Hello People and welcome to another edition of HypefroActive. today, i'm going to be talking about animations and how it works. I guess a huge chunk of you First timers know about the principles. And also know that applying them correctly has some how become a pain in the ass. Well, you are not alone in this journey and definitely not the first to experience this pain or disappointment or both. The truth is Animations can be very difficult learning and applying correctly because what we as Animators hope to achieve is already registered in the minds of people, us inclusive. And so when we animate these things especially when they are not well animated, it sends a signal to the audience that "NO, There's something wrong. Though it might be your very first time animating and you are all excited breaking this new ground but the fact remains that, it is not top notch. So how can you get to Top Notch? Well, i'll tell you, but it's not going to be easy, so brace yourselves.
First off, lets start with the principles in general. If you are a first timer and are reading this then i'll advice you to get on your computer, open google and search for "The Principles of Animation" by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston or The illusion of life by Richard Williams. If You are opportuned to lay your hands on Richard's Dvds, That would make all the difference, and ultimately your journey into animation easier. This does not mean that once you've finished reading these books or watching the videos, that everything will be automatic and in two days you are on the same level with the worlds best animators. No, it's just a starting point and could again turn out to be very disappointing and frustrating if you dont handle this matter very well. Because this right here is the key. Starting and Enduring with a lot of focus and determination is actually where it all begins. Now if you've kind of progressed a bit into animation and you know this priciples, then this is for you. First timers can also stick with this for knowing sake so that you can always refer back to this advice when you've progressed and maybe need it.
I learnt a great deal from Richard Williams and one of the first and major things that i always start of with is "Timing and spacing", inbetween and extreme poses, anticipations and exagerations. I do not always apply the rest like exagerations sometimes but getting to apply the first four or five alone can really get you up to speed with animating well. things like exagerations, the hold and moving hold and succesive breaking of joints are just icing on the cake. And yes, animations look better on curved paths and that's not because it's animations but because it is how it works in real life. Take your whole arm for example and lets try applying The Principle "breaking the joints" here. This was gotten from Richard Williams and He illustrated that, when we consider a hand that's at rest trying to swing up, it comes in an arc which is true and you could try it out, by first putting your hand down and trying to reposition it in the air with your hand now hanging over your head. Wether you do this with your arms stretched out or not i found out that the order of movement is the same. This is the order. Now it will seem that the shoulders are not moving at the inception but are actually they are and in very little arcs and when the elbows goes past the shoulder level you see a convincing shoulder movement or lift supporting the whole arm and futher stretching to full length. But that is not the magic. the real Magic and what breaking of the joints preach is that "not everything happens at once" thus this movement will start with the shoulder down to the upper then lower arm and finally the wrist and fingers. It's a bit difficult to understand what i'm talking about right now, but if you'll experiment it on your own, you'll get it right.
Why am i saying all these? asides learning the principles so that you animate well, You'll stand out truly from the crowd if you know a lot other unique things and can apply them in your animations. especially when you are good at it. Take Jeff Lew and his Killer Bean movie for instance. It would be very difficult to create such Hyper realistic animations if he wasn't into martial arts or doesn't understand it. Why, you'd ask? Because you don't know what you don't know. The same way in which you could tell if a walk pattern is not realistic or somebody trying to lift something heavy is not realistic in animations is the same way the audience are able to tell if an animated fight scene doesn't look real. Because they've seen or practiced it at one time or the other and they know how it actually looks like or feel like. Hence the need for an animator to evolve and emerge as an actor. Taking note of Body movements and soft flickers can greatly enhance your animation prowess. And that's why you see animators do weird faces or gestures while animating a character. That is how Characters come to Life. By been an Animator and an Actor.
First off, lets start with the principles in general. If you are a first timer and are reading this then i'll advice you to get on your computer, open google and search for "The Principles of Animation" by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston or The illusion of life by Richard Williams. If You are opportuned to lay your hands on Richard's Dvds, That would make all the difference, and ultimately your journey into animation easier. This does not mean that once you've finished reading these books or watching the videos, that everything will be automatic and in two days you are on the same level with the worlds best animators. No, it's just a starting point and could again turn out to be very disappointing and frustrating if you dont handle this matter very well. Because this right here is the key. Starting and Enduring with a lot of focus and determination is actually where it all begins. Now if you've kind of progressed a bit into animation and you know this priciples, then this is for you. First timers can also stick with this for knowing sake so that you can always refer back to this advice when you've progressed and maybe need it.
I learnt a great deal from Richard Williams and one of the first and major things that i always start of with is "Timing and spacing", inbetween and extreme poses, anticipations and exagerations. I do not always apply the rest like exagerations sometimes but getting to apply the first four or five alone can really get you up to speed with animating well. things like exagerations, the hold and moving hold and succesive breaking of joints are just icing on the cake. And yes, animations look better on curved paths and that's not because it's animations but because it is how it works in real life. Take your whole arm for example and lets try applying The Principle "breaking the joints" here. This was gotten from Richard Williams and He illustrated that, when we consider a hand that's at rest trying to swing up, it comes in an arc which is true and you could try it out, by first putting your hand down and trying to reposition it in the air with your hand now hanging over your head. Wether you do this with your arms stretched out or not i found out that the order of movement is the same. This is the order. Now it will seem that the shoulders are not moving at the inception but are actually they are and in very little arcs and when the elbows goes past the shoulder level you see a convincing shoulder movement or lift supporting the whole arm and futher stretching to full length. But that is not the magic. the real Magic and what breaking of the joints preach is that "not everything happens at once" thus this movement will start with the shoulder down to the upper then lower arm and finally the wrist and fingers. It's a bit difficult to understand what i'm talking about right now, but if you'll experiment it on your own, you'll get it right.
Why am i saying all these? asides learning the principles so that you animate well, You'll stand out truly from the crowd if you know a lot other unique things and can apply them in your animations. especially when you are good at it. Take Jeff Lew and his Killer Bean movie for instance. It would be very difficult to create such Hyper realistic animations if he wasn't into martial arts or doesn't understand it. Why, you'd ask? Because you don't know what you don't know. The same way in which you could tell if a walk pattern is not realistic or somebody trying to lift something heavy is not realistic in animations is the same way the audience are able to tell if an animated fight scene doesn't look real. Because they've seen or practiced it at one time or the other and they know how it actually looks like or feel like. Hence the need for an animator to evolve and emerge as an actor. Taking note of Body movements and soft flickers can greatly enhance your animation prowess. And that's why you see animators do weird faces or gestures while animating a character. That is how Characters come to Life. By been an Animator and an Actor.
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