58677643-Module-1-2D-Animation.pdf

COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING MODULE ON211 2D ANIMATION MODULE 1 PRODUCE KEY DRAWINGS ANIMATION By: RIZZA R. RENOMERON National Assessor for VG NC III CA-VGD0313140909003 JOHN P. LOPEZ JR. National Assessor for 2D & 3D NC III CA-ANM0313140909021 SHERYL R. MORALES National Assessor for BKP NC III CA-BKP0313140911226 MODULE 1 PRODUCE KEY DRAWINGS . • Learning Outcome 1. IDENTIFY ANIMATION REQUIREMENTS Information Sheet 1 Basic Animation Concepts Information Sheet 2 Principles and Techniques Information Sheet 3 Process in Animation • Learning Outcome 2. PRODUCE KEY DRAWINGS Information Sheet 4. Fundamentals of Figure Drawing Information Sheet 5 Character Construction Information Sheet 6. Pose-to-Pose Animation 2 MODULE TITLE PRODUCE KEY DRAWINGS Description: This module covers the skills, attitude and knowledge required to identify animation requirements, edit, revise and produce key drawings Course Objective: At the end of the course, the student will be able to learn the basic knowledge in creating animation CONTENTS: Information Sheet 1 BASIC ANIMATION CONCEPTS 1.1 W hat is animation 1.2 B rief H istory 1.3 H ow Animation W orks 1.4 Animation and frame rates 1.5 Types of Animation Self- Check 1 Information Sheet 2 PRINCIPLES AND TECH NIQ UES 2.1 12 B asic Principles 2.2 Animation Techniques Self- Check 2 Information Sheet 3 ANIMATION PROCESS 3.1 2D Animation Process Chart 3.2 Equipment 3.3 The Story B oard Self- Check 3 Information Sheet 4 F UNDAMENTALS OF F IGURE DRAWING 4.1 The G esture 4.2 Structure 4.3 Shape Analyz ation 4.4 Values 4.5 Developing Forms 4.6 The H ead 4.7 The Interlocking Forms Self- Check 4 Information Sheet 5 CH ARACTER CONSTRUCTION 5.1 Steps 5.2 Drawing with B asic Shapes Self- Check 5 Information Sheet 6 POSE TO POSE ANIMATION 6.1 What is Pose-to-Pose Animation Method 6.2 Developing Key Poses Through Working Rough 6.3 Planning Key Poses 6.4 Expressive Poses 3 MODULE 1 IDENTIFYING/ DETERMINING FUNDAMENTAL CAUSE OF PROBLEMS LEARNING GUIDE Learning Steps Resources 1. Read Information Sheet 1 on Basic Animation Concepts Information Sheet 1 2. Answer Self-Check 1 Self-Check 1 3. Read Information Sheet 2 on Princi- Information Sheet 2 ples and Techniques 4. Answer Self-Check 2 Self-Check 2 5. Read Information Sheet 3 on Pro- Information Sheet 3 cess in Animation 6. Answer Self-Check 3 Self-Check 3 7. Read Information Sheet 4 on Pfun- damentals of Figure Drawing Information Sheet 4 8. Answer Self-Check 4 Self-Check 4 9. Read Information Sheet 4 on Char- acter Construction Information Sheet 5 10. Answer Self-Check 5 Self-Check 5 4 animation is regarded as an important and useful tool for communicating information. This is because of the phenomenon called Persistence of Vision. For example. This is the tendency of the eye and brain to continue to perceive an image even after it has disappeared. although both uses the concept of displaying a sequence of images one after another to depict motion. The images are displayed rapidly in succession so that the eye is fooled into perceiving continuous motion. The main application areas of animation include: ● Marketing and advertising ● Staff And Program Development Training Presentations ● Educational Multimedia Programs ● Training Programs ● Sports ● Edutainment Titles ● Health-Care Programs ● Games ● Process Simulation ● Cyber Art ● Interactive Magazines ● The Internet 5 .1 What is animation? “To animate” means “to give life to”. Uses of Animation In multimedia. a sequence of images of a character in various positions gives the illusion of motion when displayed rapidly one after another. Animation generally deals with hand drawn images in contrast to motion video which deals with actual photographs of real-world objects taken through a camera. INFORMATION SHEET 1 BASIC ANIMATION CONCEPTS 1. Animations are created from a sequence of still images. in the above shown figure. and the Flipbook. Disney and Warner Brothers were the largest studios producing these 5 to 10-minute “shorts”. In 1824. One of the very first successful animated cartoons was “Gertie the Dinosaur” by Winsor McCay. Today. i.e.1. MGM. This led to numerous “philosophical” toys during the 19th century.” This paper describes the phenomenon that occurs in human vision where an image lingers even after the light from the source has ceased. The drawings have been slightly changed between individualized frames so when they are played back in rapid succession (24 frames per second) there appears to be seamless movement within the drawings. This phenomenon makes animation possible. In the 1930s to 1960s. These include the Zoetrope. it has now become possible for the average person to create animations allowing many novice animators to feature their cartoons online. It is considered the first example of true character animation. A series of drawings are linked together and usually photographed by a camera. on film) was “Fantasmagorie” by the French director Émile Cohl. and usually shown before a feature film in a movie theater. Peter Roget published a paper called “Persistence of Vision With Regard to Moving Objects.Competition from television drew audiences away from movie theaters in the late 1950s. animated cartoons are produced mostly for television. Released in 1908. theatrical cartoons were produced in huge numbers.2 Brief History Animation is a graphic representation of drawings to show movement within those drawings. The first animated cartoon (in the traditional sense. however with the advent of personal computers and the accessibility of the internet and easy animation software such as Flash. 6 . and the theatrical cartoon began its decline. 1. On some projectors each frame is shown 3 times before the next frame. made up of the clean-up animators and the inbetweeners. for a total of 72 flickers per second which helps eliminate the flicker effect.4 Animation and Frame Rates Virtually all visual animation media uses frames—a series of still images shown very rapidly to simulate motion or change. The clean-up animators take the lead and assistant animators’ drawings and trace them onto a new sheet of paper. in a sequence of a character jumping across a gap. 7 . where a similar technique was used with multiple photographs.3 How animation Works In the traditional animation process. This procedure is called tweening. This goes back to the earliest days of cartoon animation. Anything you see on a computer. so that it appears that one person animated the entire film. the lead animator forwards the scene on to the clean-up department. The key animator draws enough of the frames to get across the major points of the action. TV video builds 30 entire frames or pictures every second. two or more frames as the character is flying through the air. the key animator may draw a frame of the character as he is about to leap. The inbetweeners will draw in whatever frames are still missing in between the other animators’ drawings. taking care in including all of the details present on the original model sheets. Once the key animation is approved. 1. and the earliest motion pictures. television. where the individual pictures were drawn on sheets of cellophane and became known as cels. one picture or “frame” at a time. animators will begin by drawing sequences of animation on sheets of paper often using colored pencils. but using projections tricks the flicker is increased to 48. A key animator or lead animator will draw the key drawings (“key” in the sense of “important”) in a scene. or movie screen is based on frames. using the character layouts as a guide. and the frame for the character landing on the other side of the gap. Movies are shot at a shutter rate of 24 frames per second. 8 . which used stop motion cutout animation. and more. cel-shaded animation and regular animation. Now. recently it uses computer animation. A well-known computer animation company is Pixar. computer animation was used differently. clay animation has become more popular and easier to do. and more. The main types are clay animation. This type of animation was not very popular until Gumby was invented. more people helped make computer animation better. Finding Nemo. Forrest Gump.5 Types of Animation There are many different types of animation that are used nowadays. more clay animation films were made. the advertisements that were made for the California Raisin Advisory Board and the Celebrity Deathmatch series. Clay animation began shortly after plasticine (a clay-like substance) was invented in 1897. A Bug's Life. The invention of Gumby was a big step in the history of clay animation. Years later. and one of the first films to use it was made in 1902. They are responsible for making Toy Story. Jurassic Park. Monsters Inc. Later on. Computer Animation Computer animation has also become common. Clay Animation Clay animation is not really a new technique as many people might think. It allowed the user to view a 3D model of a car and change the angles and rotation. Computer animation began about 40 years ago when the first computer drawing system was created by General Motors and IBM.. Also. such as the Wallace and Gromit series of movies. Also. computer animation. video games have used computer animation as well. as in the show 'South Park'. Movies that used computer animation are: The Abyss.1. it was ridiculous that they would have to wait so much for so little. Fairly Oddparents. Futurama. making it look flat. These shows included Family Guy. After Jet Set Radio. Later on. The difference occurs when a cel-shaded object is drawn on-screen. the Walt Disney Studio created 'Steamboat Willie'. But for some. some of which we can still watch today. Regular Animation Animation began with Winsor McCay. The back-face culling is then set back to normal to draw the shading and optional textures of the object. In order to draw black ink lines outlining an object's contours. This produces a black-shaded silhouette. Years later. 