ANIMATION STUDIES: Research
For my first walk cycle I opted for a sneaking movement. I went for a more traditional sneak rather than adding a tip-toe style. This meant that it would be slow and steady, as opposed to light and quick. By using Ken Harris' sneak as a reference, I was able to distinguish 3 main poses throughout. These were 2 contact poses and the middle, passing motion, outlined on page 167 of Williams', "The Animator's Survival Kit". In many sneak movements, the main body seems to rock back and forth as well as up and down, giving a sense of caution, which I tried to implement in my own version. I feel that maybe I could have added more delaying and held poses for longer to enhance the sense of trepidation.
Next, I moved on to a simple standing jump animation. Referencing page 214 of the Survival Kit, I followed the advice that one should exaggerate a standing jump to create a looser, more fluid animation. Mine started out very stiff and rigid - so I took to exagerrating and squash & stretch to add more fluidity. Although I tried holding the down pose before release in order to give more spring to the jump, I feel that I could've made it even more extreme to put more emphasis on how much effort is going into the jump. I used Edward Muybridge's human jump images as a profile reference to block out the main poses. However I ended up using the straight ahead method for this animation.
To progress on from a standing jump, I then took on a running jump. I wasn't too pleased with the final outcome of this animation as it lacked several aspects of the 12 principles, like anticipation or exaggeration. The movement isn't very convincing and seems to float upward rather than be propelled by the force of its legs. Had I added some delay to the feet in the air and maybe made them move quicker, I may have avoided the floating.
For my final animation, I wanted to convey a sense of emotion. I chose fear as it can come across nicely when done successfully. Referencing the body language section of the Survival Kit, I tried to use key poses such as the inward-bent knees to show the emotion clearly. Trusting Williams' advice, I kept the legs symmetrical in the air, and also when landing, to convey balance. I liked the squash and stretch used in this Micky Mouse animation and wanted to implement a similar technique in my own. I was pleased with the result as it added another level of emphasis to the scared, abrupt head turns.
("The Animator's Survival Kit" Williams, R.)
(https://www.linkedin.com/learning/2d-animation-character-attitude-walk-cycles/animating-a-sneak)
(http://nucius.org/photographs/eadweard-muybridge-athlete-a-running-twist-high-jump/)
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| Elmer Fudd's sneak reference. |
Next, I moved on to a simple standing jump animation. Referencing page 214 of the Survival Kit, I followed the advice that one should exaggerate a standing jump to create a looser, more fluid animation. Mine started out very stiff and rigid - so I took to exagerrating and squash & stretch to add more fluidity. Although I tried holding the down pose before release in order to give more spring to the jump, I feel that I could've made it even more extreme to put more emphasis on how much effort is going into the jump. I used Edward Muybridge's human jump images as a profile reference to block out the main poses. However I ended up using the straight ahead method for this animation.
To progress on from a standing jump, I then took on a running jump. I wasn't too pleased with the final outcome of this animation as it lacked several aspects of the 12 principles, like anticipation or exaggeration. The movement isn't very convincing and seems to float upward rather than be propelled by the force of its legs. Had I added some delay to the feet in the air and maybe made them move quicker, I may have avoided the floating.
For my final animation, I wanted to convey a sense of emotion. I chose fear as it can come across nicely when done successfully. Referencing the body language section of the Survival Kit, I tried to use key poses such as the inward-bent knees to show the emotion clearly. Trusting Williams' advice, I kept the legs symmetrical in the air, and also when landing, to convey balance. I liked the squash and stretch used in this Micky Mouse animation and wanted to implement a similar technique in my own. I was pleased with the result as it added another level of emphasis to the scared, abrupt head turns.
Click here to view the final animations.
("The Animator's Survival Kit" Williams, R.)
(https://www.linkedin.com/learning/2d-animation-character-attitude-walk-cycles/animating-a-sneak)
(http://nucius.org/photographs/eadweard-muybridge-athlete-a-running-twist-high-jump/)
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