The 12 principles of animation


             As I have mentioned in the last blog post, I will be discussing about the set of animations I intend to realise by the end of this project and the main principles that I will have to focus on. The principles will be used to determine to what extent were the animation sets done well, or poorly.

The set of animations
            When I was still deciding on what type of animations I should go for, I kept in mind the fact that I have no experience animating a 3D model yet. That in turn led me to think about how I should start with the core animation cycles rather than go straight into, for example, a fast paced Kung Foo fight type of animation. So I have decided to learn how to animate by starting with an indispensable animation for game characters – and that’s the walking and/or running animation cycle. Essentially, an animation cycle is ‘used to create a sequence that can be repeated over and over like flags waving, character running, etc.’ (Marionette Studio, 2016). By repeating the same cycle over and over, you get a running or walking animation of infinite length. That means that if in a short movie the character needs to walk for 100 yards straight, the walking cycle can be set to loop and that’s that, as the first frame of the cycle matches with the last frame, which means it can be looped indefinitely.

(Walk cycle 1)

            For the other two animations I chose to concentrate on a jumping and a pose animation. The jumping animation is quite elementary as well to any game character, whilst the pose will demonstrate my control over the rig and flexibility in animation.  

            The 12 animation principles
            Upon conducting some research I have discovered a book titled ‘The Illusion of Life – Disney Animation’ by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. The authors were two of the greatest (key) animators that worked for Disney, as I have later found out from visiting various sites. In the book, they discuss about the 12 most important animation principles that need to be referred to when dealing with both motion capture or normal animation, as parallels can be drawn between them depending on the type of animation.
            However, because I do not own the book, I had found a site that explains the 12 principles presented. I will be presenting the ones I found to be the most crucial for reaching my aim of creating a set of realistic animations:


1.      Staging
Staging is all about keeping the animated character or object or the animation itself in focus at all times. For example, if you want people to focus on something in particular, then place it in the middle of the scene and remove unnecessary details from the background.

2.      Straight ahead action & Pose to pose
I am particularly interested in this principle as it compares two animation techniques. Straight ahead animation refers to creating an animation frame by frame, consecutively. Pose to pose refers to creating the key poses in the animation first and then filling the frames in between the poses afterwards. As I am going for a more convincing, realistic animation type, I will definitely be using the pose to pose technique as it ‘usually leads to a more proportional animation that is convincing to the eye’ (Pannafino, 2018).



3.      Slow in and slow out
This principle talks about how, for example humans, don’t just reach full speed as soon as they start running, nor do they come to a full stop instantaneously. This is another important principle I need to keep in mind for my project.

4.      Arc
The principle refers to the law of gravity, where many objects travel in an arc due to their weight. Several examples could be a thrown stone, or an arrow. A human’s arm, hand or fingers also move in an arc – an arm doesn’t just go straight backwards and then straight forward whilst running, but it moves in an arching pattern. This is yet another principle that contributes to added realism in animation.

5.      Secondary action
A secondary action could be blinking while talking, or stretching your fingers while running. It is important for the secondary action not to distract the viewer from the main action.

6.      Anticipation
Anticipation is ‘the preparation for the action, an effective tool for indicating what is about to happen’ (Lasseter, 1987). A basketball player needs to bend his knees before jumping, which in turn makes the move credible and prepares the audience for the jump. I believe this principle will be especially useful for the pose.

7.      Follow through and overlapping action
While ‘anticipation is the preparation for an action, follow through is the termination of an action’ (Lasseter, 1987). It refers to initiation, where for example the shoulder leads the arm into a movement; weight and drag, when the arm continues to swing until it settles although the shoulder had already stopped moving (the arm is loose); overlapping action, where ‘slight variations in the timing and speed of loose parts makes objects seem more natural’ and ‘… more interesting’ (Lasseter, 1987).


References:

Becker, A. (2018). 4. Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose - 12 Principles of Animation. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8quCbt4C-c [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018].

Lasseter, J. (1987). Principles of Traditional Animation applied to 3D Computer Animation. ACM Computer Graphics, [online] 21(4), pp.35-44. Available at: https://www.evl.uic.edu/ralph/508S99/contents.html [Accessed 14 Dec. 2018].

Marionette Studio. (2016). Cycle animation - what is it? - Marionette Studio. [online] Available at: https://marionettestudio.com/what-is-a-cycle-animation/ [Accessed 13 Dec. 2018].

Pannafino, J. (2018). 12 Basic Principles of Animation in Motion Design - HOW Design. [online] HOW Design. Available at: https://www.howdesign.com/web-design-resources-technology/12-basic-principles-animation-motion-design/ [Accessed 13 Dec. 2018].

webneel (2018). Walk Cycle 1. [image] Available at: http://webneel.com/daily/1-walk-cycle [Accessed 13 Dec. 2018].


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