There are 5 principles left to cover all 12 Principles of Animation. These last 5 are a little more straightforward in terms of definition, but some of them may take extra effort when trying to communicate with others because they have to do with personal aesthetics and/or workflow. Looking WAY back at my introduction, I used 3 groups to organize the principles. We already covered all of the Motion principles and the last 2 groups are Technique and Aesthetic. These groups help to frame the principles in a way that I find helpful in terms of understanding their purpose. As usual, we will start by introducing the principles and defining them, and then move on to see how they are typically applied.
The Technique group has 2 of the last 5 principles and seems like a good place to start since they are the most straightforward. They are:
Solid Drawing - Drawings(2D) or poses (3D/Stop Motion) that show believable weight, balance, and relationship to the character's form as a whole while staying 'on model' during an animation
Pose-To-Pose & Straight Ahead - Animating a sequence by either first establishing main poses then adding more in-betweens to achieve a smooth fluid motion, or by working from a starting pose and feeling out the actions. Or a combination of the two
While these two principles were founded in traditional hand-drawn animation(2D), I want to show how they apply to us 3D animators as well. As I began 3D animation I remember having thoughts like, "my character is already modeled so it will always be on model". But I found my work had a stiffness to it and I remember being VERY worried about "breaking" the rig. I think this is a great place to apply the principle of Solid Drawing. To get fluidity and the right feeling to actions or motions you will at some point (if not in every shot) need to "break" the rig in order to visually communicate what you want. I mean that you will need to either translate a shoulder, scale a hand, or contort the figure in such a way that in 3D space is very unnatural, but if done with balance, weight, etc. in mind it will still maintain a sense of believability. In this way when the action is viewed through the camera or seen at final speed appears fluid and enhances the feeling of the movement.
Workflow has become a huge topic for 3D animation and it is a tough subject to try and tackle because honestly, every shot is a little different. I think it is good to try animating different actions in different ways to build a basic framework or workflow but keep in mind that each shot may require a slightly different approach and that is okay. This is why I like the Pose-To-Pose/Straight Ahead principle. They are two different ways to approach animating an action but are so broad that they can even be used together, and for many 3D animators they are used together on almost every shot because of video reference. Almost every 3D animator's process includes shooting video reference and using it as a template. It is an invaluable resource, and it blends these two approaches very well. For example, after filming reference you watch it to find a take that you like thinking, "Oh, I like that pose.", "This is a great expression.", "I like that head accent.", etc. In essence, you are choosing your poses, establishing the keys that you will transition between. However, because it is video reference you have all of the in-betweens and timing to review as well, you can make the frame range of your reference match the frame range of your shot, bring it into your animation software and animate the sequence in 3D space working Straight Ahead. By combining the two approaches you are able to strengthen key poses and how they relate to each other (a huge benefit of pose-to-pose), while still retaining the freedom to add unique frenetic movement and secondary actions that can add life to characters (one benefit of working straight ahead).
Then there is the Aesthetic group. These last 3 principles are obviously important but can vary from person-to-person, shot-to-shot, project-to-project. For this reason, my application will be broad, but first the definitions.
Staging - How characters and props are arranged within a shot and environment as a whole.
Exaggeration - Amplifying movements or actions to add more weight and believability as well as communicate the feeling behind them more clearly to the viewer
Appeal - The overall feel of characters, props, environments are engaging and hold the interest of the viewer
In regards to application, these principles are very open to interpretation. For example, you may feel that you have exaggerated an action or expression, but when you show it to a friend they may say "this can be pushed a bit more". Or maybe you've created some simple characters that lack interest because the proportions are too similar. But, no matter how open the application might be, these principles share the same roots. That root is that every aspect of a shot should help communicate the meaning of the story. Some people are more conscious of this root when offering feedback (they are principles after all), but even unconsciously, comments and notes in these areas encompass expectations and meaning. Animators are communicating a story or idea through their work, therefore compose or stage your shots to show the power dynamics and/or mood of your characters, and create contrast in your work to engage the audience. Finally, when exaggerating your actions always keep the context of the world in mind. That is if the world is outrageous and cartoony then your exaggeration needs to match that outrageous quality, but your exaggeration needs to be less visually noticeable in a more realistic world, but the feeling should still come through.
These last three principles also apply to drawing and illustration, so I may spend some more time on staging/composition and appeal in future posts. Thanks again for reading and keep an eye out for the next post. I hope that this review of the 12 principles of animation has been helpful for some of you and I look forward to writing more soon!
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