9 . which introduced the character Mickey Mouse. He did his animations all by himself.Cel-Shaded Animation Cel-shaded animation is makes computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. the back-face culling is inverted to draw back-faced triangles with black-colored vertices. more people would invent more cartoon characters. The result is that the object is drawn with a black outline. Spider-Man. and the Viewtiful Joe series were released with good results. and many more. The first 3D video game to feature true real-time cel shading was Jet Set Radio for the Sega Dreamcast. more cel-shaded titles such as Dark Cloud 2. many other cel-shaded games were introduced during a minor fad involving cel-shaded graphics. and it took him a long time (about a year for a five minute cartoon). Most of the time the cel-shading process starts with a typical 3D model. Over time. The Simpsons. Klonoa 2. Cel Damage. Other companies started to make their own cartoons. Otto Messmer invented the character 'Felix the Cat'. The rendering engine only selects a few shades of each color for the object. The vertices must be drawn many times with a slight change in translation to make the lines thick. This type of animation is most commonly turning up in console video games. The next games with cel-shading to capture attention in some form were 2002's Jet Set Radio Future and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. There were also some television shows that used the cel-shading style. Then the modern animation studio came to be. Typically only simple animations can be displayed in real time."Steamboat Willie" (Regular "Gumby" (Clay Animation) Animation) "Finding Nemo" (Computer Animation) "Family Guy" (Cel. However. no rigorous classification of computer animation exists. "Celebrity Deathmatch" (Clay "South Park" (Computer Shaded Animation) Animation) Animation) Actually. the following non-exclusive terms are used to label different types of animation: • Real time animation: an animation is real time if a computer is computing and displaying the animation at the same speed as it is designed to be seen at. 10 . 11 . • Character animation: animation focused on the display of expressions. Procedural animation aims to compute animation data rather than have an animator specify it. sizes and orientations of objects at particular points in time are identified and everything else in-between is filled in by interpolation. • Motion path animation: a technique where objects or cameras move along a path. Typically simula- tions will be using data computed from the laws of physics.• Keyframe animation: a technique for producing animations whereby important positions. emotions and behaviors normally associated with intelligent life forms. • Hierarchical animation: animation of hierarchical objects. • Shape animation: there are various forms but the most well known is mor- phing where one shape changes into another shape. • Simulation: may be characterised as scientific animation. • Procedural animation: animations typically require considerable data in their production. In its pure form the only thing which moves is the camera. • Camera animation: typified by architectural walkthroughs. It is a visual technique that provides the illusion of motion by displaying a collection of images in rapid sequence 3. 4. Site at least 3 examples of the following ● Computer games __________________________________ • Internet: __________________________________ • Advertising: __________________________________ • Science: __________________________________ • Military simulation: __________________________________ • Transport: __________________________________ 12 . In animation it uses _________ frames per second. Identification 1. It is an animation focused on the display of expressions. All visual animation media uses __________a series of still images shown very rapidly to simulate motion or change. It is a technique for producing animations whereby important positions. SELF-CHECK 1 A. B. sizes and orientations of objects at particular points in time are identified and everything else in-between is filled in by interpolation. 2. emotions and behaviors normally associated with intelligent life forms. 5. Create a timeline for significant development in animation. C. How did it change? 2. Find a story that migrated from a less visual medium (like a book or play) to animation. 13 . What do you think the animation industry will be like in twenty years? In fifty? What influences might change it? Discuss. Compare the story in both mediums. Do the following: 1.C. also its depth) needs to contract correspondingly horizontally. If the length of a ball is stretched vertically. INFORMATION SHEET 2 PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES 2. Johnston and Thomas in turn based their book on the work of the leading Disney animators from the 1930s onwards. such as emotional timing and character appeal.1 12 Basic Principles of Animation The 12 basic principles of animation is a set of principles of animation introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. the purpose of which is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to drawn objects. In realistic animation. and their effort to produce more realistic animations. hand-drawn animation. or more complex constructions. the principles still have great relevance for today's more prevalent computer animation. like a bouncing ball. and have been referred to as the "Bible of the industry. but they also dealt with more abstract issues. It can be applied to simple objects. 1. its width (in three dimensions. In 1999 the book was voted number one of the "best animation books of all time" in an online poll. Taken to an extreme point. 14 . like the musculature of a human face. however. The main purpose of the principles was to produce an illusion of characters adhering to the basic laws of physics. the most important aspect of this principle is the fact that an object's volume does not change when squashed or stretched. The book and its principles have become generally adopted. a figure stretched or squashed to an exaggerated degree can have a comical effect. Squash and stretch The most important principle is "squash and stretch". Though originally intended to apply to traditional. Its purpose is to direct the audience's attention.g. the action 3.. a heavy person might put their arms on a chair before they rise. Johnston and Thomas defined it as "the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear". e. An example of this is the opening scene of Luxo. whether that idea is an action. or staring off- screen at something and then reacting to it before the action moves on- screen.g. e. jr. A properly timed anticipation can enable the viewer to better understand a rapid action. a personality. This sets up the viewers to look at that part of the screen so they are prepared when Luxo. hops in from off-screen.g.this is anticipation 2.. Anticipation An action occurs in three parts: 1. The essence of this principle is keeping focus on what is relevant.. the termination of the action Anticipation can be the anatomical preparation for the action.g. e. and what is about to happen. and make it clear what is of greatest importance in a scene. whereas a smaller person might just stand up. the preparation for the action . an expression or a mood. and the angle and position of the camera. This can be done by various means. It can also be a device to attract the viewer's attention to the proper screen area and to prepare them for the action. e. and avoiding unnecessary detail. retracting a foot before kicking a ball. The father is looking off-screen and then reacts to something..2. what is happening. 15 . preparing to run and then dashing off-screen. Anticipation can also create the perception of weight or mass. the use of light and shadow. 3. raising the arms and staring at something before picking it up. such as the placement of a character in the frame.. jr. Staging This principle is akin to staging as it is known in theatre and film. and give the impression that characters follow the laws of physics. This creates very spontaneous and zany looking animation and is used for wild. This is similar to keyframing with computer graphics but it must be modified slightly since the inbetweens may be too unpredictable. and the final poses and then draws all the in-between frames (or another artist or the computer draws the inbetween frames). Then other rotation or translation keyframes can be set for portions of the model. Pose-to-Pose Action is when the animator carefully plans out the animation. such as large stomachs and breasts. These parts can be inanimate objects like clothing or the antenna on a car. 5. head and hair appendices that normally follow the torso's movement. "Overlapping action" is the tendency for parts of the body to move at different rates (an arm will move on different timing of the head and so on). For example.. or the 16 . For example.. This is used when the scene requires more thought and the poses and timing are important. some in-between. scrambling action. such as arms or hair.4. On the human body. the initial. with arms. where a character starts to move and parts of him take a few frames to catch up. Different parts of the hierarchy can be transformed at different keyframes. Body parts with much tissue. or parts of the body.g. Follow through and overlapping action These closely related techniques help render movement more realistic. objects or parts of objects may intersect one another. legs. e. the torso is the core. translation keyframes can be set for the entire model in the X and Z directions. A third technique is "drag". i. Computer keyframing can take advantage of the hierarchical model structure of a complex object. the legs and arms. Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action Straight Ahead Action in hand drawn animation is when the animator starts at the first drawing in a scene and then draws all of the subsequent frames until he reaches the end of the scene. "Follow through" means that separate parts of a body will continue moving after the character has stopped. draws a sequence of poses.e. in a jump. to/from the keyframe. A character not in movement can be rendered absolutely still.. In 3D Studio this is controlled by the parameters Ease To and Ease From in the Key info window (from the Track info window). a bouncing ball moves faster as it approaches or leaves the ground and slower as it approaches leaves its maximum position. When Ease To is set to a higher value. and sometimes more realistic. are more prone to independent movement than bonier body parts. It is the second and third order continuity of motion of the object. such as the torso moving in and out with breathing. particularly to draw attention to the main action. it is more appealing. this is often done. When Ease From is set to a higher value the motion is slower leaving the current keyframe and speeds up as it approaches the next keyframe. The tick mark spacing shows the velocity with closer tick marks indicating a slower rate and spaced out ones indicating a faster rate.e. to produce a convincing result. Even characters sitting still can display some sort of movement. 6. This is usually achieved by using splines to control the path of an object.flc) • Ease To/From both set to 50 (max value)(bounce1. Again. there is a constant velocity in either direction. exaggerated use of the technique can produce a comical effect. The various spline parameters can be adjusted to give the required effect. this gave a dull and lifeless result. Rather than having a uniform velocity for an object. Examples: • Ease To/From both set to 0 (bounce0. When these are zero. According to Thomas and Johnston. Thomas and Johnston also developed the principle of the "moving hold". For example. however. the motion is faster as it leaves the previous keyframe and slows as it approaches the current keyframe. Slow In and Out This refers to the spacing of the inbetween frames at maximum positions. i.loose skin on a dog.flc) 17 . to have the velocity vary at the extremes. while more realistic animation must time the actions exactly. and should be avoided. The name comes from having the object or character "slow out" of one pose and "slow in" to the next pose. In the case of facial expressions. and can help to support the main action.There are other potential problems with spline controlled movements. Bias affects the overshoot or undershoot of the motion through the keyframe. Another example would be the trailing electrical cord of Luxo. The exception is mechanical movement. Because of the nature of splines. The body would be expressing the primary action while the expression adds to it. Adding secondary actions to the main action gives a scene more life. which typically moves in straight lines. but because of the properties of the spline curve. those actions are better left out. and animation should reproduce these movements for greater realism. Continuity equally affects the angles at which the spline enters and leaves the keyframe. it overshoots and goes into the lower box. There are three other parameters that control the approach to/from keyframes. Secondary action This is an action that directly results from another action. he can speak or whistle. It should always be subordinate to and not compete with the primary action in the scene. Arcs Most human and animal actions occur along an arched trajectory. If the latter is the case. A person walking can simultaneously swing his arms or keep them in his pockets. during a dramatic movement these will 18 . 8. look at box1. jr. It can be used to increase the complexity and interest in a scene. The upper box was keyframed to just touch the top of the bottom box.flc. there may be an overshoot effect. 7. An example might be the facial expression on a character. Tension controls the overall shape of the spline curve. The important thing about secondary actions is that they emphasize. For example. or he can express emotions through facial expressions. or a thrown object moving along a parabolic trajectory. rather than take attention away from the main action. This can apply to a limb moving by rotating a joint. Timing can also affect the perception of mass of an object. Consider a scenario with a head looking first over the right shoulder and then over the left shoulder. Timing and Motion The speed of an action. 9. if a character picks up a heavy object. A heavier object takes a greater force and a longer time to accelerate and decelerate.the character has been hit by a strong force and its head almost snappedd off • One in-betweens .the character is stretching a sore muscle 19 .the character is thinking about something • Ten in-betweens .the character is giving a crisp order • Six in-betweens .e. The animator must spend the appropriate amount of time on the anticipation of an action. e. By varying the number of inbetween frames the following meanings can be implied: • No in-betweens .the character has been hit by something substan- tial.g. a bowlng ball. timing affects the perception of object size. then the viewer may lose attention. In these cases it is better to include them at the beginning and the end of the movement. If too much time is spent. then the viewer may not notice or understand the action..often go unnoticed. Simi- larly. but by varying the spaces or time (number of frames) between poses. if too little. rather than during. i. These effects are done not by changing the poses.the character sees something inviting • Nine in-betweens .the character has a nervous twitch • Three in-betweens . . A larger object moves more slowly than a smaller object and has greater inertia. and on the reaction to the action. gives meaning to movement. they should do it much slower than picking up a light object such as a basketball. frying pan • Two in-betweens . For example. Timing can also indicate an emotional state.g.the character is dodging a flying object • Four in-betweens .e. timing. both physical and emotional meaning... on the action. balance. or elements in the storyline itself. if a scene contains several elements. employed by Disney.10. like a caricature or the style of an artist. Modern-day computer animators in theory do not need to draw at all. there should be a balance in how those elements are exaggerated in relation to each other. 12. just presenting it in a wilder. A character who is appealing is not necessarily sympathetic — villains or monsters can also be appealing — the important thing is that the viewer feels the character is real and interesting. The level of exaggeration depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style. was to remain true to reality. alterations in the physical features of a character. and looked lifeless. as perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull in cartoons. One thing in particular that Johnston and Thomas warned against was creating "twins": characters whose left and right sides mirrored each other. Other forms of exaggeration can involve the supernatural or surreal. light and shadow etc. The drawer has to understand the basics of anatomy. composition. For the classical animator. Solid drawing The principle of solid — or good — drawing. to avoid confusing or overawing the viewer. for likable characters a symmetrical or particularly baby-like face tends to be effective. 11.[There are several tricks for making a character connect better with the audience. Appeal Appeal in a cartoon character corresponds to what would be called charisma in an actor. weight. more extreme form. It is important to employ a certain level of restraint when using exaggeration. Exaggeration Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for animation. really means that the same principles apply to an animator as to an academic artist. this involved taking art classes and doing sketches from life. 20 . yet their work can still benefit greatly from a basic understanding of these principles. The classical definition of exaggeration. The Moving Hand Theory: You can do this by waving your hand in front of your eyes very fast. By waving your hand in front of it you make your eyes very confused about what they are actually seeing.2 Animation Techniques Animation is the process by which we see still pictures MOVE. Try doing this in front of a television screen when it is switched on. You will seem to see several hands at once. You will see even more images of your hand because the television is actually flickering.our eyes have been tricked into thinking they have seen movement. If the eye sees a series of still images very quickly one picture after another. Why do we see these images as moving? The reason our eyes are tricked into seeing movement can be explained by the ‘Persistence of Vision’ theory.2. 21 . Each picture is shot on film one at a time and is shown at the rate of 24 pictures per second making the pictures appear to move. then the images will appear to move because our eyes cannot cope with fast- moving images . The persistence of vision theory: Our brain holds onto an image for a fraction of a second after the image has passed. Each drawing is slightly different from the one before. Drawn Animation: This covers any form where another replaces one drawing in a sequence. 2. clay or wire . Cutout Animation: This covers any form of animation where cutout shapes are moved around or re- placed by other cutouts. matchsticks and string can also be used in this form of animation. Model Animation: This involves the filming of puppets or any form of three-dimensional models. Cutout Animation. It works the way a flipbook does. 22 .Basic techniques used in animation: 1. 3. The puppets are positioned and filmed before being moved ever so slightly and filmed again.in fact anything that can be bent or formed into another shape. 4. Cutouts can also be laid on top of drawings. Others. Model Animation. Flat objects like buttons. These shots are put together as a piece of film and will give the impression of the models moving. Drawn Animation. Computer Animation. 