1. CA0932a Multimedia Development
Lecture 8
Animation Principles

2. Animation - recap
History of animation

3. Topic – Animation Principles
Why discuss – all animation produced is based on using these principles or a subset thereof.
Animation however long or short should use these principles to get best effect
Topic/genre of animation does not matter.
Advertising to fairytales
2hr 2d Disney or 3d Pixar to 5 minute Flash all use animation principles

4. Creating Animations
Good animation is based on 12 principles of animation
Developed by Disney Animators
Good animation is based on
Character Development
Story
Acting and Emotions
Expression and dialogue

5. 12 Animation Principles Squash and Stretch Anticipation Staging
Straight ahead and pose to pose animation
Follow through and overlapping action
Slow-in and slow-out
Arcs
Secondary Action

6. Animation Principles Timing Exaggeration Solid Drawing Appeal
Example –Road Runner
Example – Ice Age

7. The ‘other’ principles
Following based on work by Louise Harvey
Based work on (Thomas and Johnston, 81)

8. Character Development
Know the character
Define personality, traits and quirks
Get inside his/her head
Exaggerate the way they look, move, speak to define personality
Decide on the clothes they wear

9. Story Story is important Good animation can’t save bad story
Disney believed:
A good story can be told in 2/3 sentences
Story broken into sequences
Each scene should have as its purpose advancement of the story

10. Acting and emotions
Emotional impact of the characters based round animation principles
Characters are everything
Disney animators enrolled in acting classes so they could better represent their characters
Pixar Example

11. Emotional Principles
Make sure that the emotional state of the character is clearly defined.
The thought process reveals the feeling. Sometimes it can be shown with a single, held drawing or a simple move. Other times there should be gestures, body moves, or full action. Determine which is best in each case.
Be alert to use of cutting and camera in helping accentuate the emotion.

12. Emotional Principles
Ask yourself constantly: What am I trying to say here? What do I really want to show? How do I want the audience to react?
Use the element of time wisely: to establish the emotion of the character, to convey it to the viewers, to let them savour the situation. Don’t be ponderous, but don’t take it away from them just as they start to enjoy it.

13. Expression and Dialogue
Facial expression needs to tell a number of things
Thoughts
Feelings
Some expressions evoke emotions
Eg cuteness is evoked by character looking up out of the top part of its eyes, with chin dropped slightly

14. Expression and dialogue
Resist the temptation to try to tell too much in one drawing – keep it simple so that it can be read quickly.
Do not let the expression conflict with the dialogue. The way that a character, walks, stands, listens – all reveal the meaning of the words.
The expression must be captured throughout the whole body as well as in the face. Any expression will be greatly weakened if it is confined only to the face

15. Others opinion
Louise Harvey