Friday, November 19, 2010
“Cars 2″ teaser trailer
Trailer for Disney Cars 2 to be released June 24, 2011
Included some pics at the end of the video!
Awsome cool video
The paint is Cel-Vinyl from Cartoon Color and the board is Crescent Illustration Board No. 310 (cold press). I use an HP-C Iwata airbrush (mostly to wet the board), a flat brush for washes such as a Grumbacher Aquarelle 1", a Grumbacher "Badger Blender" and a good sable brush size 4 or 5. The drawing is transfered to the board with Saral Transfer Paper (usually blue).
Hand Poses in Animation
So I just wanted to post some links that I found and point you to the post on Spungella.
.
Rad How To Blog
Drawn in Black
Sequentialism
Nick Bruno's Blog
Ramblings Blog
Melmade
There u go check out some hands and enjoy!
Oscar’s Animation Race Just Got ‘Tangled’
here is an awesome Write up from a writer who got a sneak peek of the film.
Oscar’s Animation Race Just Got ‘Tangled’.
“I know everyone (including my new Deadline colleague Mike Fleming who will be reporting on the ground there for us) is winging their way to Toronto right now to see a bunch of Oscar hopefuls that I already saw in Cannes, Telluride or oh-so-cool private L.A. screenings (more on THOSE flicks as the fest unveils them). But I am also focused on checking out some contenders NOT on display in Canada. That’s exactly what I did yesterday in the not-as-exciting clime of Burbank. I came away feeling I’d found another strong entry in what is becoming a very strong awards season race for ‘toons.
That’s right. Wednesday Disney did something studios never do unless they know they have the goods. They flew in several members of the press–mostly those who cover animation for outlets with long lead times–to see the first ever screening of the big Thanksgiving holiday release Tangled. The musical weaves a new take on the Rapunzel fairy tale, in what represents Disney’s milestone 50th animated feature since Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in 1937. John Lasseter told the gathered press, “You can feel the pride people in this studio have in Tangled. We just couldn’t wait for people to see it.”
It’s looking like there will again be five nominees for Best Animated Feature this year. Based the deservedly enthusiastic press response to the work-in-progress print shown yesterday, Tangled could easily be among them. As will Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, which remains the 800 pound gorilla in the race. Dreamworks is already aggressively campaigning for How To Train Your Dragon.
Tangled had to be shown in very rough form since only about 60% of the animation has been completed. The 3D isn’t ready, and composer Alan Menken’s score isn’t in place yet although the songs are. Producer Roy Conli said they expect to have the finished print in a couple of months. It was an all day event. Several artists explained different aspects of the production, extensive tours of the Disney animation building , and a large lobby transformed into an elaborate forest setting where press were encouraged to join in the “forest fun” with a turkey leg toss, frying pan ping pong and photo opportunities, among other things. Ya gotta love Disney, right?
Rapunzel is an idea that has been floating around apparently since the days of Walt but due to its hair raising nature has never been really possible to crack until sophisticated CGI technology made it easier to place those 100,000 pieces of follicles atop this latest Disney princesses’ head. The movie itself is also an attempt to revive the 80’s and 90’s heyday of big Disney animated musicals like Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas, with scores and songs from Alan Menken who won a whopping 8 Academy Awards for that quartet and performs similar duties here with his collaborator Glenn Slater. Tangled’s directing duo Nathan Greno and Byron Howard (Bolt) actually look at it a little differently than those hits. “This is not a big Broadway kind of musical. We look at it as more in touch with classic Disney films of the 50’s where music is a key element in the storytelling,” Greno told me when I sat down with the talented team late in the marathon day. “It has that classic 40’s and 50’s Disney kind of feel but at the same time we’re making these movies for a contemporary audience. It’s great to acknowledge our roots while being non-traditional but not cynical,” Howard added.
For his part, Menken doesn’t mind the comparison to his earlier works at the studio that brought him all that Oscar gold but notes it differs because it really is the first CGI-3D animated musical. Last holiday season Disney tried a more traditionally animated 2D musical ‘toon written by Randy Newman. “As good as it was, The Princess And The Frog underperformed, so the jury’s out. My hope is that Tangled will go through the roof, not just selfishly for me but for the form,” Menken told me.
Menken says he tried to put a medieval flavor to the new songs mixing in influences like Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and 60’s folk rock although Donna Murphy who voices the evil Mother Gothel has a flat-out standout Broadway-style number called “Mother Knows Best”. Mandy Moore is the voice of Rapunzel. Eventually there will also be an added end title rock-style song , a “sore point” for Menken who didn’t write it. Menken feels the song with the best shot for another Oscar nomination is “I See The Light” which highlights the remarkable lantern sequence in the movie. “I was nominated for three songs on Enchanted (2007) which is probably why we didn’t win (Melissa Etheridge’s ‘ An Inconvenient Truth’ was the victor). I would be happy to just have one,” he says.
Actually, it’s obvious Menken’s winning ways were responsible for rule changes from the Academy’s music branch that make ineligible the kind of musical scores for which the composer regularly won Oscars. Only Alfred Newman’s 9 statuettes surpasses Menken, and a Tangled win this year would tie him. But his fellow musicians are not making it as easy as it once was. “Now they have made it so a score from an animated musical cannot be validated as best score in any way, not even underscore. I understand that songs do make a score jump out at you in a way underscores can’t compete, but I don’t agree with that. If there were more musicals we could have a Best Musical category but there just aren’t enough,” he says.
The Academy also tweaked the rules after Dreamgirls and Enchanted each scored three song nominations in successive years. Now it allows only two to be named from a given movie. Last year, they didn’t even perform the nominated tunes on the show. What’s an 8- time Oscar winner to do with all this meddling? “For me the Oscars are a little strange because it’s really about actors anyway, those familiar faces,” he says. “ All that attention is really about big glamour. But I’m just happy to be part of the evening and walk away with my Oscar or two.”
Oscar’s Animation Race Just Got ‘Tangled’.
“I know everyone (including my new Deadline colleague Mike Fleming who will be reporting on the ground there for us) is winging their way to Toronto right now to see a bunch of Oscar hopefuls that I already saw in Cannes, Telluride or oh-so-cool private L.A. screenings (more on THOSE flicks as the fest unveils them). But I am also focused on checking out some contenders NOT on display in Canada. That’s exactly what I did yesterday in the not-as-exciting clime of Burbank. I came away feeling I’d found another strong entry in what is becoming a very strong awards season race for ‘toons.
That’s right. Wednesday Disney did something studios never do unless they know they have the goods. They flew in several members of the press–mostly those who cover animation for outlets with long lead times–to see the first ever screening of the big Thanksgiving holiday release Tangled. The musical weaves a new take on the Rapunzel fairy tale, in what represents Disney’s milestone 50th animated feature since Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in 1937. John Lasseter told the gathered press, “You can feel the pride people in this studio have in Tangled. We just couldn’t wait for people to see it.”
It’s looking like there will again be five nominees for Best Animated Feature this year. Based the deservedly enthusiastic press response to the work-in-progress print shown yesterday, Tangled could easily be among them. As will Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, which remains the 800 pound gorilla in the race. Dreamworks is already aggressively campaigning for How To Train Your Dragon.
Tangled had to be shown in very rough form since only about 60% of the animation has been completed. The 3D isn’t ready, and composer Alan Menken’s score isn’t in place yet although the songs are. Producer Roy Conli said they expect to have the finished print in a couple of months. It was an all day event. Several artists explained different aspects of the production, extensive tours of the Disney animation building , and a large lobby transformed into an elaborate forest setting where press were encouraged to join in the “forest fun” with a turkey leg toss, frying pan ping pong and photo opportunities, among other things. Ya gotta love Disney, right?
