Followthrough and Overlapping Action

According to Newton's first law, "objects in motion tend to stay in motion." This is true even in animated worlds. If a puppy with floppy ears was running, then he suddenly stopped, it would feel strange and unnatural if his ears stopped with him. In reality, if the puppy tried to stop, his rear end would keep going forward, and so would his floppy ears.

What is Followthrough and Overlapping Action?

These are two different types of movement that are similar, but they are not the same.

Followthrough: This part of the principle explains that once part of an object or character stops, other parts of it keeps going, much like Newton says in his first law. Also, if one part of an object or character moves in a specific direction, the principle of Followthrough says that other parts of the object will follow [1]. The different parts can be ears, tails, arms, hair, clothing, and many other extensions of the main body [1]. Edmond will help explain.

Edmond is happily hopping along, when he sees a giant cliff! He must quickly stop before he falls over the cliff. As Edmond is trying to slow down, he is fighting against his momentum--the force that he had built up by moving forward. Although his front to legs have stopped, Followthrough keeps some parts of him going, such as his head, the fur on his head, and his bottom. 

Here is another example from Disney's The Lion King. Feel free to watch the whole video, but please skip to 0:50 on the Youtube video for the example:

Mufasa's Ghost

What am I looking at?

• As Simba (Lion) stops suddenly, his hair continues to move forward. This is Followthrough. The hair was moving in the same direction as Simba was going, and continued when he stopped.

Overlapping Action: This principle explains that when the main part of an object changes direction, other parts such as clothes keep moving forward [1].

Here is an example from the Loony Tunes series by Warner Brothers:

Bully for Bugs

What am I looking at?

What to watch in this example is the cloth that Bugs Bunny holds up for the bull. As Bugs moves the cloth around, his hands will go down and the cloth will continue to move up. As his hand changes, the cloth takes a while to catch up, and continues to move in the direction it was going. Overlapping Action helps give a softness and flow to an object.

The difference in these two principles is the direction. Followthrough is the continuous movement forward, while Overlapping Action had the main body changing direction and other parts continuing forward.

How can I apply this to my work?

• Followthrough and Overlapping Action are usually applied to soft, flowing, or floppy things (or getting hard things to appear that way). When looking for this principle, look for cloth, hair, and quick movements. Also, you can look for areas of movement and Squash and Stretch together.

• If you want to exaggerate movement, whether it is really fast or a sharp turn, drag your character (or it's limbs, tails, cloth, or hair) so that select parts keep moving forward.

• Attention to detail makes a huge difference to the viewer, so any little thing you can add, such as the cloth of a robe moving on your characters arm, adds character, life, spunk, and is interesting to look at.

Sources

[1] Atkinson, David. Animation Notes #5 Principles of Animation.  Retrieved from http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html.

Staging

When trying to convey a complicated idea to an audience, it can be a challenge to make the idea clear and understandable. Staging is used to help an audience member through these complex ideas so that they understand and can follow them throughout the work of art or animation.

What is Staging?

This principle explains how certain actions, poses, or camera moves are used to help the audience understand an idea, reaction or mood [1]. This principle is a tool that makes the story flow by directing focus and attention to one character. Edmond will help explain a bit further.

Here, Edmond is spending some time with his friends. When you look at this scene, there is no story, and there is no specific spot that your attention is drawn to. Suddenly, Edmond sees something. 

Because of Edmond's pose (his facial expression), attention is drawn to him. He shows that there is something surprising or scary, and it sets the mood. With the way Edmond is posed compared to his friends, it is an example of staging.

Here is an exciting example of Staging from the Disney classic, The Lion King [2]:

The Lion King: Stampede Scene

What am I looking at?

• The largest example of Staging in this scene is when the camera zooms in on Simba (the lion cub) as he realizes that he is about to be in the middle of a stampede. This camera mood plus his pose sets the mood for the scene. Leading up to that moment, the mood is unsure. Although the viewer knows that something big is happening, it is hard to understand how much danger he is in until Simba himself realizes it.
• Throughout the scene, watch as attention is directed towards Simba. As he struggles on the tree, he is separating himself from the background and grabbing attention. That is another example of staging in the scene.

How can I apply this to my work?

• If you are trying to convey complicated information, or there is a lot going on in your scene, try to draw attention to the most important character or object. You can do this by 
• changing the way the character is posed
•  zooming in
•  or creating an attention grabbing action to your character.

Do your best to make things clear for your audience, and have fun doing it!

Sources:

[1] Atkinson, David. Animation Notes #5 Principles of Animation.  Retrieved from http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html.

[2] Dewey, A., Hahn, D., McArthur, S., Shumacher, T. (Producers), Allers, R., & Minkoff, R. (Directors). (1994). The Lion King [Motion Picture]. United States: Walt Disney.

Anticipation

As humans move throughout their world, they are constantly trying to predict the world around them. "Where is that person walking?" "Is that cat going to jump?" In order to guess what will happen next, humans watch what happens right before an action. If an action occurs and a person doesn't see it coming, they will be confused and uncomfortable. That is why Anticipation is very important in the animation world.

What is Anticipation?

This principle is what helps an audience get ready for what is about to happen, or what a character is about to do [1]. Grounded in real life, Anticipation explains that before a character does something, they must prepare for it. For animation, it is often exaggerated and pushed to the extreme. Edmond will help us with an example.

Edmond wants to get over the fence. 

However, he can't just appear on the other side of the fence. He must jump over the fence.

To build up power for jumping over the fence, Edmond must crouch down. The crouching down motion is the anticipation (circled). 

Here is a dramatic example from the Warner Brother's Bugs Bunny cartoon:

Baseball Bugs

What am I looking at?

• When Bugs Bunny is doing all of that winding up and stepping back to throw the ball, that is the Anticipation. He is getting the audience ready for an awesome pitch before he actually throws the ball. 

