As our next rotation, we are going to learn the basics and the principles of traditional animation. We are going to cover up animation techniques like “Straight Ahead, Pose to Pose etc..”. For this rotation, we are going to use the tools “Lightbox” and “Pegbars”.
I am really excited about this rotation because I’ll learn new techniques about traditional animation and learn how to use the tool “Lightbox”.
Different Types of Animation Techniques
While listening to the brief, I have learned that there are 12 principles of animation. But because it is our introduction study we are only going to touch upon 3 of them. These are;
- Straight ahead and pose to pose animation
- Timing and spacing(bounding objects) and ease out & ease in
- Walk cycle + Head turn
Straight Ahead Technique
First of all, we have covered the “Straight ahead” animation technique. It is basically frame by frame animation. It is also regarded as the traditional animation technique, but it takes a lot of effort and time to complete.
Regarding our first exercise, we are aimed to create a “Straight Ahead” animation which will last for about 2-3 seconds and contain 25 frames. As for my initial thoughts, I wasn’t very sure about what to come up with in the first place. Then, after watching our tutor’s tutorial I have decided to create an iteration of his fluid animation example. For this exercise, I haven’t used the paper but used my Ipad since I haven’t got my Lightbox yet.
As for my fluid animation practice, I have drawn 25 frames of fluid shapes which starts off as a whole and then splits up at a point and then gets back as a whole at the end. The creation of this practice was really fun as I had the opportunity to test a new technique.
Bruce Bickford
Bruce Bickford(1947) is an American animator who has collaborated with the musician called “Frank Zappa”. He was known well for his clay animations. Back in the day, no one was ever close to him in terms of animation technique and transitions. He was also considered as an outsider, because he has learned everything by himself. He also has some crazy – illusive type animations which confuses the audience.
- Reference: CartoonBrew / Chris Robinson(2019) Bruce Bickford, Stop Motion Icon and Frank Zappa Collaborator, Dies at 72, Available at: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/bruce-bickford-stop-motion-icon-and-frank-zappa-collaborator-dies-at-72-173490.html (Accessed: 7 December 2020)
Examples of Bruce Bickford’s Animations
Bruce Bickford has a lot of diverse animations, which ranges from hand-drawn to clay type animations. The animations are usually confusing and has a lot of stuff going on. To regard the type of animations, he usually creates horror or avant-garde.
I personally founded Bruce Bickford’s animations really ahead of its time as they are really unique and detailed. The small details on his animations really caught up my attention while watching. The confusion in his animations also make it really mysterious.
Brighteyepics(2008) Bruce Bickford’s BOAR’S HEAD (excerpt), Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uipM6kTTYbE (Accessed: 7 December 2020)
Brighteyepics(2008) Bruce Bickford’s Early Line Animation(excerpts) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3y_TKdgnnU&feature=emb_title (Accessed: 7 December 2020)
Pose to Pose Technique
After we have covered every aspect of the “Straight Ahead” technique, we have moved on to learn about the “Pose to Pose” animation. In this technique, you only need to draw specific perspectives and frames in order to complete the animation contrary to Straight ahead. The key in this technique is that you need to have good transitions otherwise the animation is going to get ruined.
Starting off, I have tried to create a very simple “Pose to Pose” animation with 3 different facial expressions. I have done this exercise to get familiar with the transitions.
As our next task, we are aimed to create “Pose to Pose” animation with using a character of our own. For my character design, I have chosen something very simple in order to animate it well. I have decided to create a female character which rules the stars. Because she is the ruler of the stars she wears a star tiara. As her facial expressions, I have started off with a slightly grumpy face which then turns into a neutral expression. Lastly, the neutral expression finishes as a smiling face at the end.
For the background, I have tried to create a shooting-star animation which moves downwards as the facial expressions change in my character. I have had this thought for my background as my character is related with stars.
Arcs of Motion
The principle called Arc of a Motion is an animation principle that refers to what in real physics we know as trajectory or path of motion. From an animation standpoint, it defines the flow of motion in both time and space. Its main purpose is to give the feeling of an organic and natural movement.