Rapunzel is an idea that has been floating around apparently since the days of Walt but due to its hair raising nature has never been really possible to crack until sophisticated CGI technology made it easier to place those 100,000 pieces of follicles atop this latest Disney princesses’ head. The movie itself is also an attempt to revive the 80’s and 90’s heyday of big Disney animated musicals like Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas, with scores and songs from Alan Menken who won a whopping 8 Academy Awards for that quartet and performs similar duties here with his collaborator Glenn Slater. Tangled’s directing duo Nathan Greno and Byron Howard (Bolt) actually look at it a little differently than those hits. “This is not a big Broadway kind of musical. We look at it as more in touch with classic Disney films of the 50’s where music is a key element in the storytelling,” Greno told me when I sat down with the talented team late in the marathon day. “It has that classic 40’s and 50’s Disney kind of feel but at the same time we’re making these movies for a contemporary audience. It’s great to acknowledge our roots while being non-traditional but not cynical,” Howard added.
For his part, Menken doesn’t mind the comparison to his earlier works at the studio that brought him all that Oscar gold but notes it differs because it really is the first CGI-3D animated musical. Last holiday season Disney tried a more traditionally animated 2D musical ‘toon written by Randy Newman. “As good as it was, The Princess And The Frog underperformed, so the jury’s out. My hope is that Tangled will go through the roof, not just selfishly for me but for the form,” Menken told me.
Menken says he tried to put a medieval flavor to the new songs mixing in influences like Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and 60’s folk rock although Donna Murphy who voices the evil Mother Gothel has a flat-out standout Broadway-style number called “Mother Knows Best”. Mandy Moore is the voice of Rapunzel. Eventually there will also be an added end title rock-style song , a “sore point” for Menken who didn’t write it. Menken feels the song with the best shot for another Oscar nomination is “I See The Light” which highlights the remarkable lantern sequence in the movie. “I was nominated for three songs on Enchanted (2007) which is probably why we didn’t win (Melissa Etheridge’s ‘ An Inconvenient Truth’ was the victor). I would be happy to just have one,” he says.
Actually, it’s obvious Menken’s winning ways were responsible for rule changes from the Academy’s music branch that make ineligible the kind of musical scores for which the composer regularly won Oscars. Only Alfred Newman’s 9 statuettes surpasses Menken, and a Tangled win this year would tie him. But his fellow musicians are not making it as easy as it once was. “Now they have made it so a score from an animated musical cannot be validated as best score in any way, not even underscore. I understand that songs do make a score jump out at you in a way underscores can’t compete, but I don’t agree with that. If there were more musicals we could have a Best Musical category but there just aren’t enough,” he says.
The Academy also tweaked the rules after Dreamgirls and Enchanted each scored three song nominations in successive years. Now it allows only two to be named from a given movie. Last year, they didn’t even perform the nominated tunes on the show. What’s an 8- time Oscar winner to do with all this meddling? “For me the Oscars are a little strange because it’s really about actors anyway, those familiar faces,” he says. “ All that attention is really about big glamour. But I’m just happy to be part of the evening and walk away with my Oscar or two.”
Oscar’s Animation Race Just Got ‘Tangled’
here is an awesome Write up from a writer who got a sneak peek of the film.
Oscar’s Animation Race Just Got ‘Tangled’.
“
I know everyone (including my new Deadline colleague Mike Fleming who will be reporting on the ground there for us) is winging their way to Toronto right now to see a bunch of Oscar hopefuls that I already saw in Cannes, Telluride or oh-so-cool private L.A. screenings (more on THOSE flicks as the fest unveils them). But I am also focused on checking out some contenders NOT on display in Canada. That’s exactly what I did yesterday in the not-as-exciting clime of Burbank. I came away feeling I’d found another strong entry in what is becoming a very strong awards season race for ‘toons.
That’s right. Wednesday Disney did something studios never do unless they know they have the goods. They flew in several members of the press–mostly those who cover animation for outlets with long lead times–to see the first ever screening of the big Thanksgiving holiday release Tangled. The musical weaves a new take on the Rapunzel fairy tale, in what represents Disney’s milestone 50th animated feature since Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in 1937. John Lasseter told the gathered press, “You can feel the pride people in this studio have in Tangled. We just couldn’t wait for people to see it.”
It’s looking like there will again be five nominees for Best Animated Feature this year. Based the deservedly enthusiastic press response to the work-in-progress print shown yesterday, Tangled could easily be among them. As will Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, which remains the 800 pound gorilla in the race. Dreamworks is already aggressively campaigning for How To Train Your Dragon.
Tangled had to be shown in very rough form since only about 60% of the animation has been completed. The 3D isn’t ready, and composer Alan Menken’s score isn’t in place yet although the songs are. Producer Roy Conli said they expect to have the finished print in a couple of months. It was an all day event. Several artists explained different aspects of the production, extensive tours of the Disney animation building , and a large lobby transformed into an elaborate forest setting where press were encouraged to join in the “forest fun” with a turkey leg toss, frying pan ping pong and photo opportunities, among other things. Ya gotta love Disney, right?
Rapunzel is an idea that has been floating around apparently since the days of Walt but due to its hair raising nature has never been really possible to crack until sophisticated CGI technology made it easier to place those 100,000 pieces of follicles atop this latest Disney princesses’ head. The movie itself is also an attempt to revive the 80’s and 90’s heyday of big Disney animated musicals like Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas, with scores and songs from Alan Menken who won a whopping 8 Academy Awards for that quartet and performs similar duties here with his collaborator Glenn Slater. Tangled’s directing duo Nathan Greno and Byron Howard (Bolt) actually look at it a little differently than those hits. “This is not a big Broadway kind of musical. We look at it as more in touch with classic Disney films of the 50’s where music is a key element in the storytelling,” Greno told me when I sat down with the talented team late in the marathon day. “It has that classic 40’s and 50’s Disney kind of feel but at the same time we’re making these movies for a contemporary audience. It’s great to acknowledge our roots while being non-traditional but not cynical,” Howard added.
For his part, Menken doesn’t mind the comparison to his earlier works at the studio that brought him all that Oscar gold but notes it differs because it really is the first CGI-3D animated musical. Last holiday season Disney tried a more traditionally animated 2D musical ‘toon written by Randy Newman. “As good as it was, The Princess And The Frog underperformed, so the jury’s out. My hope is that Tangled will go through the roof, not just selfishly for me but for the form,” Menken told me.
Menken says he tried to put a medieval flavor to the new songs mixing in influences like Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and 60’s folk rock although Donna Murphy who voices the evil Mother Gothel has a flat-out standout Broadway-style number called “Mother Knows Best”. Mandy Moore is the voice of Rapunzel. Eventually there will also be an added end title rock-style song , a “sore point” for Menken who didn’t write it. Menken feels the song with the best shot for another Oscar nomination is “I See The Light” which highlights the remarkable lantern sequence in the movie. “I was nominated for three songs on Enchanted (2007) which is probably why we didn’t win (Melissa Etheridge’s ‘ An Inconvenient Truth’ was the victor). I would be happy to just have one,” he says.
Actually, it’s obvious Menken’s winning ways were responsible for rule changes from the Academy’s music branch that make ineligible the kind of musical scores for which the composer regularly won Oscars. Only Alfred Newman’s 9 statuettes surpasses Menken, and a Tangled win this year would tie him. But his fellow musicians are not making it as easy as it once was. “Now they have made it so a score from an animated musical cannot be validated as best score in any way, not even underscore. I understand that songs do make a score jump out at you in a way underscores can’t compete, but I don’t agree with that. If there were more musicals we could have a Best Musical category but there just aren’t enough,” he says.
