Animation Fundementals

Squash and stretch - the first principle from the original twelve, is used to exaggerate the amount
of non-rigid body deformations usually with the purpose of achieving a more comedic effect. Threedimensional squash and stretch can be implemented with a variety of techniques: skin and muscle, springs, direct mesh manipulation and morphing. It can also be implemented in more experimental ways with weighting, especially for dynamics simulations, and unusual IK systems.
Anticipation helps to guide the audience’s eyes to where the action is about to occur.

Anticipation - including motion holds, is great for “announcing the surprise.“ In three-dimensional computer animation it can be fine-tuned using digital time-editing tools such as time sheets, timelines, and curves. More anticipation equals less suspense. Horror films, for example, switch back and forth from lots of anticipation to total surprise.

Staging - or mise-en-scene as it is also known, is about translating the mood and intention of a scene into specific character positions and actions. Staging the key character poses in the scenehelps to define the nature of the action. Three-dimensional animatics are a great tool for previsualizing and blocking out the staging before the primary, secondary and facial animation. There are many staging techniques to tell the story visually: hiding or revealing the center of interest, and a chain reaction of actions-reactions are a couple of them. Staging can also be aided with contemporary cinematic techniques such as slow motion, frozen time, motion loops, and hand-held camera moves.

Straight-ahead action and pose-to-pose - are two different animation techniques that yield fairly different results. In the early days of hand-drawn animation pose-to-pose action became the standard animation technique because it breaks down structured motion into a series of clearly defined key poses. In straight-ahead action the character moves spontaneously through the action one step at a time until the action is finished. Motion capture and dynamics simulations, even threedimensional rotoscoping, are clearly the straight-ahead techniques of three-dimensional computer animation. They can all be blended intelligently using channels.
Follow-through and overlapping action - are two techniques that help make the action richer and fuller with detail and subtlety. Follow-through action consists of the reactions of the character after an action, and it usually lets audiences know how he or she feels about what has just happened or is about to happen. In overlapping action multiple motions influence, blend, and overlap the position of the character. In three-dimensional computer animation a lot of the common follow-through motions of clothing and hair, for example, can be animated with dynamics simulations. The layers andchannels in three-dimensional computer animation software allow us to mix and blend different overlapping motions from different areas of the character.

Slow-in and slow-out - consist of slowing down the beginning and the end of an action, while
speeding up the middle of it. A snappy effect is achieved when motion is accelerated and retarded in this way. In three-dimensional computer animation slow-ins and slow-outs can be fine-tuned with digital time-editing tools. When using motion capture techniques for cartoon-style animated characters it is essential to remind performers to do slow-ins and slow-outs. The inverse variation of this effect, a fast-in and fast-out, is often times seen in TV commercials and music videos where the beginning and end of the sequence are accelerated while the middle is slowed down giving it a surreal or dreamy feeling.

Arcs - to animate the movements of characters helps achieve a natural look because most living
creatures move in curved paths, never in perfectly straight lines. Non-arc motion comes across as sinister, restricted or robotic. In three-dimensional computer animation we can use software
constraints to force all or some of the motion within arcs. Even motion-captured performances can be fine-tuned with curve editors, as long as the motion is not flattened.

Secondary action - consists of the smaller motions that complement the dominant action. In threedimensional computer animation we can take advantage of layers and channels for building up different secondary motions, for example, a layer for hair, a layer for the character's hat, a layer for the cape, and so on.

Timing - is the precise moment and the amount of time that a character spends on an action. Timing adds emotion and intention to the character’s performance. Most three-dimensional computer animation tools allow us to fine tune the timing by shaving off or adding frames with non-linear timeediting. Timing can also be controlled and adjusted by placing each character on a separate track, and using sub-tracks for parts of the character such as head, torso, arms and legs.

Exaggeration - usually helps cartoon characters to deliver the essence of an action. A lot of
exaggeration can be achieved with squash and stretch. In three-dimensional computer animation we can use procedural techniques, motion ranges and scripts to exaggerate motion. The intensity of a moment can be increased with cinematography and editing, not just with performance.

Solid modeling and rigging - or solid drawing as it was called in the 1930s, emphasizes the
clear delineation of shape necessary to bring animated characters to life. Solid and precise modeling helps to convey the weight, depth and balance of the character, and it also simplifies potential production complications due to poorly modeled characters. Animation rigs are at their best when they are optimized for the specific personality and motion of the character. Pay attention to silhouettes when aligning characters to the camera.

Character personality - or appeal as it was originally called, facilitates the emotional connection between character and audience. Characters must be well developed, have an interesting personality, and have a clear set of desires or needs that drive their behavior and actions. Complexity and consistency of motion are two elements of character appeal that can be easily developed with threedimensional computer animation. Writing down the ways in which the character moves, how he/she reacts to different situations, and how he/she relates to other characters can help define the main characteristics of the character’s personality. Fine-tune the personality with the key poses and the character turnarounds.