified by
the Three Little Pigs. [10] 
Disney set up drawing classes for his animators at the Chouinard Art
Institute in Los Angeles under instructor Don Graham. When the classes
were started, most of the animators were drawing using the old cartoon
formula of standardized shapes, sizes, actions, and gestures, with
little or no reference to nature. [12] Out of these classes grew a way
of drawing moving human figures and animals. The students studied
models in the motion [20] as well as live action film, playing certain
actions over and over. [13] The analysis of action became important to
the development of animation. 
Some of the animators began to apply the lessons of these classes to
production animation, which became more sophisticated and realistic.
The animators continually searched for better ways to communicate to on
another the ideas learned from these lessons. Gradually, procedures
were isolated and named, analyzed and perfected, and new artists were
taught these practices as rules of the trade. [26] They became the
fundamental principles of traditional animation: 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">1. Squash and Stretch -- Defining the rigidity and mass of an object by distorting its shape during an action. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">2. Timing -- Spacing actions to define the weight and size of objects and the personality of character. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">3. Anticipation -- The preparation for an action. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">4. Staging -- Presenting an idea so that it is unmistakably clear. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action -- The termination of an action and establishing it relationship to the next action. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">6. Straight Ahead Action and Pose-To-Pose Action -- The two contrasting approaches to the creation of movement. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">7. Slow In and Out -- The spacing of the inbetween frames to achieve subtlety of timing and movement. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">8. Arcs -- The visual path of action for natural movement. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">9. Exaggeration -- Accentuating the essence of an idea via the design and the action. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">10. Secondary Action -- The action of an object resulting from another action. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">11. Appeal -- Creating a design or an action that the audience enjoys watching. 
The application of some of these principles mean the same regardless of
the medium of animation. 2D hand drawn animation deals with a sequence
of two dimensional drawings that simulate motion. 3D animation involves
creating a three dimensional model in the computer. Motion is achieved
by setting keyframe poses and having the computer generate the
inbetween frames. Timing, anticipation, staging, follow through,
overlap, exaggeration, and secondary action apply in the same way for
both types of animation. While the meaning of squash and stretch, slow
in and out, arcs, appeal, straight ahead action, and pose-to-pose
action remain the same, their application changes due to the difference
in medium.

dynafx

20-05-2005, 02:08 PM

<center>Ollie's List: Animation Notes from a Master 
Compiled by Ollie Johnston
</center>
 


"When I was an animator at the Disney Studios, I had a xeroxed list
of simple notes from one of the great Disney animators, Ollie Johnston,
pinned to my drawing table. The list was originally written down by
another great Disney animator, Glen Keane, after working as Ollie's
assistant for a few years."
- John Lasseter 
John Lasseter: Honored with his first Oscar in 1988 for his
animated short film, Tin Toy. In addition, he has received Academy
Award nominations for his animated short Luxo Jr. (1986) and for his
role in writing the screenplay for Toy Story (which he also directed). 
Ollie Johnston: One of the animation greats. A supervising
animator and one of the "Nine Old Men" at Disney Animation Studios.
Co-Author of "The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation". Colleagues
agreed that Ollie carried acting and the feeling of the characters to
the highest point. 
Keep in mind these notes were originally developed for traditional cel
animation techniques, but they also apply to 3D Character Animation
techniques. 

