Fundamentals of Animation
G U I D E
1- Animation History & Classic Animation Activity
- 200 Years of Animation
- Animation Landmarks
2 - Rotoscoping Activity
(line test > colouring > clean up )
3 - Principles of Animation
4 - Animating Characters and Camera Activity
5 - Compositing and Effects Activity
History of Animation
1700 – 1770: the cartoon form started with caricatures. Leonardo da Vinci, Gian Lorenzo Benini used caricatures to give shape to the features of their subject. The pioneer who created the cartoon-form of picture-story is William Hogarth.
In the 19th century, beginning in Punch magazine in 1843, cartoon came to refer – ironically at first – to humorous illustrations in magazines and newspapers.
In the early 20th century, it began to refer to animated films which resembled print cartoons.
The Lascaux Cave is famous for its Palaeolithic paintings, found in southwestern France.
CARTOON (William Hogarth) is art that makes fun of things (new society)
Thaumatrope - 2 back-to-back frames
Phenakisticope - circular 2D disc (8 frames - 20 frames)
Zoetrope - spinning cylinder
Important People
Emile Cohl - Fantasmargorie (1908)
Winsor McCoy - Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)
Dave Fleischer - Out of the Inkwell (1921)
Walt Disney - Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (120s - 30s)
NOTES
The word "Animate" came from the Latin word "Animare" meaning to "to give life to".
Scene
a sequence of continuous action
Panel
one specific action or moment in a storyboard
Storyboard
a sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a movie or television production.
Frame
there are 24 frames per second.
Extreme Frames
literally means animating extreme frames
In-Between Frames
literally means animating between the frames
FPS
Frames Per Second
Frame Rate
the frequency at which frames in a television picture, film, or video sequence are displayed.
Animating on...
>ones 1... 2... 3... 4... 5...
>twos 1... 3... 5... 8...
> threes - 1... 4... 7... 10...
Persistence of Vision
the phenomenon that produced the illusion of movement when viewing motion pictures.
Optical Illusion
something that deceives the eye by appearing to be other than it is
ROTOSCOPING ACTIVITY
ROTOSCOPE LINE TEST
ROTOSCOPE COLOURED
12 Principles of Animation
Squash and Stretch
to give the object or character an illusion of volume and weight
Anticipation
to prepare the audience for the major action
Staging
the presentation of the idea
Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
drawing frame by frame from start to finish
Follow Through and Overlapping Action
a technique of having body parts dragged behind after the body stops
Slow In and Slow Out
more drawing = slower action while less drawing = faster action
Arc
all action falls into an arc
Secondary Action
associate with overlapping action. It describes the main action to add dimension.
Timing
drawing more makes the action slower while drawing less makes the action faster
Exaggeration
basically every action can be taken into more dramatical level to make the idea apparent
Solid drawing
to give the object dimensional and volume
Appeal
to captivate the attention of the audience
Animation 1 – Timing, Slow In/Slow Out, Arc, and Squash Stretch
Animation 2 – Follow through, Secondary Action, Anticipation and Exaggeration
Animation 3 – Pose to Pose/Straight Ahead, Solid Drawing, Appeal and Staging
Camera and Parallax
Keyterms
Parallax
technique that adds depth between the background and its object
Multi-plane
Top and Side View
viewing your layers from either the top or side
Camera
to make the frame move (zoom in or zoom out)
Peg
the middle of the frame which is attached to the camera
Pivot Point
the point around which a peg or drawing rotates
Drawing Substitution
Key Frame
the starting and ending points of any transition
Node View Library
another place where you can view your layers
Waypoints
COMPOSITING