#036 GAD BA2 - P1: Principles of Animation

In our first day back, we were briefed for out next projects; the first of which is animation. Maya and MudBox will be the main programs taught to us to aide us in bringing our animations to life. In the brief different styles of animation were shown to us along with the pros and cons of using the particular styles.

The first assignment of our project was to produce a presentation looking into the 12 basic principles of animation (covered in our briefing), they are as follows:

12 Principles of Animation:

1: Squash & Stretch
Squash & stretch plays the role of giving a drawn object its sense of weight and flexibility.

2: Anticipation
Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for an action which is about to happen with the purpose to make the action look more realistic.

3: Staging
Staging is used to draw the attention of the audience and direct it to something that is about to happen or is already happening.

4: Straight Ahead/ Pose to Pose
Straight Ahead/Pose to Pose is the movement of an object or subject from point A to point B. "Straight Ahead" is when the frames are drawn out/created one by one, while "Pose to Pose" is when the first few and last few key frames are drawn and the rest are left to complete at a later time.

5: Follow Through & Overlapping Action
Follow Through & Overlapping Actions are another principle to give the animation a more realistic effect. "Follow Through" means that parts of the object (a body and its arms for example) will continue to move when the main mass has stopped its movement. "Overlapping Action" is when those parts of the object are moving at alternate speeds to the main mass of the object.

6: Slow in & Slow out
Simply put, Slow in & Slow out is the acceleration and deceleration of an object while travelling from point A to point B. An object will accelerate from point A to reach a constant speed and then will decelerate on its approach to point B.

7: Arcs
Arcs being the most natural movement provide realistic physics to the moving object (trajectory and movement).

8: Secondary Action
A secondary action that follows up a primary actions to give the primary action more viability. It is a technique used to give a more realistic animation as well as a more lifelike movement.

9: Timing
Timing is essentially used to ensure the animation is flows smoothly. Physical timing works along with physics to make an object look as if it abides by the laws of physics (making the movements more viable), on a theatrical side, timing helps present the characters personality such as their mood, emotion and reaction.

10: Exaggeration
While exaggeration is not required, it can liven up an animation to create a comical effect.

11: Solid Drawing
Solid Drawing is taking into account the 3D space of the Object, giving it weight and volume. Animators needed to be very skilled artists to maintain the balance of their drawings.

12: Appeal

The animation needs to appeal to an audience, it is essentially the charisma of the character animation in comparison to an actor.