This principle is best exampled by the walking cycle, bouncing ball or the human walk.
Timing and Space
By knowing the time and space principle, you can calculate the objects’ travel distance in a certain time period. The amount of time an action takes to complete can vastly change the meaning and tone of what is being communicated. The timing of the bouncing ball example is the timing between the bounces.
Reference: Christina Teaching Art – Christina Zoica Dumitru(2020) Arc Of A Motion Principle. How To Make A Motion Feel Organic And Natural. Available at: https://www.cristinateachingart.com/arc-of-a-motion-principle-how-to-make-a-motion-feel-organic-and-natural/ (Accessed: 14th December 2020)
Squash and Strech
When an object moves, its movement indicates the rigidity of the object. Many real-world objects have little flexibility, such as furniture, however, most organic objects have some level of flexibility in their shape.When moving, organic matter has a flexibility and malleability to it, a kind of rubberiness which animators can take advantage of and use to accentuate and exaggerate certain movements.
Reference: The Principles of Animation, Squash and Strech, Available at: https://www.evl.uic.edu/ralph/508S99/squash.html (Accessed: 14th December 2020)
Bouncing Ball
According to the principles that we’ve learned from the lecture and from our references, it is our time for us to replicate a “bouncy ball” animation. For this animation, I have used my lightbox. I have tried to make my animation look really smooth. In total, I have used 21 paper sheets in order to complete my animation.
After I have taken pictures of my paper sheets in the right sequence, I have created a gif out of it.
Character Animation
After I’ve done the simple “bouncy ball” animation, I have moved on to the next step which is animating a character in the same way. For my character, I have decided to create a cute alien-type creature.
Ease Out & Ease In
One of the fundamental principles of animation is to ease out or ease into a given action.
The movement of the body, and most other objects for that matter, requires acceleration to
reach the desired speed. The animator, therefore, needs to use more in between toward the
beginning and end of an action to make it look convincing. This needs to be worked out in
advance using an animation chart. This is called ease out and ease in.
Reference: Gilles Charbonneau(2012) Animation Principle 6 – Ease In ease Out, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ-NC0bHTYs (Accessed: 15th December 2020)
After we have learned everything about the “Ease Out & Ease In” technique in our lecture class, we have directly moved on to our activity. Our aim was to create a Ease out & Ease In animation with creating a character which had 3 different hand poses. For my character, I have decided to choose a very simple one in order to animate it more precisely.
The trick in this technique is to pause and re-shoot frames in order for it to be more accurate. In between the frames, we also need to create new frames in order to create a transition between them.
Walk Cycle
The walk cycle is often described as the benchmark model of animation and what you learn
here will be applicable to all other forms of character (and often non-character) movement.
The way a human walks is instantly recognisable. We can spot our friends or family from
great distances with low visibility, just by the way we move.
Walk Cycle Activity
As our next task, we have been asked to create a simple walk cycle on our Lightboxes. To begin with, our tutor didn’t want us to add the arms of the skeleton as it makes everything crowded for the beginning step. So, we created a very simple walk cycle with no arms.
This step was really easy for me as we have only created the body and the legs of the skeleton so I have finished it really quick.
After I have finished the simple walking cycle, I have moved on to the next step which is adding arms to my skeleton.
Head Turn
The head turn is a frequently used element in many animated films showing a
character shifting his/her attention from one thing to another.
In this task, we are aimed to create a character of our own and use the “Head Turn” technique to animate them.
Character Design
As for my character design, I have decided to create a fat cat which has a grumpy expression. Since we should create a small storyline for our animation, I have decided to create a storyline of my cat character encountering a mouse and is getting shocked.
To begin with, I have first created my character from scratch and sketched different face expressions.
Animating Head Turn
After I have finished my character design and face expression, I have moved on to the next stage which is creating a head turn animation.
I have started with drawing my cat character looking from the left side. Next, my character turns to the middle and then to the right side, lastly getting shocked because he is encountering a mouse.