5. The materials used could include plasticize. These animated films are made up of thousands of drawings which are shown on screen very quickly one after the other. Also. the next image is recorded. i. King Kong. objects with their own animation rules. These systems were used as a computer high- level language where the animator wrote a script (program) to control the animation.Computer Animation: Animation has historically been produced in two ways. Later systems have allowed for different types of motion control. This is analogous to the second technique described above. More sophisticated computer animation can move the camera and/or the objects in more interesting ways. A major part of animation is motion control. for example a bird might have over twenty degrees of freedom. e. A more complex object will have more degrees of freedom.. and this process is continued. e. many early animators were computer scientists rather than artists. The first is by artists creating a succession of cartoon frames. which are then combined into a film. then the model is moved. along computed curved paths. the scripting languages allowed for the definition of “actors”. Using a rendering machine to produce successive frames wherein some aspect of the image is varied can produce computer animation. Whereas a high level programming language allows for the definition of complex data types. A second method is by using physical models. 23 . whereas a high-level system would allow them to use more general or abstract methods. the image recorded. For example. Thus.g. Now think about animating an entire flock of birds.e. A low-level system requires the animator to precisely specify each detail of motion. Animation is used in Visualization to show the time dependent behavior of complex systems.g. and can even use the laws of Physics to determine the behavior of objects. which are positioned. One way to clas- sify animation techniques is by the level of abstraction in the motion control techniques. scripting systems were developed. to move a simple rigid object such as a cube requires six degrees of freedom (numbers) per frame. For a simple animation this might be just moving the camera or the relative motion of rigid bodies in the scene. using physical models. Early systems did not have the computational power to allow for animation preview and interactive control. a Control Hierarchy is required. The wire-frame model was made on a computer before being built up into the character. This is analogous to high level computer languages with complex control structures or data types which are translated at runtime into low level constructs. so that high-level control constructs can be specified which are then mapped into more detailed control constructs. This refers to the drawing of three-dimensional models and sets on the computer. Images can be scanned into the computer using digital photography or made within the computer itself. These models are scanned into the computer as wire-frame models that are gradually built up into a colored and textured form that will finally be recorded onto film. Human characters can be built from clay whilst sets and fur- nishings are modeled using design systems similar to architects drawings. 24 .Therefore. but does not enhance it. and its familiarity allows us to recognize one face out of a sea of hundreds that we come into contact with every day. 25 . Limited drawings are produced for one second of animation. In pose-to-pose animation purpose of creating and animating is served. Pose-to-pose animation does not serve any purpose of producing the feature. since he must create an illusion of action with the greatest sense of economy. We can detect even the subtlest change of expression within the face. however. In order to successfully animate facial expressions and emotion. is also one of the most challenging aspects of animating a character.Others: Facial Animation: Facial animation is the most important part of character animation. a thorough understanding of the human facial muscular structure and how expressions are formed is necessary. Limited animation requires almost as much skill on the part of the animator as full animation. Pose-to-Pose Animation: Some animations for television were made on pose to pose basis because of budget constraints. The human face is one of the most interesting and intri- cate parts of the human body. Pose- to-pose animation is widely used for stylized animation productions. As a rule not more than 6 drawings are produced for one second of animation. However animations for features demand more appeal. A hold is also lengthened to reduce the number of drawings. This. and realistic and natural expression of emotions is one of the most important parts of animating a believable character. where pose-to-pose animation does not serve any purpose of producing the feature. Limited Animation: With limited animation as many repeats as possible are used within the 24 frames per second. Some action may require that every single frame of the 24 frames within the second is animated in order to achieve an illusion of fluidity on the screen. 26 . Animation is expensive and time consuming. director should be able to view line test loops of the film as it progresses and so have a chance to make adjustments. It is not economically possible to animate more than is needed and edit the scenes later. Ideally.Full Animation: Full animation implies a large number of drawings per second of action. As a rule only TV commercials and feature length animated films can afford this luxury. Neither time nor money is spared on animation. But often there is no time to make corrections in limited animation and the aim is to make the animation work the first- time. In cartoons the director carefully presumes every action so that the animator works within exact limits and does no more drawings than necessary. as it is in live action films. ACTIVITY 1 A. ____________________________ 27 . ____________________________ 2. Identify the animation principle used in the following example 1. ____________________________ 4. ____________________________ 3. B. wrapping around him. In the medium shot on the left Mister Moonface looks sad. Mister Moonface is startled by a spider. before falling into its natural position. 3. His facial expression is exaggerated. to the extent that he actually jumps off the floor 28 . the cape continues moving forwards. 4. Mister Midnight is nasty and scheming. When be comes to an abrupt halt. While Mister Moonface is a happy and fun character. Illustrate the following and tell the animation principle used 1. however the long shot on the right places him in an isolated location. and Mister Moonface’ reaction is exaggerated even further. emphasising his loneliness and sadness 2. Mister Moonface’ next door neighbour is Mister Midnight. Mister Moonface’ cape billows out behind him as he walks. 1 2D ANIMATION PROCESS CHART 29 . INFORMATION SHEET 3 ANIMATION PROCESS 3. 5 x 11. The process provides not only a visual interpretation of the script.25). This is traced down on the paper and represents the screen edge all around.2 EQUIPMENT 1. Significant details will occasionally be drawn outside this cutoff since all production artwork is finished out to the edge of the paper. standard white. Wide screen projects will have altered field sizes and measurements. will build upon the concepts and timing initiated here. Storyboarding involves working from a film script to set a story down in picture or illustration form. 3. it also allows de- signers in each department to get a feel for what is being presented on screen. 3. Pencils: Whatever the individual feels comfortable with. 2. The storyboard is the basic game plan. the vision of continuity that will drive the entire production. rather like a comic book. The following is a breakdown of the story-sketch artist’s set up. converting them into a final full color film. and the thought and drawing processes involved. Creating the visual story composed of consecutive story sketch panels that depict the action and staging of the film’s script is the first step in the animation production process.5 x 10. The storyboard functions as the blueprint of an animated picture. Twenty or more departments. Field Guide: Story sketches are drawn to a standard 8-field size (5. 30 . Paper: 8. Anything from an HB to a 6B depending on the quality of the line and darkness of shadow required.STORY DEVELOPMENT Building the storyboard is an integral part of putting together an animated feature. Pencil Sharpener. 7. 4. Model Sheets and Reference as needed. 6. It is also important to keep your work area neat and easily accessible. Pin-Up Boards: For displaying sketches in continuity. X-Acto™ Blade: For cutting Xerox copies before revising.Chair 12. the soft for lightening lines. both to save time and for cutting purposes. Final approved boards are then enlarged or reduced to proper production size. Xerox™ Machine with Variable Size Capability: It is frequently necessary to enlarge or reduce artwork to specific sizes. 13. Desk: Any comfortable desk will suffice. Keep the desk functional and as uncluttered as possible.Overhead Light. 11. 5. Reference material should be pinned up or displayed for use as you draw. 9. Push Pins: To pin up sketches 8. 10. An animation disk is not necessary. 31 . though backlight is sometimes useful. Erasers: Plastic or kneaded soft eraser: the plastic for getting rid of drawings completely. 