Principles of Animation for Motionographers – Part 1 of 3

Posted October 7th, 2009 / By Jamie Peterson in Resources, Tutorials

Introduction

This is the first in a 3-part series where we’ll look at the Principles of Animation, developed in the early years of Walt Disney animation as they were pioneering the young animation field. Today, I’ll show you how they can be applied to your motion design work.

While previously working at a broadcast and motion design boutique, I had to go through a stack of demos for an animator position. Within the first 15 seconds of each reel, I could tell which of the applicants had filled their reel full of the latest tutorials off sites like Video Copilot (no knock on the amazing tutorials by Andrew Kramer, I have probably watched through all of them myself and learned a lot). The animation reels that really stood out were the ones that displayed an understanding of weight, velocity, object interaction, anticipation and the use of animation to communicate a feeling or emotion.

In the growing landscape of online tutorials that promise to teach you how to create “amazing effect X” or “breathtaking effect as seen in movie Z”, it’s very easy to learn the tools of the motion graphics trade. By following a step-by-step guide, you can easily learn how to apply the latest plug-ins and what each of the settings do. These posts are not going to cover anything as exciting as that, but will examine a few basic but essential guidelines to improve your work.

SQUASH AND STRETCH

Squash and stretch is perhaps the most important principle as it sets up the rigidity, mass, volume and in more complex objects, the physical structure of an object. The most common example and exercise used in teaching this principle is in the bouncing ball animation as seen in the video below:

As you can see, the ball at its peak is a perfect sphere showing a state of transition from ascending and descending. As the ball falls, it becomes elongated to show the pull of gravity and at the same time, maintaining the same volume. The degree to which the ball becomes elongated tells you how rigid the object is. At the bounce, the ball immediately becomes squashed to show the impact and interaction between the ball and the floor. Once again, the ball maintains the same volume by becoming shorter as it grows wider. As the ball bounces and transfers its energy up, it transitions back to elongated. And finally, the ball transitions back to the perfect sphere shape as it reaches the next apex in the animation. This exercise can turn out looking a number of different ways when various levels of rigidity, volume, and velocity are applied.

Bouncing Ball Timeline with echo (Click for larger image)

In the next example, we’ll look at the application of squash and stretch and how it applies to a more rigid object like a robot.

Even though the skeleton of this robot consists of completely rigid parts, proper squash and stretch can still be used in which the robot’s joints fold as they land and stretch out while jumping outwards. Observe the shifting of volume and weight.

ANTICIPATION

Some of my favorite examples of anticipation come from old Wile E. Coyote cartoons. An example of anticipation is the moment where Wile E. Coyote stalls momentarily in mid-air after realizing he has stepped off a cliff, inevitably plunging to the bottom. Both you and Wile E. knew what action was coming before you even saw it. In some cases, anticipation can be more satisfying to see than the consequence itself. A prime example of this would be in animating a very fast moving object. In a pitcher’s throw, you expect to see a wind up preceding planned actions. The wind up in anticipation can be used to add a great deal of character to an action.

Example of the the anticipation action in a pitcher's throw. (Click for larger image)

Anticipation can also be used between multiple objects. One object may move in anticipation based on the action of another object. This interaction can be used to direct the viewer’s attention to the second object. Inversely, you can choose to omit anticipation to create a surprise, however, I’ve found that proper timing can still be referred to as anticipation.

STAGING

Staging is often referred to as composition in motion design. You should always stage so that only one message, action or idea is clearly the object of focus. Like in good graphic design, composition should be used to direct the eye and remove confusion. Obviously this can become either more complicated or easier due to the element of time. Unlike a poster, you can cut to a whole new composition and for a few seconds, key in on one element of a larger scene.

For motion designers using 3D applications, I have observed that it’s always everyone’s immediate instinct to create these large, sweeping and constant moving camera set-ups. Quite frankly, whenever I see that, my immediate reaction is to think that this person isn’t disciplined enough to ask themselves which composition is best to communicate the message. Sometimes fast sweeping cameras are the correct solution but most often it isn’t. Resist the urge.

Staging tips:

• Use thirds
• Point to the desired area
• Use contrast (lighting, movement, depth of field, etc.)
• Step away and look at it with a pair of fresh eyes
• Limit the action to one animation group at a time

Conclusion

All of these concepts are designed to help you better communicate your visual ideas, whether you’re an animator or designer. The tools are easy enough to learn, but the goal is understanding how to use them to deliver a message that is clear, convincing and hopefully interesting enough to take your work to the next level.

For anybody interested in animation, I would highly suggest finding a copy of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston’s The Illusion of Life, which this article is based on. Often referred to as the bible of animation, it is full of insight on the animation process and stories behind some of Disney’s greatest works.

Part 2 of this series is all about animation. We’ll be taking a look at straight ahead and pose to pose animation, slow in and outs, follow throughs and arcs. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

REFERENCES:

Thomas, Frank and Johnston, Ollie, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, Abbeville Press, New York, 1981

Jamie Peterson is a freelance graphic and motion designer running the Portland, Oregon based MelonFresh. Aside from design, Jamie’s interests include reading, , writing short fiction (Pokemon fan-fic), cooking, listening to podcasts, sketching, dreaming up bad get-rich-quick schemes, and writing bios in the third person. He also thinks that this is .