<ol>
<li>Don't illustrate words or mechanical movements. Illustrate ideas or
thoughts, with attitudes and actions. 
</li><li>Squash and stretch entire body for attitudes. 
</li><li>If possible, make definite changes fromone attitude to another in
timing and expression. 
</li><li>What is the character thinking? 
</li><li>It is the thought and circumstances behind the action that will make
the action interesting. Example: A man walks up to a mailbox, drops in
his letter and walks away or A man desperately in love with a
woman far away carefully mails a letter in which he has poured his heart
out in. 
</li><li>When drawing dialogue, go for phrasing. (Simplify the dialogue into
pictures of the dominating vowel and consonant sounds, especially in
fast dialogue.) 
</li><li>Lift the body attitude 4 frames before dialogue modulation (but use
identical timing on mouth as on X sheet). 
</li><li>Change of expression and major dialogue sounds are a point of
interest. Do them,if at all possible within a pose. If the head moves
too much you won't see the changes. 
</li><li>Don't move anything unless it is for a purpose. 
</li><li>Concentrate on drawing clear, not clean. 
</li><li>Don't be careless. 
</li><li>Everything has a function. Don't draw without knowing why. 
</li><li>Let the body attitude echo the facial. 
</li><li>Get the best picture in your drawing by thumbnails and exploring all
avenues. 
</li><li>Analyze a character in specific pose for the best areas to show
stretch and squash. Keep these areas simple. 
</li><li>Picture in your head what it is you're drawing. 
</li><li>Think in terms of drawing the whole character, not just the head or
eyes, etc. Keep a balanced relation of one part of the drawing to the
other. 
</li><li>Stage for the most effective drawing. 
</li><li>Draw a profile of the drawing you're working on every once in a
while. A profile is easier on which to show the proper proportions of
the face. 
</li><li>Usually the break in the eyebrow relates to the highpoint of the
eye. 
</li><li>The eye is pulled by the eyebrow muscles. 
</li><li>Get a plastic quality in face - cheeks, mouth and eyes. 
</li><li>Attain a flow through the body rhythm in your drawing. 
</li><li>Simple animated shapes. 
</li><li>The audience has a difficult time reading the first 6-8 frames in a
scene. 
</li><li>Does the added action in a scene contribute to the main idea in that
scene? will it help sell it or confuse it? 
</li><li>Don't animate for the sake of animation but think what the character
is thinking and what the scene needs to fit into the sequence. 
</li><li>Actions can be eliminated and staging "cheated" if it simplifies the
picture you are trying to show and is not disturbing to the audience. 
</li><li>Spend half your time planning your scene and the other half
animating. 
</li><li>How to animate a scene of a four-legged character acting and
walking: Work out the acting patterns first with the stretch and squash
in the body, neck and head; then go back in and animate the legs.
Finally, adjust the up and down on the body according to the legs.
</li>
</ol>

dynafx

20-05-2005, 02:10 PM

<center>Character Animation Exercises 
Written & compiled by Zero Z. Batzell Dean
</center>
 


Generally, most exercises will involve either a character's emotions or
a character's physical presence or both. Depending on how complex an
animation you want to work with, characters can be as simple as a
bouncing ball or as complicated as a living thing. It depends on how
much time you have and how much you want to accomplish. Keep in mind
that these are only suggestions to get you thinking. 
The following exercises vary quite a bit in complexity. Most of them
will require at least an intermediate understanding of the program
you're using, but you are welcome and encouraged to attempt them no
matter what level you're at. These exercises are ways in which you can
challenge yourself and improve your animation skills. If you're not
being challenged, you're not really doing yourself any favors. Pick
something just above your level of competency and then try it. Once
you've done it effectively, make it more complex. 
When I have time, I will try to rate these exercises and put them in
some sort of order. If you know of an exercise that has been
particularly useful to you or just have an interesting idea, please
send it and I will add it here. 
Exercise suggestions: 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">1)
Try to display the emotions a character might go through while waiting
for a bus that's late. Pay close attention to facial expressions, body
language, and detail. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">2)
Have a character try to open something (i.e. a present) that refuses to
open. The character can only use body parts for the first minute, but
may resort to other measures (i.e. tools and explosives) thereafter.
Note, the character will be affected by the tools used (i.e. blast of
an explosion). After you've mastered this, try to do the same thing
with a normally inanimate object (i.e. lamp) as your lead character. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">3a) Animate someone riding a pogo stick or some other 'fun' object (i.e. using a hoola hoop). 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">3b)
Have your character use a weighted object, such as a hammer or a
shovel. Demonstrate how the weight of the object affects the stance and
demeanor of the character using it. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">4)
Create a walk cycle, then vary it to accommodate different attitudes
and 'character'. For example: Angry, happy, sneaky, limping, carrying a
heavy object, sleep walking, etc. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">5) Animate two characters sawing a log. The first character is a big,
muscular brute. Animate him pose-to-pose first and cycle his animation. The
second character is a scrawny little guy who gets yanked around, grabbing onto the
saw for dear life. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">6) Have a character bend down, pick up something heavy, and throw it. This
exercise can help you with timing, emphasizing weight, and anticipation. 
<img src="http://www.3dark.com/images/index_page/orange_bullet.gif" border="0" height="12" width="12" border="0">7)
Put a short character in a tall room with one window, one door, one
light (and switch) and a hanging ceiling fan (with hanging switch). The
room contains 3 boxes, a ball, and a board. Imagine the different ways
your character could figure out how to reach the hanging switch and
then animate the most outrageous. Next, subtract two boxes and add a
skateboard and try again.