The Academy also tweaked the rules after Dreamgirls and Enchanted each scored three song nominations in successive years. Now it allows only two to be named from a given movie. Last year, they didn’t even perform the nominated tunes on the show. What’s an 8- time Oscar winner to do with all this meddling? “For me the Oscars are a little strange because it’s really about actors anyway, those familiar faces,” he says. “ All that attention is really about big glamour. But I’m just happy to be part of the evening and walk away with my Oscar or two.”
Oscar’s Animation Race Just Got ‘Tangled’.
“
I know everyone (including my new Deadline colleague Mike Fleming who will be reporting on the ground there for us) is winging their way to Toronto right now to see a bunch of Oscar hopefuls that I already saw in Cannes, Telluride or oh-so-cool private L.A. screenings (more on THOSE flicks as the fest unveils them). But I am also focused on checking out some contenders NOT on display in Canada. That’s exactly what I did yesterday in the not-as-exciting clime of Burbank. I came away feeling I’d found another strong entry in what is becoming a very strong awards season race for ‘toons.
That’s right. Wednesday Disney did something studios never do unless they know they have the goods. They flew in several members of the press–mostly those who cover animation for outlets with long lead times–to see the first ever screening of the big Thanksgiving holiday release Tangled. The musical weaves a new take on the Rapunzel fairy tale, in what represents Disney’s milestone 50th animated feature since Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs in 1937. John Lasseter told the gathered press, “You can feel the pride people in this studio have in Tangled. We just couldn’t wait for people to see it.”
It’s looking like there will again be five nominees for Best Animated Feature this year. Based the deservedly enthusiastic press response to the work-in-progress print shown yesterday, Tangled could easily be among them. As will Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, which remains the 800 pound gorilla in the race. Dreamworks is already aggressively campaigning for How To Train Your Dragon.
Tangled had to be shown in very rough form since only about 60% of the animation has been completed. The 3D isn’t ready, and composer Alan Menken’s score isn’t in place yet although the songs are. Producer Roy Conli said they expect to have the finished print in a couple of months. It was an all day event. Several artists explained different aspects of the production, extensive tours of the Disney animation building , and a large lobby transformed into an elaborate forest setting where press were encouraged to join in the “forest fun” with a turkey leg toss, frying pan ping pong and photo opportunities, among other things. Ya gotta love Disney, right?
Rapunzel is an idea that has been floating around apparently since the days of Walt but due to its hair raising nature has never been really possible to crack until sophisticated CGI technology made it easier to place those 100,000 pieces of follicles atop this latest Disney princesses’ head. The movie itself is also an attempt to revive the 80’s and 90’s heyday of big Disney animated musicals like Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas, with scores and songs from Alan Menken who won a whopping 8 Academy Awards for that quartet and performs similar duties here with his collaborator Glenn Slater. Tangled’s directing duo Nathan Greno and Byron Howard (Bolt) actually look at it a little differently than those hits. “This is not a big Broadway kind of musical. We look at it as more in touch with classic Disney films of the 50’s where music is a key element in the storytelling,” Greno told me when I sat down with the talented team late in the marathon day. “It has that classic 40’s and 50’s Disney kind of feel but at the same time we’re making these movies for a contemporary audience. It’s great to acknowledge our roots while being non-traditional but not cynical,” Howard added.
For his part, Menken doesn’t mind the comparison to his earlier works at the studio that brought him all that Oscar gold but notes it differs because it really is the first CGI-3D animated musical. Last holiday season Disney tried a more traditionally animated 2D musical ‘toon written by Randy Newman. “As good as it was, The Princess And The Frog underperformed, so the jury’s out. My hope is that Tangled will go through the roof, not just selfishly for me but for the form,” Menken told me.
Menken says he tried to put a medieval flavor to the new songs mixing in influences like Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and 60’s folk rock although Donna Murphy who voices the evil Mother Gothel has a flat-out standout Broadway-style number called “Mother Knows Best”. Mandy Moore is the voice of Rapunzel. Eventually there will also be an added end title rock-style song , a “sore point” for Menken who didn’t write it. Menken feels the song with the best shot for another Oscar nomination is “I See The Light” which highlights the remarkable lantern sequence in the movie. “I was nominated for three songs on Enchanted (2007) which is probably why we didn’t win (Melissa Etheridge’s ‘ An Inconvenient Truth’ was the victor). I would be happy to just have one,” he says.
Actually, it’s obvious Menken’s winning ways were responsible for rule changes from the Academy’s music branch that make ineligible the kind of musical scores for which the composer regularly won Oscars. Only Alfred Newman’s 9 statuettes surpasses Menken, and a Tangled win this year would tie him. But his fellow musicians are not making it as easy as it once was. “Now they have made it so a score from an animated musical cannot be validated as best score in any way, not even underscore. I understand that songs do make a score jump out at you in a way underscores can’t compete, but I don’t agree with that. If there were more musicals we could have a Best Musical category but there just aren’t enough,” he says.
The Academy also tweaked the rules after Dreamgirls and Enchanted each scored three song nominations in successive years. Now it allows only two to be named from a given movie. Last year, they didn’t even perform the nominated tunes on the show. What’s an 8- time Oscar winner to do with all this meddling? “For me the Oscars are a little strange because it’s really about actors anyway, those familiar faces,” he says. “ All that attention is really about big glamour. But I’m just happy to be part of the evening and walk away with my Oscar or two.”
Disney Tangled New Official Trailer
Visit the website: http://www.disney.co.uk/tangled
The new trailer for Disney's upcoming feature animation comedy Tangled. Starring the voices of Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider, Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor and Brad Garrett. Disney's Tangled is a classic story with a twist, and lots of hair.
Walt Disney Pictures presents Tangled, one of the most hilarious, hair-raising tales ever told.
When the kingdom's most wanted -- and most charming -- bandit, Flynn Rider (voice of Zachary Levi), hides out in a mysterious tower, he's taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn's curious captor, who's looking for her ticket out of the tower where she's been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo set off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. Disney's Tangled is a story of adventure, heart, humour and hair -- lots of hair.
Tangled opens in UK cinemas 28 January 2011 in Disney Digital 3D™.
Dreams Come True: A Celebration of Disney Animation
- Part 1 of 6
Part 2 of 6
Part 3 of 6
Part 4 of 6
Part 5 of 6
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Figure drawing: Basic Pose and Construction
1. Introduction
This method is a tool to help you draw the human form. It is by no means the best way or even a fast way. Instead, this method is aimed at thinking and setting up the human form in a threedimensional space.
Classical animation (most notably Disney) uses a similar way of working out their characters. In these kind of animations a good understanding of the character in a threedimensional space is important to achieve a convincing motion in time.
Using this method will help you form your thoughts on the human body posing on paper rather than in your mind. It will also help you avoid that frustrating 'running out of paper phenomenon'.
2. Pose
Basic anatomy
stickfigures
Wait, don't go away yet! Stickfigures may seem simple...but when was the last time you made a good one, eh? ;)
Don't underestimate the power of stickfigures and what they can do for you. So how can stickfigures be useful, you ask?
First of all, they represent a very important basic element of any subject you draw: length proportions. Anyone knows proportions define almost everything in a drawing. A leg too short or a nose too big can ruin any grand piece of art. So, have some respect for the stickfigures! ;)
Wait, don't go away yet! Stickfigures may seem simple...but when was the last time you made a good one, eh? ;)
Don't underestimate the power of stickfigures and what they can do for you. So how can stickfigures be useful, you ask?