• The baseball players trying to hit the ball are also showing Anticipation. When they are waiting for the ball with their foot in the air and bat behind them, they are showing the audience that they are about to take a huge swing at the ball, before they ever do anything.

• The larger the build up (Anticipation) the larger the action will be. This example is humorous because with the large build up by Bugs Bunny, it is assumed that the ball will be very fast, and the ball turns out to be extremely slow.

• Even small movements have Anticipation. Actions such as looking over at something before touching it can be considered Anticipation too.

How can I use this for my work?

• When watching a movie (animated or live action) watch for movements in the characters, such as jumping, reaching, running, punching, and so on. Try to notice the time JUST BEFORE the action actually happens. That is where you will find the Anticipation. 

• If you are looking to animate an action, think about what happens before your character even moves. Are they thinking about moving? Show that to the audience by making your character look at the area they will move towards, or move them back before they move forward. This will make the action more predictable and more pleasing to the audience. 

• This is mostly an animation principle, but it can be found wherever there is action.

Sources:

[1] Atkinson, David. Animation Notes #5 Principles of Animation.  Retrieved from http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

Squash and Stretch

Whether you know it or not, Squash and Stretch is a huge part of what makes animated characters, and the worlds they live in, so interesting and entertaining. Without it, everything in these animated worlds would be boring and stiff.

What is Squash and Stretch?

This principle says that features and actions must be exaggerated beyond their normal, realistic limits, in order to clearly convey ideas and make the work visually pleasing. In other words, the character must make bigger or smaller movements, and stretch or shrink further than could actually happen in real life, so that you can understand what characters are thinking, and make the action look better.

Squash and Stretch is put to work everywhere. From drawing characters and moving them to live acting (especially theater). Even our faces follow squash and stretch as we move from happy to sad, or bored to angry, and any other emotion.

Oh look, here is Edmond and his friend.

Here, Edmond is standing next to another llama, and there are major differences. Besides the fact that Edmond prefers to wear clothing, there are differences between them, created using Squash and Stretch. You can see how much larger Edmonds eyes are (stretch) and how much shorter his legs are (squash). Squash and Stretch refers to movement rather than character design. For more on how characters are designed, check out the post on Exaggeration.

Next is a terrific example of squash and stretch in action with this clip of the Disney's, The Jungle Book [2]:

Kaa's Sinuses

What am I looking at?

• At the very beginning, Sher Kahn (the tiger) is looking at Kaa's tail hanging down (the snake). He then reaches out and pulls the Kaa's tail to make the door bell sound. Watch again as the tail stretches with each pull. An actual snake could not actually stretch that way.

• Next you see Kaa's irritated face. His eyes and his mouth are scrunched together towards the center of his face, then these same features suddenly go in the complete opposite direction, and stretch to make a happy face. Watch Kaa as he does these actions over and over, depending on how he is feeling through the clip.

• As Sher Kahn reaches out again and grabs Kaa's throat, watch how his neck squishes under Sher Kahn's claw. This shows how powerful Sher Kahn is. 

• As Kaa continues to talk, you can see the wrinkles in his neck above Sher Kahn's claw, and how they stretch and squish together as he raises and lowers his head.  

• The most obvious example in this clip is when Kaa stretches his head all the way up to Sher Kahn's face, and Sher Kahn moves his neck back to get out of Kaa's view.

As you can see, this principle is used so much that one could go on for an hour about just one scene in a movie. Try to find some more examples on your own.

How can I apply this to my work?

• Study your face in the mirror
• Watch for places in movies that make you ask, "could that really happen in real life?"
• Make different features on your drawings bigger or smaller than what they would look like in real life (you probably already do this if you ever draw cartoons)
• If you are animating, make your actions HUGE instead of big, tiny instead of small, and so on.
• Next time you watch your favorite movies, look for this principle and see how it affects the scene. Then, try to imagine life without this principle. 

Happy hunting!

Sources:

[1] Atkinson, David. Animation Notes #5 Principles of Animation.  Retrieved from http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

[2] Walt, D. (Producer), & Reitherman, W. (Director). (1967). The Jungle Book [Motion Picture]. United States: Walt Disney.

Introduction

Welcome to the Lessons about Animation-At Home blog!

Since the beginning of animation to the 3D movies of today, animated films have captured imaginations around the world.  Besides being entertaining, watching animated movies can also be a learning experience, especially for art and animation students who are looking to improve their skills, whether they are in school or not. Trying to learn on your own can sometimes be very difficult. This blog will provide some education and guidance to help a student of art or animation learn from the films they love and have fun at the same time.

What is this blog about?

This blog is geared towards teaching people what to look for in animated films that they can learn from and apply to their own work. This blog will provide information about:

• Analyzing and understanding animated movies
• Understanding art and animation principles 
• Applying this information to your own work 

What can I expect from this blog?

Each post will have one of the 12 Principles of Animation as a theme (Two posts each week). These 12 principles were created by the Nine Old Men, core animators during the early days of Disney [1]. These principles are:

• Squash and Stretch
• Anticipation
• Staging
• Strait Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
• Followthrough and overlapping action
• Slow in slow out
• Arcs
• Secondary Action
• Timing
• Exaggeration 
• Solid drawing
• Appeal

 These principles were refined and published 32 years ago and are still the foundation for animation today. 

Each post will also include examples from quality animated films, both traditional (films such as Disney's Beauty and the Beast) and 3D (films such as Pixar's Brave). In addition to these film examples, Edmond the Llama will help further explain the information and illustrate examples provided in the blog.

Thank you for joining, and please tune it to the future posts on the blog!

Sources:

[1] Atkinson, David. Animation Notes #5 Principles of Animation.  Retrieved from http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html.