1. Squash and Stretch
Animated object get longer and flatter to emphasizes speed, momentum, weight, mass.
The more means the object is softer, the less means its stiffer.
It’s important to keep the volume of the object consistent.
The ball doesn’t have to be stretching the entire time when falling, the ball stretches the most when it’s hitting the ground, no need to overdo squash and stretch.
2. Anticipation
When a character prepares for an action to give the audience a clue as to what’s happening next, as well as to make the action appear more realistic.
It’s important to make it as easy as possible for the audience to understand what’s going on without having to watch it twice.
3. Staging
The presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear.
Can apply to acting, timing, camera angle and position and setting.
All of the elements of the scene work together to control the audience’s attention.
It’s important to know when to be closed up and when to be far away. Far away is good for big actions, close-up is good for expressions.
Don’t have the main action be off to the side, put it on either the center of the screen or in one of thirds of the screen.
The main action of the scene should be very clear and simple, avoid other thing to take attention away from the main point.
Actions should also have good timing, let action finish before the other person starts their action instead of overlapping them.
Can make some exaggeration in order to convey the ideas or situation clearly.
4. Straight Ahead/Pose to Pose
Straight ahead: draw as the time sequence.
Pose to pose: draw the beginning and end of the pose then go back to fill the poses between.
Straight ahead is generally better for most actions, it gives you the most control. Can lead to character changing size or being on a different level. Is good for animation that is unpredictable, e.g. fire, water particles, clouds of dust, explosions. Another example of unpredictable animation is overlapping action.
Pose to pose can save lots of work. Do the main pose to see if it feels right, and can catch problems early on.
Keys: main poses
Extremes: secondary poses
Breakdowns: further broken-down poses
Make the keys first and perfect them.
Then decide the farthest the character will go in each direction using extremes.
And then decide how you want the extremes to connect using breakdown poses.
It’s like pose to pose within pose to pose.
Method: using pose to pose to draw figures then use straight ahead to draw unpredictable items such as hair, tails and other appendages.
5. Follow Through & Overlapping Action
A technique of having body parts and appendages dragged behind the rest of the body and continue to move when the body stops. Adding good realistic to a character.
Often associated with another technique called drag.
Follow through: the way parts of the body continue to move after the body stopped.
Overlapping action: the offset between the timing of the main body and its other parts.
Drag: delaying the movement of body parts in relation to the main body.
Basically describing different aspects of the same thing.
6. Slow In & Slow Out
Refers to the way pretty much all movement starts slowly, build speed and finishes slowly. Most important part to achieve lifelike motion.
7. Arcs
Most living creatures will move in a circular path, otherwise known as arc. Prevent things from being too mechanical and unrealistic. Can give a little bit more character when apply to creature. Can be add to almost any movement.
8. Secondary Action
Often associated with overlapping action. Describes gestures that support the main action to add more dimension to the character animation. Giving audience information of the action whether the purpose or expressions of the character.
9. Timing
Stats the personality and nature of an animation is greatly affected by the number of frames inserted between each main action. Less drawings means fast, more drawing means slow.
Drawing on once: If one drawing is made for each frame 24 fps.
Drawing on twos: If one drawing is made for every two frames.
And so on…
Draw on two is common for it cuts the amount of work in half, make slow action look smoother and for fast actions.
Draw on one is necessary when there’s a very fast action that needs to be read, often to scramble or a flurry of activity.
10. Exaggeration
To increase the amount of impact on the viewer. Exaggeration doesn’t mean more distorted, but more convincing. When motions are quick, the exaggeration needs to be bigger in order to be noticed.
11. Solid Drawing
3D drawing adding realistic, mass and volume. Avoid twinning, which happens when the arms and legs and the other paired features are doing the exact same thing.
12. Appeal
Characters should be pleasing to look at it. They should have some kind of characteristic aspect to like about them. Apply to all characters. Appeal doesn’t always mean good-looking, it can also mean interesting.
Give character a dynamic design can boost its appeal.
Keep it simple. Choose what details you need to keep.
Variety of shapes. Every good character design starts with clear shape.
Proportion. Magnify parts you think interesting or what gives that character its characteristic.