dynafx

21-05-2005, 03:51 PM

<pre>BLINKING // Blinking. A human blinks once every four seconds. This timing can change according to what emotional state the character is in. If anger is your dominant attribute then the blink rate should decrease to once every six seconds. The reason behind this is physical; the eyes open wide in anger, achieving a glare. If you are acting nervous then the blink rate increases to once every two seconds. This reaction is involuntary. Blinking brings realism to your characters but also emphasizes a particular emotion or mood. // Gavin Moore's article is becoming a defacto reference guide for this kind of info! http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010418/moore_01.htm (requires registration)</pre>

dynafx

23-05-2005, 02:23 PM

Cartoon Physics:  

Cartoon Law
I 

Any body
suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its
situation.  
Daffy Duck steps off a cliff, expecting further pastureland. He
loiters in midair, soliloquizing flippantly, until he chances to
look down. At this point, the familiar principle of 32 feet per
second per second takes over.  

Cartoon Law
II 

Any body in
motion will tend to remain in motion until solid matter intervenes
suddenly.  
Whether shot from a cannon or in hot pursuit on foot, cartoon
characters are so absolute in their momentum that only a telephone
pole or an outsize boulder retards their forward motion absolutely.
Sir Isaac Newton called this sudden termination of motion the
stooge's surcease.  

Cartoon Law
III 

Any body
passing through solid matter will leave a perforation conforming to
its perimeter.  
Also called the silhouette of passage, this phenomenon is the
specialty of victims of directed-pressure explosions and of reckless
cowards who are so eager to escape that they exit directly through
the wall of a house, leaving a cookie-cutout-perfect hole. The
threat of skunks or matrimony often catalyzes this
reaction.  

Cartoon Law
IV 

The time
required for an object to fall twenty stories is greater than or
equal to the time it takes for whoever knocked it off the ledge to
spiral down twenty flights to attempt to capture it unbroken.  
Such an object is inevitably priceless, the attempt to capture it
inevitably unsuccessful.  

Cartoon Law
V 

All
principles of gravity are negated by fear.  
Psychic forces are sufficient in most bodies for a shock to propel
them directly away from the earth's surface. A spooky noise or an
adversary's signature sound will induce motion upward, usually to
the cradle of a chandelier, a treetop, or the crest of a flagpole.
The feet of a character who is running or the wheels of a speeding
auto need never touch the ground, especially when in
flight.  

Cartoon Law
VI 

As speed
increases, objects can be in several places at once.  
This is particularly true of tooth-and-claw fights, in which a
character's head may be glimpsed emerging from the cloud of
altercation at several places simultaneously. This effect is common
as well among bodies that are spinning or being throttled. A 'wacky'
character has the option of self- replication only at manic high
speeds and may ricochet off walls to achieve the velocity
required.  

Cartoon Law
VII 

Certain
bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel
entrances; others cannot.  
This trompe l'oeil inconsistency has baffled generations, but at
least it is known that whoever paints an entrance on a wall's
surface to trick an opponent will be unable to pursue him into this
theoretical space. The painter is flattened against the wall when he
attempts to follow into the painting. This is ultimately a problem
of art, not of science. 

Cartoon Law
VIII

Any violent
rearrangement of feline matter is impermanent.  
Cartoon cats possess even more deaths than the traditional nine
lives might comfortably afford. They can be decimated, spliced,
splayed, accordion-pleated, spindled, or disassembled, but they
cannot be destroyed. After a few moments of blinking self pity, they
re-inflate, elongate, snap back, or solidify.   
Corollary: A cat will assume the shape of its container. 

Cartoon Law
IX

Everything
falls faster than an anvil. 

Cartoon Law
X

For every
vengeance there is an equal and opposite revengeance. 
This is the one law of animated cartoon motion that also applies to
the physical world at large. For that reason, we need the relief of
watching it happen to a duck instead.  

Cartoon Law
XI

Any
character can fly by holding two feathers and flapping their arms. 
Corollary: Flight is temporary, lasting only long enough to bring
the character over a large drop. 
   
AMENDMENTS TO THE CARTOON LAWS OF PHYSICS 

Cartoon Law
Amendment A

A sharp
object will always propel a character upward. 
When poked (usually in the buttocks) with a sharp object (usually a
pin), a character will defy gravity by shooting straight up, with
great velocity. 

Cartoon Law
Amendment B

The laws of
object permanence are nullified for "cool" characters. 
Characters who are intended to be "cool" can make
previously nonexistent objects appear from behind their backs at
will. For instance, the Road Runner can materialize signs to express
himself without speaking. 

