Bringing together learnt animation principles.

Bringing together all previously learnt animation principles, I looked to create a short that incorporated: timing and spacing, squash and stretch, arcs, weight, ease in and ease out, secondary action and consistent 'solid drawing' throughout. With this I designed the background and set props in Photoshop and then imported these into Adobe Animate to then apply the following effects to.

Designed concept in Photoshop.

Animated design in Animate.

The Disney 12 Basic Principles of Animation.

1. Squash & Stretch: Is a principle that is designed to give the impression of mass (weight) and capacity (volume) to an object. In this case being applied to a character as they transition from one frame to the next; this is usually done by either expanding or compressing said character/objects main form.

 

2. Anticipation: This factor is used to inform the viewers that an extensive action is about to occur; smaller actions with often be implemented into the movement before the main action happens to allude to the bigger gesture.

3. Staging: Staging in this case is to do with the pose or action the character makes; that then is a way to further project how the characters are feeling. Staging can also apply to camera position placed upon the subject.

4. Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose: Straight ahead and pose to pose involves the transitional stages between the key poses that the character takes and then filling the missing frames from pose A to pose B. The straight ahead is usually for creating fluid, realistic movements; where as pose to pose is more theatrical in the sense of conveying a dramatic/emotional scenes.

5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action: Is the principle that challenges when a characters stops after a fast fluid action, not everything comes to a halt. For example if a character is running and suddenly stops, other body parts like the arms or legs may have a jerk reaction and file about before they come to a stop; this is knowN as a follow through action. Overlapping however, focuses more the idea of the character in motion and how some parts appear to move faster or slower than other parts.

6. Slow-In and Slow-Out: Is a principle created to add a realistic quality to the characters actions; meaning more frames will be drawn at the beginning and at the end of a sequence with fewer frames in the middle to show the quickening movements.

 

7. The Arc: Most actions consist of using a circular motion; these are known as arcs. Arms and head movements being an example; will often move with a slight curve and won't jut in and out sharply.

8. Secondary Action: Is an additional transition applied to reinforce and add further character and dimension to the subject at hand. As seen in the skirts swishing motion below.

9. Timing: Timing can be used to enforce the illusion of how fast something is going while following the laws of physics. Through altering the time in a scene it can make a subject appear slower and more refined with the addition of more frames; or faster through removing frames in a scene.

10. Exaggeration: Is about over emphasizing certain movements so that it pin-points a certain reaction, but not so much that it disrupts the realism of the actions.

11. Solid Drawing: This idea encourages animators to take into account what they are drawing and how they should be shown in a 2D space; but be mindful of its 3D appeal.

12. Appeal: Not very character has to be appealing; but this principle lies on the fact that animators should look to create images that not only intrigue and interest audiences, but evoke a response as well.