32 . It depends on the type. however a film is technically complex the number of sketches could double. If. For a TV commercial. choreography.3. It is at this stage that the major decisions are taken as far as the film’s content is concerned. more sketches are produced as a rule because there are usually more scene changes and more action than in longer films. Furthermore the right emphasis on such planning. The storyboard should serve as a blueprint for any film project and as the first visual impression of the film. All these different aspects cannot be considered in isolation. They must work together to put across a story point.3 THE STORY BOARD: A smooth visual flow is the major objective in any film. Major corrections and story changes took place during this phase of the project to avoid making them during vital parts of production down the road. they were scanned and taken into Final Cut Pro to be edited into a 2D animatic. while constantly aiming for increased action and overall coolness. A rough guideline is approximately 100 storyboard sketches for each minute of film. as it would fine tune the story and serve as a point of reference throughout production. character and content of the project. especially if it is an animated one. Any solutions that allowed for greater ef- ficiency and better use of the budget without hurting the quality of product were worked into the storyboard. as well as the actions of the characters. how many sketches are required for a film. Once the storyboards had been approved. The storyboard process was critical. When developing the storyboards. including the behavior of the character. careful attention was paid to budgetary and creative constraints designated by the client. scene changes and camera movement. Good continuity depends on coordinating the action of the character. It is generally accepted that no production should proceed until a satisfactory storyboard is achieved and most of the creative and technical problems that may arise during the film’s production have been considered There is no strict rule. must also be realized. The editing of the 2D animatic is where we first took a swing at the trailer’s timing… roughly depicting the camera motion. Storyboard Process Chart: 33 . . These show the major characters in different poses. Sample storyboard 34 . the model sheet is the nearest an animator usually has to a sculpture of the character. The model sheet is used to fix in the animator’s mind how the character moves and what it looks like. from various angles and with a variety of expressions. A shooting script and a timing chart are also normally produced. A storyboard shows sketches of the envisaged movie. In effect.Whether from an original concept or by buying rights to a book. Model sheets are also prepared. This in turn will be refined into a storyboard. a story must be developed to fit the proposed duration of the movie. They will also show the coloring to be used. each of which represents perhaps 4-5 seconds of action. This completes the design phase. with the dialogue shown against each picture. Discuss in class. Creating a storyboard. Create a conceptual thumbnail about a man playing golf. 35 . Diagram the animation production pipeline. B. Visit an animation studio. SELF-CHECK 3 A. In hand-drawn animation. 36 . you work on the basic poses of the scene first. The computer calcu- lates the inbetweens values based on a spline curve connecting the keyframe values. Key drawings are communicators of your action. then the inbetween drawings are created to complete the action. and therefore. which are usually set up in a hierarchy. this seems like the same thing as keyframes in traditional hand-drawn animation. Drawings at the key positions are know as key drawings or frames. With computer animation.. Once the poses are finalized. In the above example. As the number of in-betweens becomes evident the numbering of the key drawings will change. but it is slightly different. drawing poses of the entire character so the timing and acting can be worked out with a minimum of drawings created. notice the main key position that can communicate the whole action. At first. keyframes are values at certain frames for the articulation controls of a model. Most commercially available computer animation systems are based on animating with keyframes. often called as poses.LEARNING OUTCOME 2 PRODUCE KEY DRAWINGS Introduction We know that animation is nothing but a combined movement of individual frames. you should approach your animation differently. However. The gesture should be established using the longest lines possible. width and direction of all the masses of the figure. keep it light. flow and energy of the figure. this is too vague because gesture should also establish the length. Remember above all else. Next. Almost all poses fit in to a triangle of one proportion or another. 1) Establish the head first using either a bloated triangle or an oval (which ever works best for you). Anything else is a scribble not a line. Gesture is the action of the pose or movement between its forms. In a more abstract sense. INFORMATION SHEET 4 FUNDAMENTALS OF FIGURE DRAWING 4.1 The Gesture This is the most important step of the drawing because it dictates all other steps in the process. In the first pass through the figure you should find the triangular or pyramid shape of the pose. and the sweep of the neck. the gesture is the life. Nothing is a mistake until you can’t erase it. 37 . begin to establish the gesture of the pose using those long lines we talked about earlier. 38 .2) Next establish the sweep of the shoulders from acromium process to acromium process (the acromium process is the visible and palpable bump near each end of the collar bone) 3) Now find your way to the ground as efficientlyas possible. or from the pit of the neck to the weight baring foot. This is usually through the center line. 4) From the acromium process on each side draw a line mimicking the center line down to the crotch. 5) Establish the gesture of the limbs by first drawing the flow of the limb (usually the tendenous inner portion). Then draw a line from the outside of the neck to the hip on each side. Also terminate the limbs with the hands and feet. Then by establishing the width (the boney outer portion). From here you should inject only as much structure as is needed to connect the limbs. use simple geometric shapes at this time. These lines should establish the gesture of the torso and hips while ignoring the true breadth of the rib cage and pelvis. 39 . In fact you can stick arms. This is best seen through the bean bag metaphor. etc. When you bend a bean bag you can see the fabric elongate on one side and bunch up on the other. This theory actually applies to most parts of the figure. but none so obviously as the trunk of the body. pole. Principles of Gesture 1. block. Stretch and Pinch. 40 . in this case the stool.6) Complete the gesture with any supporting elements. Stretch and pinch is essentially the idea that in any natural pose the body has an active or “pinch” side and an inactive or “stretch” side. legs and a head on the bean bag and have a decent representation of a human figure. depth. they should line up exactly the same way in your drawing. while a sphere is a form. Plumb lines. While gesture is more or less a twodimensional lay-in. This is a good way of double checking your drawing with the model. This is especially helpful in the case of foreshortening. The way plumb lines work is to hold up your pencil exactly vertical or horizontal. A square is a shape. Where things line up on either a vertical or horizontal axis. a cube is a form. Essentially structure turns a shape into a form. are basically straight vertical or horizontal lines to help establish proper placement in your drawing. 2.2 Structure Structure is the movement around a form. The main difference between a shape and a form breaks down like this. 41 . graceful 3) Lifeline 4) Connecting line 5) Long 6) Keep it simple (s-curve c-curve straight) 7) Stretch 8) Two-dimensional 4. a circle is a shape. fluid. Characteristics of Gesture 1) Movement between forms 2) Curved. Structure adds a third dimension. is it a cylinder.In the second stage of the drawing we are going be adding volume to our linear construction. which essentially take the gesture line and turn them either into a rounded cylindrical form. The reason for using this method is so we can all be sure we understand the volumes and are not just mimicking superficial shading tricks that we have seen used by other artists. This is basically a tool for you to use later on in the drawing. a shorthand or road map for guiding you in your shading of a the form. We should understand the principles behind the tricks so that we can come up with our own way of communicating with the viewer and not be stuck being a second rate copy of some other artist. Here we are mainly going to be working with cross contour lines. First we need to analyze each form and decide three things: 1) What is the primitive form. much the way you will draw in a guideline before cutting a piece of wood. So let us begin. a squared of boxy form or anything in between. a 42 . away from me. or parallel to me? These principles are going to dictate our cross contours. It requires you to put aside most of what you have spent so long learning for a time and trust your eye. 43 . tension 4) Form. flexion. depth. perspective 5) Strength 4.cube. Characteristics of Structure 1) Movement over form 2) Three-dimensional 3) Pinch.3 Shape Analyzation Shape analyzation is probably one of the most difficult aspects of drawing for most people. We spend most of our lives learning what an eye or nose or arm looks like. sphere or a cone? 2) How rounded or squared off is this form? 3) What is its position in three-dimensional space? Is it angled towards me. The result of seeing 44 .The best way of improving shape analyzation skills is just practice. whichever seems most appropriate. So basically when looking at the perimeter of a shape mentally. The first thing that has helped me in seeing shapes more accurately is to squint. practice. Where exactly you choose to put these “dots” and curved and straight lines is called your “design sense”. then close my eyes and open them back up slowly until I can make out the figure as a series of blurry light and dark shapes. By squint is to sit at one arms length from my drawing surface. Another trick for getting to draw the shapes more accurately it to think of it almost like connect the dots. That cannot be taught. but (and here is the trick) you have to find the dots. put a dot on my drawing surface where ever I see a major change of angle. Then I connect the dots with with a straight or slightly curved line. or physically if you find it helps. relax. This is the proper way to see when analyzing shapes. practice. There are times that what works visually in the real three-dimensional world will not work in the illusionary two-dimensional world of our drawing pad. When drawing a form that is slightly foreshortened. etc. This is why we sometime have to interpret what we see and not simply translate. 