Cartoon Law
Amendment C

Explosive
weapons cannot cause fatal injuries. 
They merely turn characters temporarily black and smoky. 

Cartoon Law
Amendment D

Gravity is
transmitted by slow-moving waves of large wavelengths. 
Their operation can be witnessed by observing the behavior of a
canine suspended over a large vertical drop. Its feet will begin to
fall first, causing its legs to stretch. As the wave reaches its
torso, that part will begin to fall, causing the neck to stretch. As
the head begins to fall, tension is released and the canine will
resume its regular proportions until such time as it strikes the
ground.  

Cartoon Law
Amendment E

Dynamite is
spontaneously generated in "C-spaces" (spaces in which
Cartoon laws hold). 
The process is analogous to steady-state theories of the universe
which postulated that the tensions involved in maintaining a space
would cause the creation of hydrogen from nothing. Dynamite quanta
are quite large (stick-sized) and unstable (lit). Such quanta are
attracted to psychic forces generated by feelings of distress in
"cool" characters (see Amendment B, which may be a special
case of this law), who are able to use said quanta to their
advantage. One may imagine C-spaces where all matter and energy
result from primal masses of dynamite exploding. A big bang indeed.

dynafx

27-05-2005, 03:29 PM

This is a wonderful article for not only beginners but also for practiced

animators. Please read it. 
---------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- 
 

<center>28 Principles of Animation</center>

There are some principles of animation that can be consciously used in

any scene. We should familiarize ourselves with them for both animation

and animation-cleanup.

To illustrate these principles, I have chosen a supposedly simple scene.

When the scene is analyzed, it is apparent how far one may go in using these

principles.

The action in this scene is quite broad, making the principles easy to

find, but they should be applied to subtle scenes also. Rarely in a picture

is a character doing nothing- absolutely nothing. Snow White and Sleeping

Beauty spend a short time in complete inactivity, but even then certain

of these principles were used.

The use of held drawings and moving holds can be very effective, but

only if they contain the vitality of an action drawing. Again, the use of

these principles makes that possible.

<center><img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig1.jpg" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="216" width="151" border="0"> 
  The purpose of studying and analyzing a scene like this is to
acquaint oneself with the possibilites in the use of the principles of
animation. I have listed 28 principles, though there well may be more.
At first these will have to be used consciously, then hopefully in time
will become second nature. These are the tools of animation and should
be incorporated whenever possible. Some of them are accidentally
stumbled upon while animating in an emotional spurt, but when the
emotions are lax, knowing these principles will enable the artist to
animate his scene intellectually, logically and artistically as well as
emotionally. 
<img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig2.jpg" border="0"> 

Here is a list of things (principles) that appear in these drawings,

most of which should appear in all scenes, for they comprise the basis for

full animation

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2">

<t><tr>

<td width="33%"><dl><dt>-Pose and Mood

</dt><dt>-Shape and Form

</dt><dt>-Anatomy

</dt><dt>-Model or Character

</dt><dt>-Weight

</dt><dt>-Line and Silhouette

</dt><dt>-Action and Reaction

</dt><dt>-Perspective

</dt><dt>-Direction

</dt><dt>-Tension

</dt></dl>

</td>

<td width="33%"><dl><dt> -Planes

</dt><dt>-Solidity

</dt><dt>-Arcs

</dt><dt>-Squash and Stretch

</dt><dt>-Beat and Rythem

</dt><dt>-Depth and Volume

</dt><dt>-Overlap and followthru

</dt><dt>-Timing

</dt><dt>-Working from extreme to extreme

</dt></dl>

</td>

<td width="34%"><dl><dt> -Straights and Curves

</dt><dt>-Primary and secondary action

</dt><dt>-Staging and composition

</dt><dt>-Anticipation

</dt><dt>-Caricature

</dt><dt>-Details

</dt><dt>-Texture

</dt><dt>-Simplification

</dt><dt>-Positive and negative shapes

</dt></dl>

</td></tr>

</t></table>



<center><img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig3.jpg" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="216" width="471" border="0"> 
An example of the observations that might be made by flipping and studying

just these two drawings. By shifting your eyes from one drawing to the other

you can see these things happening. Watch the negative shapes also.

<center><img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig4.jpg" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="432" width="447" border="0"> 
This drawing would be called the "push off". Note that every

line and shape on the drawing helps the upward thrust. Even the tail, which

is still following the path set up for it by its primary force, the rump,

helps by way of contrast and followthrough. Pick any shape on the figure

and compare it to drawing #6 on the preceding page. Note how each shape

changes to enhance the overall shape and action: the neck, the chest, the

legs, the back, etc.

