Principles of Animation: Toy Story [Archive]

dynafx

16-03-2005, 11:00 PM

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Introduction 
 The intention of
this research was to closely analyze a few scenes from Pixars "Toy
Story" to see how they were using the principles of animation. The
principles of animation I've listed in this page is not restricted to
the ones outlined in "the illusion of life". I went through a few other
books and articles to come up with this list of principles an animator
has to look out for while animating. So I've included blinks, dialog
anticipation/follow-through and some other issues which has to be kept
in mind while animating. Also, while analyzing the scenes from "Toy
Story" I realized that its not a good idea to try to use all these
principles in each and every scene in your animation. 
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<td>Staging</td>
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<td> 
Two contrasting examples of staging. 
<li>Buzz fills up a large part of the screen and the camera is placed at his feet and tilted up to make him dominate the scene. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/staging.003.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/staging.004.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts9.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
 
</li><li>The
toy soldiers occupy a very small part of the screen. Even when a
soldier comes in close to the camera the scene is set up so that he
takes up less than a quarter of the screen space. This scene was
probably set up this way to show the magnitude of their task. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/staging.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/staging.002.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts7.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
 
</li></td>
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<td>Anticipation</td>
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<td> 
<li>The animators use an exaggerated anticipation even for the simple scene of woody lifting himself up from the bed. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/anticipation.002.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/anticipation.004.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts3.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts6.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
 
</li><li>In this scene where Mr.Potatohead accuses woody, the anticipation is followed by a follow through in the camera movement. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/anticipation.005.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts19.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
 
</li></td>
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<td>Follow-through</td>
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<td> 
<li>The
follow-through is also exaggerated a lot in most scenes. The hands and
head "drag" behind the body and take longer to settle down. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/followthru.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/overlap.001.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts19.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts6.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts40.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Line of Action</td>
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<td> 
<li>A
curve can often be drawn through the characters pose. Carefully
planning the line of action can make the scene more dramatic.This is
similar to the characteristic curves that is often used while designing
and modeling a character. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/lineofaction.001.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts25.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Assymetry</td>
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<td> 
<li>The
animators make sure that the characters always strike a pose with some
kind of asymmetry. Its more lifelike to have the character put its
weight on one foot or to bend one arm a little more than the other. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/assymetry.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/assymetry.002.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts34.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Squash & Stretch</td>
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<td> 
<li>There's
a very subtle use of squash and stretch in "Toy Story". Squash and
stretch is often seen in scenes where the toys land onto a surface. I
couldn't find any squashing and stretching by means of scaling. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/squash.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/squash.002.jpg" border="0"> 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/squash.003.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/squash.004.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts8.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts21.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Slow in/Slow out</td>
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<td> 
<li>Careful manipulation of the animation curves can make the scene look believable. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/slowinout.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/slowinout.002.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts39.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Arcs</td>
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<td> 
<li>The characters hands and head in particular always move around in arcs. There are no sharp movements. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/arcs.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/arcs.002.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/arcs.003.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts11.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Exaggeration</td>
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<td> 
<li>A lot of woody's scenes are wildly exaggerated. The hands and the head are animated using a lot of secondary motion. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/exaggeration.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/exaggeration.002.jpg" border="0"> 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/exaggeration.003.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/exaggeration.004.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/exaggeration.005.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts6.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts12.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts16.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Timing</td>
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<td> 
<li>I
initially thought of classifying this scene under the title "appeal".
But actually the beauty of this scene comes from timing. The sudden
movements interrupted by graceful slow movements is what makes this
scene appealing. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/appeal.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/appeal.002.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts31.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Weight</td>
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<td> 
<li>Weight
is conveyed mainly using timing. The use of sudden movements after the
character has put in some effort gives it weight. The animators also
make the characters shiver slightly to make it seem like they're puting
in a lot of effort. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/weight.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/weight.002.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/weight.003.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts13.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts37.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Dialog Anticipation</td>
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<td> 
<li>The characters anticipate dialog delivery by about 3 to 5 frames. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/dlganticipation.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/dlganticipation.002.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/dlganticipation.003.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts24.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts26.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts42.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Dialog Follow-thru</td>
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<td> 
<li>The characters follow-through with their dialog by holding the last expression for sometimes as much as 10 frames. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/dlgfollowthru.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/dlgfollowthru.002.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/dlgfollowthru.003.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts24.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts25.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts26.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Moving Hold</td>
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<td> 
<li>This
isn't exactly a moving hold but it makes use of the principle of
"hitting the same pose, then drifting to an even stronger pose and so
on". Woody "hits" four different variations of the same pose to make
this scene dramatic. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/movehold.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/movehold.002.jpg" border="0"> 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/movehold.003.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/movehold.004.jpg" border="0"> 
</li><li>This
is the more traditional moving hold where the character holds the same
pose but keeps moving a little so that it doesn't look inorganic. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/movehold.005.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/movehold.006.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts22.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts28.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Eyes leading</td>
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<td> 
<li>Every
head-turn in "Toy Story" is preceded by an eye movement in that
direction. When the eye leads the head, the character blinks. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/Eyeslead.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/Eyeslead.002.jpg" border="0"> 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/Eyeslead.003.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/Eyeslead.004.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts3.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts9.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Blinks</td>
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<td> 
<li>Eyeblinks in "Toy Story" are almost always like this. The two eyes blink about a frame or two apart. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/blink.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/blink.002.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/blink.003.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/blink.004.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/blink.005.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/blink.006.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts3.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts27.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts9.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts10.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
</li></td>
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<td>Balance/Center of Gravity</td>
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<td> 
<li>The
center of gravity of the character is always right above the foot
planted on the ground. Complicated scenes are made believable by making
use of convenient camera-angles. 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/balance.001.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/balance.002.jpg" border="0"> 
<img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/balance.003.jpg" border="0"> <img src="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/images/balance.004.jpg" border="0"> 
 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts10.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a> 
<a href="http://www-viz.tamu.edu/courses/tutorials/sajan/ToyStory/movies/ts14.mov" target="_blank">Quicktime movie</a></li></td></tr></t>
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