45 .and drawing this way is the simplification of the incredibly complex visuals that nature presents us with into a geometric. One last thing I like push in my drawings are a anatomical indications that show the volume of a form and conversely remove or play down those that go against that form. Another thing is to push the outlines of a forms closer to you in front of the outlines of forms farther from me. For instance I might push the hip insertion of a foreshortened leg. those of the wrist in front of the forearm. two value version of reality. For instance if the models arm is pointed at me I push the lines of the hand in front of the those of the wrist. but not the downward bowing arch of the teardrop shape of the vastus internus. (which by the way almost all forms are) instead of pushing that form more into profile like a lot of beginning artists do (this is one of the things that gives a lot of artists that very stiff uptight look) I push it more into foreshortening just slightly. posterized. this two value breakup is very important to maintain through the drawing. Keys to controlling values 1) Squint 2) Five values or less 3) step 1: block in light and dark step 2: add half tone step 3: add darkest dark step 4: add lightest light 46 . The rule for this says “The lightest light in the dark should always be darker than the darkest dark in the light.” Thus.4 Values Start your drawing with two values. nothing in the unlit side of the form should be as light as anything on the lit side of the form. Once you have this established you can add as many values as you want (it is not advisable however) as long as you keep the added values secondary to the big two value separation. preferably around your focal point with contrast lessening as you move outward away from your focal point. Keys to shape analyzation 1) Squint 2) Squint 3) Squint 4) Two values 5) Connect the dots 6) Keep it simple 7) Visually relate lights and darks 4. The best process to establish full value range goes like this: 1) Establish the big two value block in (posterize and simplify) 2) Add in your middle tone to add depth and soften the transition between the light and dark 3) Add your darkest dark and and lightest light. 5 Developing Forms Form by definition is the shape or struct re of anything. Basically this is created when there is a transitional plane that is not being lit by the direct light source or by the reflected light bouncing off the surface beneath the form. Soft edges are those gradual transitions that you will see on a rounded form. A at this point in our drawing we should have already defined the forms when we defined the structure but now we need to create the illusion of light on form. and in doing so create confusion for the viewers eye. Be careful to not over-play the reflected light or core shadow card.to another is going to tell us weather this change of plane is sudden like on a cube or gradual like on a sphere or cylinder. This transition is what is called an edge in drawing or painting. cube. Even before . The key factor in developing form and that is edges. Basically there . sphere. Identifying the value zones is very important to developing form. Even more they can break down a drawing into too many values. Any time you have a light and dark value coming together within a form a corner or change of plane is created visually. Occasionally you will observe a dark band of value at the edge of a shadow. Hard edges are what you would see on an angular form like a square or at the edge of a cast shadow. It will allow the viewer a stronger foot hold in your little world you have created. applying your edges the careful analyzation and placement of your light shadow and reflected light can reveal important changes of plane to the viewer. there is overlap. . is somewhere in between and would be found most commonly on an angular form that is not completely squared off. A firm edge as its name implies. knee or other bony areas. When. We have already discussed this to some degree.value. To do this it is best if we break things down into the four basic primitives of form. This is called a core shadow. 4. but as in all things art related. used too often they can create a metallic look to your figure. or the transition between light and dark. soft firm hard.are four kinds of edges.in the previous chapters. and cone. u . and47therefore make a more comfortable place for the viewer to visit. like a nose. and lost. The sudden or gradual transition from one . the cylinder. You should always strive to keep the lighting situation very clear. A few problem solving tips: . it is easier to soften an edge than to harden an edge. .cartoon-like check to see if your edges are too hard. ● If your drawing or painting is looking . If your shapes are appearing ambiguous and lacking in structure check to see if your edges are to soft this can create a foggy or weak appearance to the drawing. One viewers will grow quickly bored of a drawing they are having difficulty solving. 48 . Overly hard edges are generally favorable to overly soft for two reasons. and two. This can create a graphic or cartoon-like look to your drawings. 4) In the beginning error on the side of hard edges. but our horizontal obviously change. cylinders. If we take the face plane of the head. Keys to Developing Form 1) Think in terms of primitives (cubes. and break it up into perfect thirds we will find that the top of the eye socket and the ear will fall on the top division. from the front. I f we now look at the head in profile we find that our vertical measurements still hold true. 5. The head in profile will fit exactly into a perfect square. as a boxy oval not unlike a pumpkin seed. starting at the top of the forehead or hairline and running down to the chin.6 The Head There are many ways of approaching the head. The head can essentially be broken up into thirds vertically and fifths horizontally. below the hair line. Lets start at the beginning. and the nose and bottom of the ear on the bottom division. if we take that square and cut it in half 49 . Now if we divide the width of the head into fifths we will find that the middle fifth defines the width of the nose which is then flanked be the eyes. The silhouette of the head can be drawn. above the chin.. and those by the width of the head. spheres. And from just about every other angle except behind as a sort of bulging triangle. and cones) 2) Carefully observe and utilize your edges 3) Identify the breakup between direct light reflected light and core shadow. the bottom of your nose and your ears at any angle. They also fit to the slight curved contour of the face plane.. . placement of your features-at the brow ridge where the cartilage of the nose connects to the nasal bone. If we place the vertical halfway we can use that the place both the bottom lid of our eye as well as where the neck connects to the back of the head. Rely on skeletal markers for the . The main reason it is helpful to think of the head this way is because it is easier to visualize your axis and division bending into perspective. A common mistake with connecting the head to the neck is placing the neck on the center of the head like a lollipop. If you observe a cylinder with three equal divisions tilted up or tilted down you can find the top of your eye sockets. both vertically and horizontally we find that the ear rides on the back of the horizontal halfway and between the brow and nose marks that we found earlier. Avoid this mistake by using this measurement. but there are some important points that I would like to makesome corrections to the most common mistakes It is important to realize that for protection. I am not going to go in depth into each of the features in this book. and where the flesh portion of the lips connects to the face at the base of the nose . 50 . When dealing with up and down head tilts it is helpful to think of the head as a cylinder or more precisely as a whistle. all of the features are built with a bit of an over-hang to protect them from things falling from above. . the scapula takes over for any further motionthis is what give the human shoulder such an incredible range of motion. After this. Do not rely as much on cartilage and even less on flesh. the shoulder area is a very difficult area because of the double articulation of the shoulder socket and the scapula The shoulder socket itself has only about 90 degrees of movement in any direction except backwards.and at the mentolabial sulcus at the top of the chin. Keys to Drawing the Head 1) Break the head down into thirds vertically 2) Break the head down into fifths horizontally from the front 3) Head fits into a box in profile 4) Use a cylinder metaphor to help find up and down tilts 5) head sits forward on the neck. So. A good visual metaphor for this is a towel peg like you might see in a gym locker room. For instance. avoid the lollipop head 5. as artists we need to find a way to lock these pieces together in a believable manner. because this varies so much from one individual to the next.7 Interlocking Forms It is very important to think of the figure as a whole. and not as a series of anatomical pieces. pectoralis and scapular muscles. 51 . which is substantially less. Think of the peg as the upper arm and the towel draped over it as the deltoid. Joints are always a difficult area to deal with. I will often try to break it down into interlocking puzzle pieces. Instead of using two cylinders stuck together, I employ more of a tongue-in-groove construction as demonstrated with the arm’s elbow joint on the right. Another good way of connecting areas is combined shapes. For instance, combining a sphere and a cone. This can be useful in drawing any ball-in-socket joint such as the shoulder or hip. Practice all of these, but remember that these are just principles. Don’t just steal these and go on about your day! Each individual pose will present you with a different set of problems, and to solve them you will need to understand why they work. An indepth knowledge of anatomy will help with coming up with visual metaphors, but it is not necessary. What is more important is that you understand form. Once you do, you can use it as a very powerful tool to turn figure drawing into a much simpler and pleasurable experience. Keys to Interlocking Forms 1) Simplify 2) Use visual metaphors 3) Overlap forms 52 SELF-CHECK 4 A. Draw the illustration below. (No tracing please) 53 B. Creating gesture drawing 1. Hatch out a line similar to the spinal curve and start there. 2. Look at the position of the shoulders and how the arms extend outwards. They also form dynamic action lines. Now, note the position of the hips, and how the legs extend from the pelvis. Again, more dynamic line work. At this stage you should be creating a stick man skeleton. 