Even though this is just one drawing, there is no doubt about

the action that is taking place in this part of the scene. This should be

true of any drawing in any scene.

 

<img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig5.jpg" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="360" width="412" border="0"> 

Consider Anatomy Alone:

Aside from its purpose in the scene each drawing can be analyzed for

different aspects of drawing. The whole body is a caracature of an animal,

but all the parts of a real animal are present i.e., head, neck, back, hips,

tail, etc. And each of them work and move in a plausible way.

<center><img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig6.jpg" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="360" width="382" border="0"> 
natomy Continued

Anatomy, of course is essential to any drawing whether it has a direct

reference to nature or is completely imaginary. Though a character and/or

its action may be greatly exaggerated or caracatured, anatomy in a sense

remains fairly constant. An elbow is an elbow and only bends in a certain

way, and has its limitation. Liberties may be taken but the "reality"

of even a cartoon must be kept or it will lose plausibility or credulity.

It is not an easy thing to convert one's knowledge of structural anatomy

to the cartoon medium.

It has been said that the location of a joint is more important than

the joint itself. For instane if an arm shape has been established, it cannot

have an elbow bend in an improbable place, no matter how well the elbow

is drawn. Compare tiger's arm to that of a real tiger.

<center><img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig7.jpg" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="144" width="280" border="0"> 
<center>Consider Weight</center>

The pull of gravity is one of the most important principles to deal with

in animation. Everything has a certain amount of weight and will act and

react accordingly. One easy way to lose the attention of an audience is

to have feathers falling like bricks or bricks falling like feathers.

A certain humor can be gotten by bending the rules but should only be

used where humor or special effect is called for. In shorts cartoons defying

the laws of gravity, weight, speed, squash and stretch, etc., is a the rule

of thumb. In Disney feature cartoons such flamboyant abandonment must be

handled more discriminately.

<center><img src="http://www.aimeemajor.com/anim/tig8.jpg" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="216" width="291" border="0"> 
 
---------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ 
<div style="text-align: left;">This article was given  by Mark Kennedy (storyboard artist on Hercules

and Tarzan)</div>
</center>
</center></center>
</center>
</center></center>

dynafx

28-05-2005, 11:31 PM

http://www.renderosity.com/index.ez?viewStory=10157 
Animation Alley - The Principles of Animation 
Hello everybody, and welcome to the Animation Alley. Although my column
is not intended to teach you how to animate, there will be a lot of
information here that you may find useful. This week I'll go over the
famous Twelve Principles of Animation. ?The Twelve Principles?
were conceived during the birth of animated cartoons. Although they
work well when applied to 2D animation, they must be "revisited" before
they can be applied to CG animation. Now let's get down to business. 
 
1: Squash And Stretch 
 
This
is defined as the shape distortion, or deformation, of an object or
character. This is shown in cartoon-type animations when a ball
bounces, or during a character's take off. In both cartoons (2D or CG)
it prevents things from appearing rigid. Going back to our bouncing
ball, the squash would be used on the landing, while the stretch would
be used during the "up, up and away." On the other hand, if you are
animating a photo-realistic character, the squash and stretch are
seldom used 
 
 
<center><img src="http://www.renderosity.com/photos/MSG2/Message2255959.jpg" border="0"></center>
 
 
2: Timing And Motion 
 
This
is basically the spacing between actions and the time your character
takes to perform that action. Besides helping you get your timing and
overall feel of your animation correct, it will assist you in
producing a sense of weight. Think of it this way: a human character
moves faster than King Kong, but slower than a little gremlin. 
 
3: Anticipation 
 
Anticipation
is the preparation for an action and is specially needed when it comes
to natural organic animation. Take the example of a jumping character:
When the character is about to jump he first crouches to gain momentum,
and then he takes off. The more he crouches the more the trust of the
jump carries. You can have fun with anticipations in a very interesting
way. Anticipation gives the viewer something to expect. You can fool
the viewer by inverting anticipations and actions, for example, you
could make your character crouch a lot and then make him take a little
hop. 
 
4: Staging 
 
The definition for this one is: presenting an idea clearly.
To successfully achieve this, you must have the ability to create
strong poses. A strong pose is a combination of bone structure
positioning, framing and camera facing. We will discuss more about
posing in a future article. 
 
<center><img src="http://www.renderosity.com/photos/MSG2/Message2255960.jpg" border="0"></center>
 
 
<b&g