First of all, they represent a very important basic element of any subject you draw: length proportions. Anyone knows proportions define almost everything in a drawing. A leg too short or a nose too big can ruin any grand piece of art. So, have some respect for the stickfigures! ;)
Let's take a look at stickfigures. They vary in detail, usually depending on how accurate you want to compose the body. We'll get to posing later. First we look at proportions of a standing figure.
 | Stickfigure 1 This is the basic stickfigure. You can see the head, torso, arms and legs. You can't do much with this one, except practising the proportions of these body parts. |
 | Stickfigure 2 With this version you can do something more. You get to decide the proportions of the arm- and leg-parts. |
 | Stickfigure 3 Now this must be the most advanced stickfigure there is: I bet you never saw any kid draw it this way! Added are the width of shoulders and pelvis. In the next paragraph the importance of mastering this stickfigure will show. |
Lesson
Try to draw these standing stickfigures and see if you master their proportions. This is a fast and easy way to see how your knowledge of the basic human proportion is. You can judge the results yourself quite well without being distracted by 'cool' armour, hair, etc.
Using stickfigures is also a very fast way to determine how big you may draw your humans on your paper. So you need not to be afraid to run out of paper anymore, because now you can see beforehand where that foot or hand will end up.
Try to draw these standing stickfigures and see if you master their proportions. This is a fast and easy way to see how your knowledge of the basic human proportion is. You can judge the results yourself quite well without being distracted by 'cool' armour, hair, etc.
Using stickfigures is also a very fast way to determine how big you may draw your humans on your paper. So you need not to be afraid to run out of paper anymore, because now you can see beforehand where that foot or hand will end up.
Body language
Stickfigures, again
Now that you know how important it is to master proportions through simple stick figures, we go to the next use of stickfigures: 'the pose'. Or simpler said: what is your character doing?
With stickfigures you can easily try out many, many positions before you commit to one for the real drawing. Using this as a preparation to your drawing also helps you see beforehand if you can pull off the pose, if you need reference material for it, if you will run out of paper while drawing, etc. Yes, the lowly stickfigure does help you plan your next masterpiece.
Now that you know how important it is to master proportions through simple stick figures, we go to the next use of stickfigures: 'the pose'. Or simpler said: what is your character doing?
With stickfigures you can easily try out many, many positions before you commit to one for the real drawing. Using this as a preparation to your drawing also helps you see beforehand if you can pull off the pose, if you need reference material for it, if you will run out of paper while drawing, etc. Yes, the lowly stickfigure does help you plan your next masterpiece.
Stickfigures in action
Here are a few examples how you can use a stickfigure to determine a pose. You will also see quickly enough if it is a natural or comfortable pose. Otherwise you could try to mimick the pose yourself and find out ;)
Here are a few examples how you can use a stickfigure to determine a pose. You will also see quickly enough if it is a natural or comfortable pose. Otherwise you could try to mimick the pose yourself and find out ;)
 |
Throwing a spear.
|
 |
I think this one is dancing or something...
|
 |
The running man
Here you see the use of some foreshortening in the pelvis and the shoulders because we are looking from his side. |
 |
The gladiator
Again some foreshortening in the lower arm with the 'sword'. Also note the twist in the torso: a very natural stance, especially when turning to see something. |
 |
Sadness or looking for his contact lense...
|
 |
The lounger
Here is another example of a twisted torso. Shoulders and hips are turned at an angle. |
 | Weirdo Either impossible or very uncomfortable. At any rate it looks silly ;) |
Lesson
Try drawing stickfigures in action. Pay keen attention to the proportions. You will gain some insight to dynamics and motion of the human body.
Try drawing stickfigures in action. Pay keen attention to the proportions. You will gain some insight to dynamics and motion of the human body.
Balance
When you set up a pose, you will need to take into account its center of gravity. This center is typically located in the underbelly of a human, just above the crotch. The weight of your legs make up for almost half of your total body weight.
The position of it in regard to the "resting points" of the body say something about the balance of the body. The following examples demonstrate this.
red circle = centre of gravity
red arrow = direction of gravity
green arrow = resting point
red arrow = direction of gravity
green arrow = resting point
 |
Standard walk
As you can see, the centre of gravity lies between the two resting points. This results in a balanced stance. |
 |
Fall
Here the center of gravity lies next to the resting point. This is inbalance, causing the body to move sideways to the left. |
 | Balancing act Well, what it says. This is possible because the body is 'spread' fairly symmetrically. Compare with the next one... |
 | Here the body leans to the right, causing inbalance. You will notice that the center of gravity shifts a bit to the right as well. |
 | Run stickfigure, run! When running the centre of gravity lies in front of the resting point. As you can see (or feel), this is an unbalanced pose resulting in a falling motion of the figure. He won't fall of course, because he is running at speed and will put a foot in front of the other preventing him from hitting the ground. (Physically you want to propel the mass - referenced by the centre of gravity - forward, thus having the propelling force - from the feet - at the rear.) |
 | Leaning The figure is at rest because the centre of gravity lies between the two resting points: one foot and a shoulder. The foot of the crossed does not contribute to standing (it's at rest, hanging). |
 | Crouching tiger, hidden dragon Eh.. i mean a high kick. Because the centre of gravity is to the right of the resting point the body will 'fall' towards the right, giving it a kicking momentum towards the right. Btw, this is a wrong way to kick, people say. |
Of course you do NOT have to make the pose a balanced one. An unbalanced pose conveys dynamics, action and motion, while a balanced pose results in a calm and tranquil image.
The above is just an aspect you should consider when you set up a pose. It can enhance your drawing greatly in a natural looking way.
The above is just an aspect you should consider when you set up a pose. It can enhance your drawing greatly in a natural looking way.
Motion and action
The body is a supple and agile system, influenced by gravity. It has no natural rigid position.
 | First image shows a exaggerated walking gait. Notice how the hipjoints move because of gravity. The motion of the shoulders usually move in reverse to the hipjoints. The second image shows a sideways lying person, resting on 1 arm. This causes the rest of the body (ribcage) to hang on the resting shoulder. Also, the spine column is somewhat flexible, it can be bent a little. |
3. Construction
To construct something you must understand it. So when you want to draw a human body you should at least know a little bit how it is made up.
The skeleton
At the basis of the body is the skeleton of course. In the stickfigure system we already saw something of it. Now we go more into detail. The human body consists of the following characteristic parts:
 | Front view
|
 | Side view Note the curve of the spine (the arms are left out, since the focus here is on the spine). |
We can use a simplified form of the skeleton when we want to setup a human figure:
 | This body setup gives a bit more insight now. |
Body building
With the above about the skeletal parts of the body in mind we now proceed to the 'outer stuff': the muscle or fat, if you like. For a analytical approach we can use solid masses to represent these parts, such as ellipsoids, cylinders and other forms.
Basically you choose the form that most closely resembles the part you want to draw.
Basically you choose the form that most closely resembles the part you want to draw.
Can't we just proceed with drawing the actual body now?
Of course you can do that. But the argument before was to use stickfigures - and now simplified forms - to setup a body without the distraction by details, so you can focus on correct proportions, balance and pose.
With this extra step you have overview of the volumetric proportions.
Of course you can do that. But the argument before was to use stickfigures - and now simplified forms - to setup a body without the distraction by details, so you can focus on correct proportions, balance and pose.