54 3. This is the foundation of your gesture drawing. Once that is complete, block in the head and neck, followed by the upper torso and pelvis. Do not make the upper body one piece, otherwise you will make your form look more like a barrel than a person. Take a quick second and think about your own anatomy. Your rib cage isn’t fused to your pelvis like a tin can – you have your spinal column to provide the anchor, and your pelvis acts as a pivot point. Therefore, they should be drawn separately. Keep the drawing loose and simple – you can refine these details later. Your next step should be to create the forms of the legs and feet and all the joints in between – knees and ankles. Now, your drawing should look more like a wooden mannequin. Remember – NO ERASING. Just draw. There’s no style points in a gesture drawing. You’re training yourself to create forms quickly and build a better response between your eye, brain and hand. 55 e. TIP: The hips are always attached across from each other and they are 56 .. Draw simple lines for the structure of the arms and legs. The LINE OF ACTION should always be active. as FORMS with depth. i. Avoid vertical lines — they are still and can make your character wooden. Try a sweeping curve. Step 2: Add some simple shapes to the LINE OF ACTION. a diagonal or horizontal LINE OF ACTION.1 STEPS Step 1: First begin with a LINE OF ACTION. Think of these shapes as three dimensional. INFORMATION SHEET 5 CHARACTER CONSTRUCTION 5. Step 3: We now need to build some STRUCTURE in our character. TIP: Experiment with different shapes of cylinders. If one is forward. Curved lines against curves or. the other is back. the other is down. curved lines against straight lines form more dynamic and interesting shapes 57 . If one is up. Step 4: Create forms around the line of structure for the arms and legs. better yet. Most of the time you will be using cylinders. always opposite each other. Basic shapes not only enable character creation.5. but can also be used to create non-living props like Houses. and Cars etc… 58 .2 DRAWING WITH BASIC SHAPES Basic shapes can be adopted to build characters and props. Bike. Some Drawings with Basic Shapes: Drawing a Cat: Step 1: Start your drawing with basic shapes & centerlines. 59 . eyes mouth etc.Step 2: The next step is to draw the shapes of the Cats Legs. Step 4: The last step is to clean up your character on a separate piece of paper. Step3: At this point we sketch in the details. 60 . Cat is now finished. draw a Dolphin with the final image below 61 . SELF-CHECK 5 ACTIVITY 1. LET’S DRAW USING BASIC SHAPES Using the steps above. so it is best advised to start animation with a proper model sheet. Even an experienced animator will find it hard to conceive how a character looks in different poses.5.3 MODEL SHEETS In animation. Animating any character without a model sheet will produce animations with major problems like non-consistency of character. back. as one animator may only do one shot out of the several hundred that are required to complete an animated feature film. poses. and gestures of an animated character. 62 . Model sheets are required when large numbers of artists are involved in the production of an animated film to help maintain continuity in characters from scene to scene. a model sheet is a document used to help standardize the appearance. In a model sheet you can find the respective character in different poses like side. front and three fourth. For this. 3/4 and back views. for each character. Usually. artists have their own style of drawing. Below is a Model Rotation . structure. design. “ON MODEL” means the model sheets have been followed to perfection as if one artist (instead of over 300) has drawn the character. etc. The model sheet guides the 300 or so artists working on the production toward making all the characters look “ON MODEL”. They provide the construction.its purpose to show the character from all sides Notice how the character is drawing in the front. Each animator. This is called a CHARACTER ROTATION. proportion. A simple shaped character uses one basic shape or FORM for the main body of character. several models sheets are needed for each character to show the physical and design nuances.Character Model Sheets: Character Model Sheets are the templates of the characters used by the animation staff. we use a simple shaped character. profile (side). 63 . The ability to turn a character is an element of animation that increases the character’s believability. The easiest and best way to draw out a Rotation is to break down the character into its simplest forms. A character rotation should include a front view. 64 . 3/4 view. (Pads for the hands and feet.a ball and a cone. cylinders for the arms and legs. Then you just rotate the forms.Below are three options you should consider for your character design. Please keep in mind the dimensional aspects of your drawing . These views help the animator (s) understand the character’s construction and proportion. a triangle (or cone) and a combination . The rotation also insures the character design can be turned. They are: a ball. Here the model sheet of Matt is distilled into simple forms. back view. a ball for the body and a ball for the head) Remember that the head (and neck if seen) are ALWAYS on the FRONT side of the body.in other words what appear to be shapes are really 3D forms. and profile view of the character. Remember that the hair and fur are like carpeting over the form. then add the eyeline and centerline and then layer the details over top. (Check to make details. 65 .Once the basic forms are drawn. proportions and structure of the characters head. Use the same procedure for the construction of the head as you did with the body. Try to simplify the details and apply basic rules of design. Begin with the simple forms. asymmetrical and pay attention to your positive and negative space) The next page of the model sheet involves a close-up with the details.the details are drawn over top the forms. think about who your character is. This page is pure play! Its purpose to make sure the character works in action. structure. The third page of the Character Model Sheet is a page of 5 or 6 action poses of your character. and proportion so others can draw it. In fact.Also. If you are not sure write a short bio of your character. 66 . a good test is to give your MODEL SHEET to someone else to draw and see if they can draw your character design. The character is always defined by his or her or its needs and those needs are reflected in his or her or its actions. The eyes are anchored on top of the eyeline the nose or snout is anchored below the eyeline. The concept of character model sheets is to provide enough information about the character. 67 . 2. The next page of the model sheet involves a close-up with the details. SELF-CHECK 5 1. proportions and structure of the characters head. Redraw the sample model sheet below. 3. Create 5 or 6 action poses of this character. 68 . Ideas come as one plays around with the medium and these can be easily incorporated into the sequence mid-stream without the audience being any the wiser. or indeed into the timeline of computer software. It is a technique which can produce great moments of inspired spontaneity. INFORMATION SHEET 6 POSE TO POSE ANIMATION Introduction Animation techniques such as cut-outs. hence the term 'pose to pose' animation. This method of animating from one pose to the next. or objects being manipulated. paint-on-glass. But what happens if our cut-outs or clay character misses its cue? Once the parts have been moved. or accents in its expression or mood. clay. also called 'pose to pose' animation. 6. This method is often dictated by the medium which animator is using to create images - the paint or sand. the painted image smudged and destroyed or the plasticine deformed.1 WHAT IS A POSE-TO-POSE ANIMATION METHOD “Key Poses”. A completely different way of working to help solve this problem is the ‘key drawing’ animation method. charcoal on paper etc. The animated films of William Kentridge who draws with charcoal on larges sheets of paper are examples of this method. Drawing straight in to Flash with a graphics tablet using the 'light box' or 'onion skin' tool can also employ a ‘straight-ahead' animation method. make use of a method loosely described as ‘straight-ahead animation' in which the animator starts at the beginning of a sequence and works through to the end. For this reason they are also called 'extremes'. it is extremely difficult to go back and correct mistakes. It is a particularly useful animation method when a character 69 . “Key drawings” or just “keys” are terms used to describe those critical positions of an animated character or an object which depict the extreme points in its path of motion. allows the animator to map out the action in advance with ‘sign posts’ by charting up these key poses onto ‘exposure sheets’ or ‘dope sheets’. Sequences can be tested and individual poses can be re-worked and the animation progressively improved. 70 .must perform certain tasks within a predetermined time or where a series of actions must synchronise accurately with a recorded sound track. The ‘key pose’ technique is still the most widely used method of animating. EXAMPLES OF KEY POSES KEY POSE 1 KEY POSE 2 Note: Consider the way the shapes and forms provide some interesting contrasts in movement. The technique helps ensure that characters arrive at a particular place on screen at a precise point in time. The exposure sheet or timeline is continually revised to provide an accurate record of how the animation is to be photographed or rendered. Note the plasticity of its face and that the character appears to remain in balance throughout this action with its feet firmly planted on the floor. This production method also provides a logical way of breaking down work so that it can be handed on to other people in the production chain. It is also the method of choice within most 2D and 3D digital animation packages these days. KEY POSE 1 KEY POSE 2 Note: Poses depicting extremes of exaggeration or distortion. necessitates the use of a pose which anticipates the following major action. 