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.
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