With this extra step you have overview of the volumetric proportions.
 | A volumetric representation of the body parts. The red lines are connection lines. Now you see the body parts in an analytical way, basically to avoid 'weirdness' in the setup. |
Solid masses setup in practice
| You can now use this method to fully describe the pose and volume of the body in any pose. Look at the examples. Left is the first draft with stickfigures. To the right are the volumetric expansions on the stickfigures. You will note that you do not need to draw the cylinders like actual cylinders. Instead, you can just 'connect the joints'. As you can see these sketches resemble the well-known mannikins - wooden puppets made from cylinders and ellipsoids. If you can find one, use it. But knowing to draw these setups from your mind without a puppet in front of you, will give you an added advantage. |
 | |
 |
| Details This method is also quite useful for analytical setups of details of the body, for example everybody's all time favourites: hands and feet ;) |
4. Variations
Of course you do not have to abide by the standard human body proportions. You can exaggerate volumes to suit your own needs.
| 1. Humans | . |
  | Humans come in many variations. Here you see some examples:
Sometimes it is easier to draw the whole volume without first drawing a ribcage. For all the others i first drew the ribcage. It's up to you what you need. |
| 2. Other creatures | . |
 | This method is useful for many other creatures that have a skeletal build similar to ours. To be precise: for all creatures that descend from the dinosaurs (this includes all mammals and birds). Examples:
Usually for muscular bodies it is not necessary to setup the ribcage. The same logic goes for the arms and legs: you don't need to draw the lines first. You can draw the joints and draw the lines for the arms and legs in between. |
| 3. Cartoons | . |
 | Yes, cartoons - especially the animated ones from the forties and fifties - make use of solid masses, which makes them easily definable. As you can see, you can freely interpret the volumes of the body. You don't need to define a ribcage or pelvic area if you don't need it. And joints are hardly necessary for cartoons, they flex like rubber all the time anyway ;) If it fits your purpose, it is good. |
That's all folks!
This is the end of this tutorial. The underlying message is that you need a correct basis for your drawings. To achieve this it is best to see your subjects in a simplified view. Stickfigures and solid masses can help you do this.
The biggest benefit of this technique is that you'll be able to quickly try out numerous poses easily, before you commit to that one pose. This method can also avoid that 'running out of drawing space syndrome'. It can save you time and certainly a lot of frustration later. In the end you will have a better composed and thought out image.
I'll end with this last demonstration :)
A Short History (part II)
THE SYNTHESES OF MOTION Animation - as we might understand it as a technical process of synthesising motion from a series of static images - precedes the invention of the cinematograph by several decades. It has its roots in the numerous parlour-game toys popular in the early 1800s which experimented with persistence of vision effect known as the Phi phenomenon.
Two important novelties of the day which harnessed the persistence of vision effect were invented simultaneously and independently during 1832. Joseph Plateau (Ghent, Belgium) who coined his toy the Phenakistiscope (Greek for 'deceptive view'), while Professor Simon Ritter von Stampfer of the Polytechnical Institute (Vienna, Austria) called his invention the Stroboscope ('apparition-box-viewer'). These devices were also known under other names such as: Fantascope, Phantamascope, Magic Disc or Kaleidorama.
Such shows as Charles Reynaud's 'Theatre Optique' draw upon the earlier 17th century invention of the magic lantern. Presentations to a large gathering became an artform and fascinated audiences of the day with illusions of light and movement. The magic lantern or Laterna Magica was the ancestor of the modern slide projector. It was first described in Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae, by Athanasius Kircher in 1671. He may have been describing an already existing device rather than announcing a new invention. With an oil lamp and a lens, images painted on glass plates could be projected on to a suitable screen; the ancestor of the modern slide projector.
By the 19th century, there was a thriving trade of itinerant projectionists, who would travel the country with their magic lanterns, and a large number of slides, putting on shows in towns and villages. Some of the slides came with special effects, by means of extra sections that could slide or rotate across the main plate. One of the most famous of these, very popular with children, was the 'rat-swallower', where a series of rats would be seen leaping into a sleeping man's mouth. Such elaborate hand-coloured glass slides had articulated levers which allowed parts of one image to be moved against another or with a twin lens projector, be dissolved together.
One device of the times which demonstrated this effect was the Thaumatrope accredited to three different people, Dr Fitton of London, Peter Roget and/or London physicist John Ayrton Paris. However it is known that Paris used his device to show the Phi phenomenon to the Royal College of Physicians in 1824. Its consisted of a disc with an image painted on each side. When the disc was spun by pulling on a twisted pair of strings, the images seemed to be combined - a bird on one side of the disc would appear in the empty cage on the other side. 'Trope' comes from the Greek word for 'things that turn'. 'Thauma' means wondrous, therefore a thaumatrope is a 'turning marvel' or 'wonder turner'.
| OPTICAL TOYS |
These toys had a disc carrying a sequence of images set in a ring around the circumference. When the disc was spun, the drawings were viewed through small slits cut into the disc which provided the visual interruptions needed for the eye to meld the images together thus creating the impression of motion.
The Phenakistiscope disc is mounted on a spindle and viewed through the slots with the images facing a mirror. A person looking through the slits from the back of the disc would see a moving image reflected in the mirror. The Stroboscope (not illustrated here) had a separate counter spinning disc for the viewing slots and it was possible to see the movement without the use of a mirror. The discs of the day were either abstract patterns or performers such as jugglers or acrobats.
 |
| An actual Phenakistiscope disc circa 1833. Roll over the above image to active this digital version which has far more visual clarity than could be obtained by viewing the images through the slits of the actual apparatus. |
The Zoetrope was invented by William George Horner in 1834. He named his device Daedalum or 'wheel of the devil'. This optical toy was forgotten for about 30 years until it was discovered and almost simultaneously patented in 1867 by William F. Lincoln, USA and in England by Milton Bradley. It was from Lincoln that the device received its new name Zoetrope, meaning 'wheel of life' from the Greek word 'zoo' for animal life and 'trope' for 'things that turn'.
Horner's Zoetrope was an adaptation of the principles of the Phenakistoscope. However it was more convenient than Plateau's invention in that it eliminated the need for a mirror and allowed several people to view the motion at one time. It was constructed of an open-top drum into which was placed a hand drawn sequence of pictures on a strip of paper facing inwards. The outside of the drum had slits cut into the cylindrical surface. When the drum was spun on a central axis, the images could be viewed through the slits giving rise to the illusion of movement. To see a newspaper advertisement of the day
For the work of comtemporay artists working with modern Zoetrope,
Versions of history often tend to be Western centric. It is also reported that an unknown Chinese inventor created a similar device around 180 - if true, that would push the history of synthesised motion back by 17 centuries!
In 1877, Frenchman Charles Émile Reynaud, painter of lantern slides, refined the principle of the Zoetrope to use reflected light creating the Praxinoscope (patented December 1877). This was the first device to overcome the blurred distortion caused by viewing through narrow fast moving slots and it quickly replaced the Zoetrope in popularity. Like the Zoetrope, a paper strip of pictures is placed inside a shallow outer cylinder, so that each picture is reflected by the inner set of mirrors. The number of mirror facets equaled the number of pictures on the paper strip. When the outer cylinder rotates, the quick succession of images reflected in the mirrors gives the illusion of movement. This produced a image that was more brilliant and sharper than with any previous device.
The following year Reynaud added a patent supplement for an improvement - the Praxinoscope Theatre. The mirror drum and cylinder were set in a wooden box with a glass-covered viewing aperture which reflected a card printed with a background. The moving subjects - a juggler, clowns, a steeple-chase - were printed on a black band, and appeared superimposed on a suitable scene. The background artwork could be changed (see below, right)
Reynaud managed to adapt the principle behind his Praxinoscope to project a series of pictures onto a screen at a size suitable for presentation to a large audience. On 28 October 1892 Reynaud premièred 'Pauvre Pierrot' at his 'Theatre Optique' in Paris 1892 - the very first moving pictures shown publicly via projection onto a screen. To see a poster for this event,
The standard Praxinoscope could only accommodate a second or two of animation because of the limited number of pictures contained on the paper strip. Reynaud, a painter of lantern slides, painted images on gelatine squares fastened between leather bands, with holes in metal strips between each picture. These holes engaged in pins on a revolving wheel, so that each picture was aligned with a facet of the mirror drum. This was the first commercial use of sprocket hole perforations that was to be so important for successful cinematography and anticipated other cinematic devices such as the spool of film. A background image from a separate magic lantern slide was projected over the animated figures (right).
