In our previous article, Six Principles of Animation, we learned about top six rules that leading animators at Disney use in their practice. Today, we will pay a closer look to another six principles that help Disney cartoon characters look so realistic and their movement natural or funny.
Arc
To create an impression of natural movement, we should pay attention to the arcs created by movements in our lives – for example, the arc that a ball makes when we throw it. By drawing this arc in animation, we add more sequences and make the movement seem more fluid. This technique can help us express the speed of movement as well – the straighter line of object trajectory when being thrown faster, or the arc a body makes on skates when slowing down.
Secondary Action
When creating an action, adding a secondary action to our main one gives more life to the scene. For example, adding the wind behind our character, making him scratch or whistle… These actions are supposed to support the primary actions, but not take away the attention. If the scene is dramatic itself, these actions are better left out.
Timing
Timing in animation refers to the number of frames per action. The importance of timing is super essential – it determines the laws of physics in your video, the emotional state of the character and even his/hers personality. Bare in mind that these rules here vary whether we are talking about drawing animation or computer animation.
Exaggeration
Exaggeration is particularly interesting when we are talking about comic animation or caricature, although up to an extent it is also very useful for the dynamics of realistic videos as well. Whether we exaggerate a part of our character’s body (Popeye) or just highlight elements in the story line, Disney implemented this in his animations making them more interesting, while staying true to reality.
Solid drawing
Now, this is important in animating drawings, and it reminds us that it is necessary for artists to understand the bodies in 3D world, the weights of things, the way that light and shadows work, etc. Even though nowadays most artists animate digitally, it is still useful to have a drawing practice for a better sense of how things behave in real life.
Appeal
For the viewers to be interested in your character’s stories, they should be appealing to their eyes. This goes for the villains, as much as it goes for the protagonist. To make them look appealing means to make your character feel real and interesting. Most common technique for achieving this effect is to use simple faces and often baby-like faces, without many details.
These are the most important tips that best animators at the world’s leading animating company wanted to share with us. Do you agree with them? Let us know in the comment section bellow and stay tuned to Colourlovers.com
About the author:
Nina Petrov is an activist, poet, performer and mathematician. She communicates with the world mostly through words, movement and equations, but sometimes also by speaking very loudly. The only truth she could say about herself is that she keeps changing every day, never stops learning and interacting with her surroundings.