Improbably Possible

After discussing timing and spacing, I think it's a little easier to see how all of these animation principles really feed off of each other and overlap in many ways. So instead of focusing on them as separate principles, I decided to discuss the remaining motion  principles as a group. They really are artistic definitions of scientific principles, a way for us to discuss and push reality while still basing our animation on realistic physics to ground our work and make it more believable. Starting with reality, we can look at science, then we will define and apply the animation principles. Obviously, I'm not a scientist so I will not try to get too technical, but I think it's helpful to look at the reality of motion. Specifically Newton's 3 Laws of Motion: (1) Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it (objects at rest will stay at rest until another force acts upon it, objects in motion will...

 Alright, I'm really excited to get into this second part of Timing and Spacing. Hopefully, I will be able to apply the principles we defined in Part 1 in such a way that helps make these concepts start to click for you. After reading this post I encourage you to keep studying this principle and read what others have to say about it because once you start to grasp it your animations move to another level. ***EXPLANATORY CAMMA*** One last note before starting, since I'm going to try and move into application vs. definition I'll define these terms as I mean them here so that I don't have to pause to define them later. Key Drawing or Key = A drawing(2D) or frame (3D) that establishes when something will happen as well as extreme poses that help communicate the story. Breakdown(BD) = A drawing or frame that establishes how something transitions from one key to the next Inbetweens = The drawings or frames that guide the viewers' eye to and from Keys and BD's. Tim...

For my posts discussing the 12 Principles of Animation, I want to begin with Timing and Spacing because I feel that this principle is a major building block of the art form. This principle has a lot of power in establishing the style of a shot as well as what will be exaggerated and highlighted. It is also a principle that can be a bit confusing at times. For example, I'm calling the principle "timing AND spacing" while it has also been called simply "timing", and I sometimes hear students talking about the "timing feeling off" when it seems like they are trying to call out the spacing. All this to say I feel there's a lot to unpack so I decided to devote two posts to this principle. In this post, I'll define the principle as I think about it and share some basic examples so that in the following post we can dive in a bit deeper but all be on the same page. So, let's define this principle. The first thing to note is that while it is conside...

During the current COVID lockdown, I'm finding some time to blog again and thought I should make a little check-in post to let you know what I'm working on and planning for the next couple of posts. I've decided to start getting into some of the animation principles. I mentioned a classification for the principles in a previous post  and decided to tackle the MOVEMENT principles first starting with "Timing and Spacing". This is a big one. I know. This term gets dropped a lot in critiques and feedback, and sometimes they are used as if they can be interchanged. In addition to giving a description of the principle, I hope to also explain what some of these terms are trying to describe and how to better understand them so that you can make the needed adjustments to achieve the type of look you want in your work. Hopefully, this next post will be out soon. Until then keep creating and thanks for reading! -Justin

Now that so much work can be created digitally there seems to be a little resistance to the idea of developing an ability to sketch on paper. What I hear most often is that people aren't good at it, it's a waste of time, and/or I like to figure it out on the computer. As someone that grew up thinking I was terrible at drawing but liked to do it, and now finalize most of my work on the computer I thought I would share my thoughts about these statements to help explain why I continue to sketch. "I'm Not Good At It" I completely understand this one because I said this to myself when I thought of being an artist in grade school. First I would ask what are you not good at. Are you not good at quickly roughing out some of your ideas, or are you unhappy with the quality of the sketch when it is finished? If it is the latter I would encourage you to learn to let it go. It is very difficult to do so, especially with Twitter, Instagram, etc. and everyone posting there ...

So it's been a while... The last few terms of my program where very time intensive for me and I poured all of my time into my school assignments. A lot has happened since posting last. I graduated from the AnimationMentor character animation program in June 2018, I attended CTNX and I am currently looking for work as an animator. I'm hoping to get into a normal schedule of blogging again and pick up where I left off. Explore some of the animation principles more in depth and see where to go from there. Well just wanted to make a quick post saying that I'm still here and that I'll start blogging again shortly. 

As I'm going through my character animation course, I wanted to use this blog to share some of the things I'm learning. To establish a foundation for those future posts I think it's important to start with the 12 animation principles established by the early animators at the Disney studio. These principles are both technical philosophies and terminology that help animators speak to specific aspects of a piece of animation that are working and/or needing work. When used together the principles can help any animation be perceived as more harmonious and believable. While they are listed as separate pieces many overlap and inform the others. Recently, I heard Mark Oftedal put these principles into categories that I found very helpful. Group #1: MOTION - Squash & Stretch, Anticipation, Follow Through, Slow-In & Slow-Out, Arcs, Secondary Action, Timing & Spacing; Group #2: TECHNIQUE - Solid Drawing, Pose-To-Pose & Straight Ahead; Group #3: AESTHETIC -...