Reynaud set up this apparatus behind a translucent screen and gave most of the presentations himself, deftly manipulating the picture bands to and fro to extend the sequences, creating a twelve or fifteen minute performance from the 500 gelatine images. Other titles prepared for his 'Theatre Optique' ran to an astonishing 700 images.
 |
| The first public performance to a large audience of moving animated projected images at Reynaud's 'Theatre Optique' in Paris 1892. A practical motion picture recording and projection device arived a few years later making Reynaud's hand made picture bands too uneconomical to produce. His Theatre |
| MAGIC LANTERNS |
By the 19th century, there was a thriving trade of itinerant projectionists, who would travel the country with their magic lanterns, and a large number of slides, putting on shows in towns and villages. Some of the slides came with special effects, by means of extra sections that could slide or rotate across the main plate. One of the most famous of these, very popular with children, was the 'rat-swallower', where a series of rats would be seen leaping into a sleeping man's mouth. Such elaborate hand-coloured glass slides had articulated levers which allowed parts of one image to be moved against another or with a twin lens projector, be dissolved together.
A Short History (part I)
ROOTS The word 'animation' is derived from anima, the Latin word for soul or spirit. The verb 'to animate' literally means 'to give life to'.
History is rich with descriptions of attempts to imitate life by mechanical means in the form of hydraulic, pneumatic, or clockwork operated biological automata. Automata (or automatons - a machine which is relatively self-operating and capable of performing multiple complex movements on its own without the need for human control) had its greatest period of development following the rise of mechanicism with the revival of Greek culture during the Renaissance. There were, for example, isolated descriptions of talking heads claimed to have been constructed by Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, Gerbert, and Robert Grosseteste. Perhaps of greater significance was the mechanical lion of da Vinci and the two automata created by Johannes Muller, called Regiomontanus (1436-1476). One of these was the fabled eagle which was claimed to have escorted the Emperor Maximilian to the city gates of Nuremberg.
From his earliest artworks, hunting scenes sketched in ochre on a cave wall, to highly refined Greek sculptures, mankind has always attempted to imbue his art with expressions of life by depicting his subjects as if caught in a frozen moment in time suggestive of broader preceding and following actions.
Egotistical man placed himself at the centre of the universe. He has always believed in the possibility of creating life - of playing god. Man has used his technology as an agent to help realise this desire in order to become ruler of all nature.
| AUTOMATA |
The first android, a completely mechanical figure which simulated a living human or animal, operating with apparently responsive action, is believed to have been constructed by Hans Bullmann of Nuremberg (?-1535). Bullmann reportedly produced a number of extremely ingenious figures of men and women that moved and played musical instruments.
These early automata were mechanical devices that seemed to demonstrate lifelike behaviour. They took advantage not only of gears, but also of gravity, hydraulics, pulleys and sunlight - the effect could be dazzling, as with the extraordinary clock of Berne created in 1530. This massive timepiece hourly disgorged a dazzling pageantry of automata figures.
One of the most famous waterworks of the seventeenth century was that constructed at the chateau at Heilbrunn in about 1646. It featured various animated hydromechanical devices. A mechanical theatre was installed here in 1725 by Lorenz Rosenegge, a craftsman of Nuremberg. It featured 256 figures, 119 of which were animated by means of a single water turbine. A horizontal axis operating a series of cams regulated the movements of the figures by means of copper wires. The wheelwork consists of wooden wheels with iron teeth and pinions. A powerful hydraulic organ provides background music and covers the noise of the mechanism.
Just as the waterworks and grottoes of the Renaissance gardens were tangible revivals of the hydraulic and pneumatic devices of the ancient Greek culture, some of the same influence filtered into the field of clockmaking. The first conversion from the hydraulic and pneumatic to the purely mechanical automata, occurred in Europe with the advent of the clockmaker who made public and astronomical clocks with moving figurines.
It was a short step to a combination of the pinned cylinder and the spring-driven clockwork to provide the sound of living things and of musical instruments in automata. This combination made possible a great variety of developments in the late seventeenth and during the eighteenth centuries. The most notable of these were the androids constructed in the mid-eighteenth century by Jacques Vaucanson (1709-1782), who brought the production of automata to its highest point of development. Vaucanson is unquestionably the most import inventor in the history of automata, as well as one of the most important figures in the history of machine technology. Although he was responsible for pioneering in the development of machine tools and later inspired the work of Sir Henry Maudslay and others, it was, ironically enough, his automata -- which occupied the briefest interlude in his life -- which brought him permanent fame and fortune.
Born in 1709 in Grenoble, France, Vaucanson exhibited great mechanical ability at a very early age. After having attended the oratory college at Juilly he studied with the Jesuits at Grenoble, and in 1725 joined the order of Minims of Lyon. During his training period, however, Vaucanson indulged his mechanical interests by creating automatically flying angels. This impelled the provincial of the order to destroy his makeshift workshop, and Vaucanson used the incident as an excuse to to be relieved of his clerical vows.
Vaucanson moved to Paris and, in direct contrast with his recent religious life, gave himself up to a life of debauchery while he undertook the studies of mechanics, music, and anatomy. He developed an interest in the study of medicine and attempted to construct a "moving anatomy" which reproduced the principal organic functions. Debts, illness, and eventually boredom caused him to abandon the project. He went on to the construct his famous androids, which made him wealthy and famous throughout Europe.
In 1735 Vaucanson began to formulate plans for the construction of the first android, which was to be a life-sized figure of a musician, dressed in a rustic fashion and playing eleven melodies on its flute, moving the levers realistically by its fingers and blowing into the instrument with its mouth. In October 1737 the automaton was completed and exhibited first at the fair of Saint-Germain and later at Longueville. All Paris flocked to see the mechanical masterpiece with the human spirit; the press was extremely favorable, and Vaucanson was launched upon his career.
Vaucanson's third and most famous automaton was "an artificial duck of gilt brass which drinks, eats, flounders in water, digests and excretes like a live duck" (see figure top right). It was Vaucanson's intention to create in this duck the "moving anatomy" that he had visualized once before. Accordingly, the figure of the duck was produced full size of gilt brass in a simplified form, the body pierced with openings to permit the public to observe the process of digestion. The complexity of this duck was enormous - there were over four hundred moving pieces in a single wing.
Just as spring-wound clockwork made possible mechanical music for automata, it also made possible the reproduction of the sound of words by mechanical means. In the seventeenth century Kircher had affirmed that it was possible to produce a head which moved the eyes, lips, and tongue, and, by means of the sounds which it emitted, appeared to be alive. A similar project was attempted in 1705 by Valentin Merbitz, rector of the Kreuzschule of Dresden, who devoted five years to it. The next major advance in this field was made in about 1770 by Friedrich von Knauss of Vienna, who constructed four speaking heads. That his project was not completely successful is attested to by the fact that in 1779 the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg used the production of a successful speaking head as the theme for a contest for mechanicians and organ manufacturers, specifying that the machine be capable of speaking the five vowels. - The Turing Test of its day for clocksmiths and mechanical engineers?
