Animation demos

A few little examples I made for a class introducing animation fundamentals to some illustration students:

• First we have an example of constant even movement. This kind of movement can feel quite robotic or unnatural.

• Next we have some deceleration and acceleration at the extreme positions. This can help things feel more grounded in reality, as there is inertia involved when something with mass needs to change direction.

• A more stylised and pronounced acceleration and deceleration is used here, with a fast transition between the extreme positions. This approach to getting into and out of the extreme positions is normally referred to as a cushion, and is often used in combination with an anticipation and settle (see last example) to build the context of the movement.

• Here we see some contrast in using acceleration and deceleration selectively. The speed of the ball at the contact point with the ground is almost constant, while we have a slow down as it reaches the apex of its bounce. This can add flavour to your animation and provide some nice punch to the timing.

• In addition to the selective acceleration we can squash and stretch the form of our object. This is used to emphasis the forces acting upon the object, and gives an energetic liveliness and plasticity to your animation.

• Secondary action or animation can then be used to embellish the primary forces, like with this feather attached to the bouncing ball. Often this is something we use for inert elements that do not have an agency of their own, like fabric, hair etc. It can be especially effective at reinforcing the direction of action, or for displaying atmospheric elements like wind, weightlessness etc.

• One of the main tools that animators use is anticipation and settle. Basically you get a subject off balance a little bit and build it to the main action, or in the case of the settle you have the subject come to a rest by overshooting past the resting position and then wobbling back into position. This can be very effective when paired with the other approaches shown here in adding energy and nuance to your work.

Hope ye find this useful as a wee reminder!