ANIMATION FUNDAMENTAL-PROJECT 1
ANIMATION FUNDAMENTAL
Monday,Oct. 14.2024
14.10.2024-11.11.2024 | Week 4 - Week 8
Jia Wenbing /0365436/
Design principles/Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
INSTRUCTIONS
LECTURES
WEEK 6
This week we mainly explained the principles of animation production. Animation clarity, clear storyboards, exaggerated expressions, etc. are all key factors in animation production.
Fig. 1.1 Slide Notes (W6)- Animation Clarity
Clarity in Animation
- The most crucial concept in animation is clarity: keeping the shot clean, precise, and easy for the audience to follow.
- Clarity applies to all aspects of animation, including:
- Staging: Ensuring the story point, expression, action, or mood is clearly communicated.
- Secondary Actions: Subsidiary actions that enhance but never overshadow the primary action.
- Exaggeration: Amplifying emotions or movements while maintaining believability.
- Anticipation & Follow Through: Preparing the audience for the action and showing its natural conclusion.
- Solid Drawing: Emphasizing three-dimensionality and accurate poses.
Clarity in Staging
- Staging ensures that the audience understands the story, characters, and environment.
- Key aspects of staging:
- Environment: The setting must support the action and mood.
- Camera and Framing: Use angles and composition to highlight the story point.
Secondary Actions
- Complementary movements that add depth to the primary action (e.g., a sad character wiping tears while turning away).
- Secondary actions should always support and never distract from the main movement.
Exaggeration
- Makes actions and emotions more vivid without breaking realism.
- Caricatured realism enhances relatability while emphasizing emotions or actions.
Anticipation & Follow Through
- Anticipation: Small movements that set up the audience for larger actions.
- Follow Through: Showing the aftereffects or inertia of a movement to add realism.
Solid Drawing
- Ensures characters appear three-dimensional and well-grounded. Components include:
- Line of Action: A dynamic line that unifies poses and conveys motion forcefully.
- Silhouette: Clear, distinct shapes that make poses instantly readable.
- Twinning Avoidance: Prevent symmetrical or mirrored poses for a natural look.
- Contrapposto: Dynamic shifts in weight for realistic and engaging poses.
- Form: Simplify complex body movements using shapes like "bean" or "robo-bean."
- Perspective and Foreshortening: Use depth to enhance believability.
- Weight and Balance: Maintain realistic distribution of body weight.
Fundamental Animation Techniques
- Squash and Stretch: Enhances flexibility and exaggeration in movement.
- Timing: Controls the rhythm and pacing of actions.
- Negative Space: Strategic use of empty spaces around characters for dynamic and clear visuals.
WEEK 7
This week we introduced the structured planning of Pose to Pose and the spontaneity of Straight Ahead as essential animation techniques. Each technique has unique applications depending on the nature of the animation action.
Fig. 1.2 Slide Notes (W7)- Pose to Pose and Straight Ahead
Pose to Pose Animation
- Definition: This method involves planning the animation by defining key poses first and then filling in intermediate poses.
- Stages:
- Key Pose:
- Represents the storytelling drawing or the main idea of the action.
- Examples:
- Walking: Starting and ending poses.
- Picking something up: The beginning and end of the action.
- Writing: The pose before and after the writing motion.
- Extreme Pose:
- Connects key poses and completes the action flow.
- Breakdown Pose:
- Positioned between extreme poses to:
- Add flexibility.
- Create arcs for natural motion.
- Control the pacing of slow-in and slow-out movements.
- Positioned between extreme poses to:
- In-between Pose:
- Fine-tunes the animation by refining the slow-in and slow-out actions, smoothing the motion.
Straight Ahead Animation
- Definition: This method involves animating frame by frame from the start to the end of the scene without pre-planned key poses.
- Usage:
- Ideal for unpredictable, fluid, or spontaneous movements.
- Requires a polishing pass to ensure smooth transitions and coherent motion.
Polishing the Animation
- Both methods involve refining the rough animation to enhance fluidity and achieve the desired final look.
PROJECT-1A Character Design
For this assignment, I need to set up a character description (age, gender, weight, attitude, personality) and design the character based on the information I can get from film studies and cinematography courses.
My goal is to create a character design that reflects his or her personality in the story and visually appeals to the target audience.
First, take any reference from an existing character that is similar to your character. It can be from any movie, anime, manga, etc. Note that your character must have at least two legs to practice the walk cycle in Project 2.
We need to design the following:
- A turnaround sheet / Model sheet (front, side, back and ¾ view perspective)
- Pose sheet (Various poses in different emotions / actions) - 5 poses *full body
- Character facial expressions - 5 expressions * focus on chest up
The first thing that came to my mind was that I had drawn my pet character before, and it had its own character image. So I planned to design the character based on this image.
Fig. 2.1 Original character image
But I was thinking wrong when I designed the character at the beginning, so I didn't complete it. After communicating with Mr. Kamal, I started my design again.
Fig. 2.2 First design
I redesigned my characters and content, and then colored them according to the original images.
Fig. 2.3 Model sheet&Character facial expressions
Fig. 2.4 Pose sheet
Final design
Fig. 2.5 Model sheet&Character facial expressions
Fig. 2.6 Pose sheet
PROJECT-1B Background Design
We need to create the background of the animation according to our own characters. I want a forest scene, so I found relevant references and drew a forest background.
Fig. 2.7 Draft of background design
Final design
FEEDBACK
WEEk 4:
General feedback:
The character design should be modified according to the overall proportion of the character to keep the character stable.
Specific feedback:
The initial image of my character was quite different from what I wanted, and Mr. Kamal was not very satisfied. After discussion and modification, Mr. Kamal thought that the image I finally confirmed was very good and cute. The proportions of the character needed to be slightly adjusted.
WEEk 9:
General feedback:
The environment should be divided into front, middle and back scenes according to the focus of the characters. It is best to have a clear contrast in color, and the foreground can be more clear. In the light position, you can add shadows to the objects to increase the reality of the environment.
Specific feedback:
The jungle has many elements. I can use positive and negative spaces to create a sense of space for my background. The foreground and the center should be clearly distinguished. The river can be partially present, and the foreground is more obvious. Put the characters to ensure the focus of the overall environment and background.
REFLECTION
I think this character is very challenging because I have to completely innovate and design my own things and content. I like this process very much, including the sense of accomplishment after the design is completely completed. This is something I have never experienced before. Although the process is painful, I am very satisfied with the results. Through the feedback, I know the importance of composition and the importance of human proportions in character design. It will be more helpful for my future designs.
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