The most spectacular of all automata that have survived until the present day are The Writer, The Artist, and The Musician produced by Pierre Jacquet-Droz (1771-1790) and his son Henry-Louis (1753-1791) of Geneva. Father and son combined all the technical developments known in their time in an effort to produce a machine that faithfully imitated a human being, and their efforts were as successful as any have ever been. The Writer, a life-size and lifelike figure of a boy seated as a desk, is capable of writing any message of up to 40 letters in length (above right).
"On mechanical slavery, on the slavery of the machine, the future of the world depends" - Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism, 1895.
Boilerplate Man and Steam Man - Amazing Robots of the Victorian Era - fact or fiction? You decide: http://www.bigredhair.com/robots/index.html
With a public fascination for the newly discovered force of electricity, fictional writing suggested that pieces of dead flesh sewn together could be 'animated' into life just as severed frog legs could be kicked into a reflex action by a crude battery in a science laboratory demonstration.
Having discarded the earlier technologies of hydraulics, pneumatics, clockwork, which where thought to hold the key, man continues his quest to create life through robotics and electronics, and with more abstract notions of life using computers to create artificial life (AI), autonomous systems, Celluar Automata and nanotechnology. Man now plays directly with the building blocks of life itself via genetic engineering
What is Animation?
Animation precedes the invention of photography and the cine camera by several decades. It is an art form in which a world of dynamic image and sound may be synthesised completely out of nothing but a thought (see Peter Greenaway quote, right).
Animation is 100% artifice, and as such, the synthesis of movement through the sequential use of small fragments of time, which gives rise to this wondrous illusion, is open to manipulation in extraordinary ways.
Animation is the most nimble of mediums. It has survived the mechanical 'persistence of vision' toys popular in the 19th century; found expression as an art form in cinema; it was the means by which to experiment with time-based art and cinematic forms to present new visual vocabularies; it was brilliantly positioned to pioneer the use of computers to create moving images from numbers; it has demystified complex processes; visualised scientific phenomena and provided simulation models to help us understand the world; it has become an essential ingredient in multimedia content; it is imbedded in the control interface display of multi-million dollar jet fighter planes, it is integral to the computer games industry; it increasingly underpins all special effects in motion picture production; and it has provided content in an ideal form to distribute across a bandwidth poor networked environment.
Animation is an art form which can come from anywhere and which can go to anywhere - from a large production team working in a highly specialised studio or a lone individual working out of a bedroom, to an Imax Cinema screen several metres wide or a mobile phone screen a few centimetres across.
Animation can be as intimate and personal as a stick figure doodle jiggling in the corner of a dog-eared school exercise book cum flip book, or as expansive and public as animated laser lights splashed upon a cityscape (see Hong Kong's Harbour 'Symphony Of Lights' project - Lloyd Weir, Art Director, Laservision NSW and AIM graduate 1996).
The amplification of an idea through simplification and abstraction; a sight gag timed to perfection; a visual poem; a moving painting; extraordinary sublime moments in the orchestration of moving image and sound; throw-away sick slapstick humour designed for the moment; stories that remain with you forever; time-based imagery that can be fantastically surreal because of its unique process of realisation; a journey through the human body and other datascapes; the invisible made visible; informative dynamic graphics that monitor critical processes; an animated neon sign. At its best, animation is an exquisite character performance synthesised at the end of a pencil, or increasingly through the sweep and click of a computer mouse, that would otherwise win an award for best acting.
Animation is 100% artifice, and as such, the synthesis of movement through the sequential use of small fragments of time, which gives rise to this wondrous illusion, is open to manipulation in extraordinary ways.
Animation is the most nimble of mediums. It has survived the mechanical 'persistence of vision' toys popular in the 19th century; found expression as an art form in cinema; it was the means by which to experiment with time-based art and cinematic forms to present new visual vocabularies; it was brilliantly positioned to pioneer the use of computers to create moving images from numbers; it has demystified complex processes; visualised scientific phenomena and provided simulation models to help us understand the world; it has become an essential ingredient in multimedia content; it is imbedded in the control interface display of multi-million dollar jet fighter planes, it is integral to the computer games industry; it increasingly underpins all special effects in motion picture production; and it has provided content in an ideal form to distribute across a bandwidth poor networked environment.
Animation is an art form which can come from anywhere and which can go to anywhere - from a large production team working in a highly specialised studio or a lone individual working out of a bedroom, to an Imax Cinema screen several metres wide or a mobile phone screen a few centimetres across.
Animation can be as intimate and personal as a stick figure doodle jiggling in the corner of a dog-eared school exercise book cum flip book, or as expansive and public as animated laser lights splashed upon a cityscape (see Hong Kong's Harbour 'Symphony Of Lights' project - Lloyd Weir, Art Director, Laservision NSW and AIM graduate 1996).
 |
| Laservision's Hong Kong Harbour 'Symphony Of Lights' project. Art Director, AIM 1996 graduate, Lloyd Weir. |
Animation has the capacity to: entertain, exaggerate, simplify, abstract, reveal complex processes, clarify difficult-to-understand concepts, visualise data, be a vehicle for humorous writing, sell product, be an art form, create slapstick sight gags, be a vehicle for insightful social comment, portray the human condition, and tackle difficult and uncomfortable subject manner.
 |
| 'Hello' - a multi award winning animated film by 2003 AIM graduate, Jonathan Nix. |
| ANIMATION IS... |
Little else compares with the thrill of breathing life into characters that might never have existed but for your imagination, or to move a large audience of strangers to laugh out loud at their antics, or to keep a person interactively engaged with them and the worlds you have invented, for hours on end.
Almost anything can be brought to life and be imbued with personality, twigs, clay, drawings, objects, computer meshes, and, of course, anything becomes possible in the world of animation. It can entertain, explain and fascinate. In all its wondrous forms from the traditional 'bonk 'em on the head' cartoon styles, to TV commercials, sophisticated narrative works and simulations, to experimental, digitally composited, special effects driven and art films, animation is a powerful vehicle for ideas.
 |  | |
| Annemarie Szeleczky used sticks of macaroni and torn paper (left) and the Aussie breakfast spread, 'Vegiemite' for the experimental animation in her research project - "The Development of Experimental Animation Techniques Using Mixed Media, Spatial Layering and Gestural Artwork." | ||
Whether expressed in linear, interactive or real-time forms, the Centre for Animation and Interactive Media embraces the broadest of definition of animation. Animation is timeless, nimble and future proof - and is currently, very 'hot'.
 |
| 'Symbiosis' by AIM research candidate, Mark Guglielmetti. An immersive stereoscopic virtual space. Co-recipient of the ATOM award for "Outstanding Virtual Experience" 2002 for the immersive digital art installation. |
Pose to Pose Animation
Animation techniques such as cut-outs, clay, paint-on-glass, charcoal on paper etc, make use of a method loosely described as ‘straight-ahead animation' in which the animator starts at the beginning of a sequence and works through to the end. This method is often dictated by the medium which animator is using to create images - the paint or sand, or objects being manipulated. It is a technique which can produce great moments of inspired spontaneity. Ideas come as one plays around with the medium and these can be easily incorporated into the sequence mid-stream without the audience being any the wiser. The animated films of William Kentridge who draws with charcoal on larges sheets of paper are examples of this method. Drawing straight in to Flash with a graphics tablet using the 'light box' or 'onion skin' tool can also employ a ‘straight-ahead' animation method.
But what happens if our cut-outs or clay character misses its cue? Once the parts have been moved, the painted image smudged and destroyed or the plasticine deformed, it is extremely difficult to go back and correct mistakes. A completely different way of working to help solve this problem is the ‘key drawing’ animation method, also called 'pose to pose' animation.