71 . in this case of squash and stretch. KEY POSE 1 KEY POSE 2 KEY POSE 3 Note:The nature of the action described in these poses. as these drawings define the limits of these kinds of qualities. a jump. sparky and alert. need to be considered as key poses too. Anticipation poses are always 'key' poses as they describe the extreme of the movement. There is also an emotional change within this character from one of tiredness and fatigue to bright. This results in a 'punchy' snap since the difference between the two drawings is so great. working roughly and quickly sketching out the main shapes. In this case. its a good idea to experiment with thumb-nail sketches first to refine the poses and ideas. This is often done with a blue pencil. KEY POSE 1 KEY POSE 2 KEY POSE 3 Note: This example shows the effectiveness of an exaggerated pose within a sequence. There is no point doing lots and lots of highly finished drawings at this stage if the action does not work. 6.2 DEVELOPING KEY POSES THROUGH WORKING ROUGH When developing key poses. forms and lines of action knowing that these drawings are just a first step in a bigger process. Initially. a wide open mouth position using lots of stretch provides contrast to the following drawing of the mouth closed. An illustration showing how an animator might work in rough scribbles to find the key masses and shapes and then to refine various lines of action to give the drawing purpose and intent before finally fleshing in the character's final form. always leads to fresher animation. 72 . the animator’s key poses may be nothing more than rough scribbles to block out the action. Besides. We often need a number of key poses to adequately explain even the simplest of actions. the result would appear as if a pair of socks had just magically appeared in our hero’s hand. dipping a hand in. What is entirely under the animator's control is the way the character 'acts' out these events as informed by an understanding of the character's personality traits. visual design and current emotional state. for example. reaching for the drawer. If we were to go straight from the first drawing of our character standing by the cupboard to the final position with socks in hand. Each 73 . Several key drawings might be required to describe the sub-movements involved in even the most simple of actions . To tell the full story we need to break down this simple action into several steps. Background layouts will define an 'acting space' while storyboard frames will indicate the 'business' of each shot. but if these are the only poses we use. KEY POSE 1 KEY POSE 2 Note: Consider the above information. The story may call for the character to get a pair of socks out of the drawer. We need to see the character standing by the cupboard.taking a pair of socks out of a drawer.3 PLANNING KEY POSES Obviously when planning a set of key poses for a shot or scene. and finally extracting the socks. the animator needs to be acutely aware of the requirements of the script and the particular actions and events that are necessary to progress the storyline. The key pose planning process goes hand-in-hand with the idea of staging each action in such a way that it 'reads' well and communicates clearly.6. pulling open the drawer. Obviously there is information missing which has to be seen by the audience to explain just how the socks got into the character’s hand. the effect is of the socks appearing out of thin air. and this labor saving technique does not necessarily affect the audience's enjoyment of a piece. are treated as a separate ‘key pose. 74 . Put simply. strong keys lead to strong animation.’ 6. Good strong key poses emphasise and communicate the intent of an action more efficiently than ill-considered ones.of these poses. It is therefore vital to spend time and thought working out the key poses until they do their job as expressively as possible as it will pay dividends as if these work well. including squash and stretch. "Limited" styles of animation are based on keys only.4 EXPRESSIVE POSES Animation usually operates in the realm of caricature in which exaggeration becomes an important factor in order to capture the spirit of the action being depicted. anticipations and any poses which use exaggeration. possessing a dynamic quality that suggests action.an expressive pose with a dynamic quality that implies what has gone before. These laws can be represented in an incidental way by how your character moves about its setting. Animation is an illusion requiring the audience to suspend its disbelief. Your key poses.is one leg relaxed while the other supports the entire weight of its body? Is the body of the character under some physical strain from carrying. the main mass of the character and and what happens to these masses when your character propels itself from a resting position . they are nevertheless highly expressive. The audience can be absolutely engaged within the stories we tell and the world of characters that we create. However the illusion is a very delicate one. we also have to infer the physical laws of our animated world in such a way that they are not in conflict with our day-to-day experience of natural laws we observe in the real world. pushing or pulling a heavy object? Perhaps you need shift the character's weight off-centre to counter-balance the object it is carrying. To sustain this illusion. therefore.depicting the physical extreme of an action or setting up the character for an action to follow by loading its 'muscles'. or a moving computer model. and which registers and emphasises the inner emotional state of the character. they also find it helpful to consider whether or not the action works well if reduced to a silhouette. and impact . Such poses are the beginning of strong animated sequences. As animators work out the key poses of a particular sequence.Although these drawings are perfectly static. in a sense. what is about to come. and alas. should also show how the character carries its own weight . Poses should have both function . it is all too easy to remind the audience that they are merely looking at a series of drawings. What is its state of balance or indeed unbalance? Consider the 'line of action'. Staging the action of hands gesturing immediately in front of the body may not be as effective as staging this action in profile where the various shapes and forms can be seen in a way that does not rely on the challenge of drawing complex foreshortening.there must be at least one firmly locked down a contact point with the ground (usually a foot) so that the forces involved in getting your character moving can be seen to pass through its body to this contact point making the action 75 . a puppet. these numbered drawings are handed on to an assistant to further clean up and refine according to character model sheets. 76 . a computer software package can inbetween for you. In larger traditional animation studios. that the animator or their assistant returns to add the ‘inbetween’ drawings. you will have no trouble in getting all your ideas across to an audience. and how the weight of your body is being supported. If your all your key poses are correctly thought out and timed. The slippage of feet upon the ground at inappropriate times.believable. an ‘inbetweener’ adds the required number of drawings between each key pose as prescribed by the animator’s dope sheets. When learning how to animate for the first time. In digital production. It is usually only after all the key poses of a scene have been timed out on the exposure sheet and tested. Flick your key drawings from one to the next to ensure that the poses you have chosen work well together. but it does not follow that computer software understands how things move in the real world. Once tested. the contact points you have with the stable environment. is one sure way of shattering this illusion. what you muscles are using. A clean-up artist will tidy up all the drawings ready for tracing. get up out of your chair and act out the action you are trying to represent. Feel where your limbs are space. It is used to describe those critical positions of an animated character or an object which depict the extreme points in its path of motion. True or False 5. Key poses describe WHAT happens. 1. Obviously when planning a set of key poses for a shot or scene. 4. SELF-CHECK 6 A. This method allows the animator to map out the action in advance with ‘sign posts’ by charting up these key poses onto ‘exposure sheets’ or ‘dope sheets’. and which registers and emphasizes the inner emotional state of the character. what is about to come. Poses should have both ___________ . and __________. 3. or accents in its expression or mood. or indeed into the timeline of computer software. Identification. 77 . 2. the animator needs to be acutely aware of the requirements of the ________ and the particular actions and events that are necessary to progress the storyline.an expressive pose with a dynamic quality that implies what has gone before. but not necessarily HOW it happens.depicting the physical extreme of an action or setting up the character for an action to follow by loading its 'muscles'. and finally extracting the socks.B. pulling open the drawer. reaching for the drawer. Create key poses which shows character standing by the cupboard. dipping a hand in. Use the next page for your drawings. KEY POSE 1 78 . From the given example. Module 1. Produce Key Drawings N Recording Sheet For Oral Questioning / Interview Student name: Module Title/ o: N Qualification: Oral/interview questions Satisfactory response Yes o 1.   2.   3.   5.   4.   6.   The student's underpinning knowledge was: Satisfactory  Not satisfactory  Student's Signature: Date Trainor's signature: Date: Acceptable answers are: Trainor's signature: Date: 79 . Self-Check 5 6 Self-Check 6 S . Self-Check 2 3.Completed NYC – Not Yet Completed Module is Completed  Not Yet Completed  Remarks: Student's Signature Date Trainor's signature: Date: 80 . Produce Key Drawings Performance Remarks Feedback S NS C NYC 1. Self-Check 4 M 5. Rating Sheet Module 1. Self-Check 1 2. Self-Check 3 4.Satisfactory NS – Not Satisfactory C .

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