Write-Up #2_AnnaDomingo_ACM216_March 17, 2014

While reading the first part of BobThomas001.pdf, I remember learning about the various ways of creating an animation or moving picture in past film classes and art history classes. How it grew from being paintings and drawings of motion on a wall or paper in a 2D state, to a spinning wheel with pictures inside that you stare into, and then into a wheel that projected the moving pictures on a screen using light. The innovation of making the idea work built up over centuries as more people wanted the pictures to move. It’s interesting to learn from the reading that a flip book was made during the invention of the kineograph. “The kineograph was simply a flip book inside a large viewer” (BobThomas001.pdf). That was surprising to me since it seems like a simple idea and I never really did associate it with the growth of animation. Knowing some brief history of how animation grew from paintings on a wall to individual drawings that tricks the eyes is very interesting to know and I would like to help keep animation going for many more years.

From the reading ELEnt6_Timing.pdf, it talks about how knowing the basics of movement along with making the movement more interesting by making it gradual is more appealing to the eyes of the viewer rather than what Hams Luske said during the beginning of Disney’s animation. “Good pantomimists have always insisted that action should be simple and direct – it should not be overdone” (ELEnt6_Timing.pdf). If we just stuck with that in animation, then like it said in the reading, there would be no spirit or emotion or personality in characters. I say if we had animation been done simple and direct we might as well just watch real life. When we see animations, we like the look of the exaggeration in movements. That makes them unreal and gives off a more cartoony feeling for out entertainment. Keeping this in mind, I will remember that having more than just the basic movements of the world in animation makes it much more interesting for the animator and audience.

The reading GlnWhyAnimate.pdf produces a brief layout of why you should animate and what things you should keep in mind when creating a story. After reading the very first part, “Animation – why animate. Love to draw. Tell a story. See it move. Make it move. Express yourself. Entertain” (GlnWhyAnimate.pdf). It reminded me why I chose to do animation. I want to create stories that are compelling, characters that people can relate to, and keep my audience in awe. In the reading it lists questions for many parts of animation and it could even relate to film. Keeping this in mind, I can put it to use when I begin projects so I can get everything out of what I make.

From reading ELEnt7_Anticipation.pdf, when we are telling a story - especially a short one, that we have to make sure we provide the audience with what we were trying to convey clearly and to the point. This also applies to the characters and everything else in the animation world. When doing the animation, we need to clearly plan out every action, every motion, the story, where everything is going, etc. “It’s like building a building – we start with a good foundation and build upward – not start with the roof and build down” (ELEnt7_Anticipation.pdf). Keeping this in mind, when working on building an animation, I will make sure it’s planned out and going where it needs to be.

Head Turning Pencil Test

Write_Up#1_AnnaDomingo_ACM216_March 03, 2014

Anna Lisa Domingo

March 03. 2014

ACM 216

Essay #1

From the reading of arcs, arcs help define a character’s movement along this imaginary curve. No movement is straight or angled but has a subtle lift and drop as it moves along its path. Without the use of arcs, our characters would have no character to them as they walk, run, turn their head etc. “The discovery of arcs made a major change in the type of movements animators designed for their characters, breaking with the rigid and stiff actions that had gone before” (Arcs). Because of the knowledge of arcs, it will aid me in building interesting characters even with just a simple walk cycle. The motion of that character’s arc defines them, making them a living model. Without the use or knowledge of arcs in animation, my characters would just be plain and have nothing to them. They make look nice but they need to also move nicely.

            Squash and Stretch is another major tool of animation. Every living thing has a squash and stretch to them, giving them a smooth movement when they are in action. In animation, this tool helps the movement of characters; even objects have more motion to their motion. It is almost like a yin and yang of animation. “This is one of the strongest tools or principles used to create a fluid sense of movement and life in animation” (SqshNdStrch).  Without squash and stretch, we would have these bland and stiff movements of characters which is something we wouldn’t like to enjoy seeing even if that movement is so subtle. Using squash and stretch in my own animations is highly important and will give the movement of every animated object and characters a sort of realism, lifelike movement.

            Timing is everything, especially in animating. Time is a big factor since it is what we need to keep in mind when animating movements. There is a big difference between lesser frames and more frames. The amount of frames decides how the action gets carried out. The personality of what is doing the action is defined by how fast or slow the amount of frames carries it. “Neither acting nor attitude could be portrayed without paying very close attention to Timing” (Timing). With the use of paying attention to timing it’s very hard to get right, right away. But being aware of it will really help define movements just with how many frames are in that one section of the action. If one part looked too slow or too fast, it may make the rest look off as well. Knowing timing in animation is like knowing how to dance to waltz. Paying attention to the ¾ rhythm will keep you from losing your step. Paying attention to timing in animation will keep your animation from losing its rhythm.

            Reversal of curves is another important factor in animating. It helps give even more personality to the movement of characters. It helps loosen up the stiffness that the characters hold. It gives them life. “Whether it’s the contours of our can in this exercise or the curve of a gesture line through a complex form, manipulation of this curve provides for maximum contrast, that means less stiffness to us animators” (RevofCrvs). With reversal of curves, I will incorporate it into animating to lose the stiffness of movements and give even more personality to characters.

Anticipation animation