'Key poses', ‘key drawings’ or just 'keys' are terms used to describe those critical positions of an animated character or an object which depict the extreme points in its path of motion, or accents in its expression or mood. For this reason they are also called 'extremes'.
When developing key poses, its a good idea to experiment with thumb-nail sketches first to refine the poses and ideas. Initially, the animator’s key poses may be nothing more than rough scribbles to block out the action. This is often done with a blue pencil. There is no point doing lots and lots of highly finished drawings at this stage if the action does not work. Besides, working roughly and quickly sketching out the main shapes, forms and lines of action knowing that these drawings are just a first step in a bigger process, always leads to fresher animation.
Obviously when planning a set of key poses for a shot or scene, the animator needs to be acutely aware of the requirements of the script and the particular actions and events that are necessary to progress the storyline. Background layouts will define an 'acting space' while storyboard frames will indicate the 'business' of each shot. What is entirely under the animator's control is the way the character 'acts' out these events as informed by an understanding of the character's personality traits, visual design and current emotional state. The key pose planning process goes hand-in-hand with the idea of staging each action in such a way that it 'reads' well and communicates clearly. Several key drawings might be required to describe the sub-movements involved in even the most simple of actions - taking a pair of socks out of a drawer, for example. If we were to go straight from the first drawing of our character standing by the cupboard to the final position with socks in hand, the result would appear as if a pair of socks had just magically appeared in our hero’s hand. Obviously there is information missing which has to be seen by the audience to explain just how the socks got into the character’s hand.
Animation usually operates in the realm of caricature in which exaggeration becomes an important factor in order to capture the spirit of the action being depicted. Good strong key poses emphasise and communicate the intent of an action more efficiently than ill-considered ones. Put simply, strong keys lead to strong animation. It is therefore vital to spend time and thought working out the key poses until they do their job as expressively as possible as it will pay dividends as if these work well. "Limited" styles of animation are based on keys only, and this labour saving technique does not necessarily affect the audience's enjoyment of a piece.
As animators work out the key poses of a particular sequence, they also find it helpful to consider whether or not the action works well if reduced to a silhouette. Staging the action of hands gesturing immediately in front of the body may not be as effective as staging this action in profile where the various shapes and forms can be seen in a way that does not rely on the challenge of drawing complex foreshortening.
But what happens if our cut-outs or clay character misses its cue? Once the parts have been moved, the painted image smudged and destroyed or the plasticine deformed, it is extremely difficult to go back and correct mistakes. A completely different way of working to help solve this problem is the ‘key drawing’ animation method, also called 'pose to pose' animation.
POSE-TO-POSE ANIMATION METHOD |
This method of animating from one pose to the next, hence the term 'pose to pose' animation, allows the animator to map out the action in advance with ‘sign posts’ by charting up these key poses onto ‘exposure sheets’ or ‘dope sheets’, or indeed into the timeline of computer software. It is a particularly useful animation method when a character must perform certain tasks within a predetermined time or where a series of actions must synchronise accurately with a recorded sound track. The technique helps ensure that characters arrive at a particular place on screen at a precise point in time.
The ‘key pose’ technique is still the most widely used method of animating. It is also the method of choice within most 2D and 3D digital animation packages these days. Sequences can be tested and individual poses can be re-worked and the animation progressively improved. The exposure sheet or timeline is continually revised to provide an accurate record of how the animation is to be photographed or rendered. This production method also provides a logical way of breaking down work so that it can be handed on to other people in the production chain.
WORKING ROUGH |
 |
| An illustration showing how an animator might work in rough scribbles to find the key masses and shapes and then to refine various lines of action to give the drawing purpose and intent before finally fleshing in the character's final form. |
 |
| This sequence is from Dann Dann the Dunny Man and is used with the kind permission of past graduate, Peter Viska, Viskatoons. This is a fine example of working rough to get key poses sorted to describe the action in an expressive manner. This character is handled in a very dynamic way using lots of exaggeration, anticipation and squash and stretch. It also demonstrates how such tests can block out the action in both space and time. |
| "It occurred to me years ago that my animation process was a lot like my writing process — the first draft was never as good as what was in my head; the more passes I made, the better it got; repetitive phrasing was bad; clarity was good; specificity and authenticity were paramount, and so on. Both are solitary, time-consuming processes, requiring a solid command of a special language." - Kevin Koch 2007 |
PLANNING KEY POSES |
 |
Consider the above information. The story may call for the character to get a pair of socks out of the drawer, but if these are the only poses we use, the effect is of the socks appearing out of thin air. We often need a number of key poses to adequately explain even the simplest of actions. |
To tell the full story we need to break down this simple action into several steps. We need to see the character standing by the cupboard, reaching for the drawer, pulling open the drawer, dipping a hand in, and finally extracting the socks. Each of these poses, including squash and stretch, anticipations and any poses which use exaggeration, are treated as a separate ‘key pose.’
|
EXPRESSIVE POSES |
 |
| Although these drawings are perfectly static, they are nevertheless highly expressive, possessing a dynamic quality that suggests action. Such poses are the beginning of strong animated sequences. |
As animators work out the key poses of a particular sequence, they also find it helpful to consider whether or not the action works well if reduced to a silhouette. Staging the action of hands gesturing immediately in front of the body may not be as effective as staging this action in profile where the various shapes and forms can be seen in a way that does not rely on the challenge of drawing complex foreshortening.
Poses should have both function - depicting the physical extreme of an action or setting up the character for an action to follow by loading its 'muscles', and impact - an expressive pose with a dynamic quality that implies what has gone before, what is about to come, and which registers and emphasises the inner emotional state of the character.
Animation is an illusion requiring the audience to suspend its disbelief. The audience can be absolutely engaged within the stories we tell and the world of characters that we create. However the illusion is a very delicate one, and alas, it is all too easy to remind the audience that they are merely looking at a series of drawings, a puppet, or a moving computer model.
To sustain this illusion, in a sense, we also have to infer the physical laws of our animated world in such a way that they are not in conflict with our day-to-day experience of natural laws we observe in the real world. These laws can be represented in an incidental way by how your character moves about its setting. Your key poses, therefore, should also show how the character carries its own weight - is one leg relaxed while the other supports the entire weight of its body? Is the body of the character under some physical strain from carrying, pushing or pulling a heavy object? Perhaps you need shift the character's weight off-centre to counter-balance the object it is carrying. What is its state of balance or indeed unbalance? Consider the 'line of action', the main mass of the character and and what happens to these masses when your character propels itself from a resting position - there must be at least one firmly locked down a contact point with the ground (usually a foot) so that the forces involved in getting your character moving can be seen to pass through its body to this contact point making the action believable. The slippage of feet upon the ground at inappropriate times, is one sure way of shattering this illusion.
When learning how to animate for the first time, get up out of your chair and act out the action you are trying to represent. Feel where your limbs are space, what you muscles are using, the contact points you have with the stable environment, and how the weight of your body is being supported.
If your all your key poses are correctly thought out and timed, you will have no trouble in getting all your ideas across to an audience. Flick your key drawings from one to the next to ensure that the poses you have chosen work well together. It is usually only after all the key poses of a scene have been timed out on the exposure sheet and tested, that the animator or their assistant returns to add the ‘inbetween’ drawings.
In larger traditional animation studios, these numbered drawings are handed on to an assistant to further clean up and refine according to character model sheets. Once tested, an ‘inbetweener’ adds the required number of drawings between each key pose as prescribed by the animator’s dope sheets. A clean-up artist will tidy up all the drawings ready for tracing. In digital production, a computer software package can inbetween for you, but it does not follow that computer software understands how things move in the real world.
Key poses describe WHAT happens, but not necessarily HOW it happens.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)