ANimation-RichardWilliams MasterClass

Note: any reference to timing is based on 24 fps

"Sophisticated Use ofthe Basics" -- Animation Master Class by Richard Williams

What isanimation?

Change is the basis of all animation There are two types of animation Morphing and the type that gives theillusion of life. Animation is all in the timing and spacing You must show where the weight is, where it is coming from and where theweight is going to.

KEY FRAMES- are the story telling frames (Thestory board drawings)Frames where the character makes contact (heel strikepose, touching an object, etc.)

EXTREMES- are the where there isa change of direction. They are NOT Key Frames.

BREAKDOWNSare themiddle or passing position.On breakdowns always add an extra bit of movement-- almost anything will work.Don't go from A to B. Go from A to Z toB

Methods of Working: 1) Straight-Ahead - Just start and see what happens. (Creative but lackscontrol) 2) Pose to Pose - (Lots of control but restricts creativity) 3) The "Best" Method - A combination of "Pose to Pose" and "StraightAhead".

Steps to take before animating: 1) Before working turn off all other stimulus --"UNPLUG" 2) Write down what you want to do 3) Act it out 4) Work out the timing 5) Then animate

The "Best" animating method Step 1 - Do the KEY frames (the story telling poses) Step 2 - Do the frames that have to be there (the contact frames) Step 3 - Do the breakdown poses (passing/middle poses) Don't forget to addthat extra bit of action. Step 4 - Do Straight Ahead Runs of different parts in hierarchicalorderTesting along the way.(Hips first followed by legs then arms thenhead. Drapery is always last)

GENERAL GUIDES & TIPS

Thehuman eye can not see (comprehend) an action done in less then 5 frames, for anaction to be readable it must be done in 5 or more frames.

The way Iunder stood this to mean was that the 5 frames could include the anticipation ofthe movement. For example a character could be held in a 5 frame anticipationand be off the screen in the 6th. The use of ease-in or ease-out would also beincluded in those 5 frames.

Mr. Williams also stressed that all thethings he was teaching were general guidelines and theories and one shouldalways have the courage to break the rules. Experiment and test often, the onlything that matters is if the final animation works!

Never exit the framein less than 5 frames.

On in-betweens don't animate in a straight-lineuse curved paths

For fast/hard impacts, skip the actual impact frame. Goimmediately from action to reaction.

A character should never take off orland on both feet at the same time.

Blinks frequently happen on a passingpose.There are generally two frames between the open and closed positions ofan eye during a blink.

WALKS & RUNS

On a walk only onefoot leaves the ground at a timeOn a run both feet leave the ground for atleast 1 frame and the character is always down on the passingpose.

Always create your heel strike poses first.

A normal walk ison march-time - a heel strikes the ground every 12 framesA Hollywood cartoonwalk heel-strike is every 8 framesA stroll heel-strike is every 16framesA normal run heel-strike is every 8 framesHeel-strikes on thefastest run possible occurs every 4 frames (this only works for smallcharacters)

OVERLAPPING ACTIONOverlapping action is actionthat does not happen all at once.

I changed the word "breaking" to"bending" in the line below while taking my notes. It helped me differentiatebetween "A successive breaking of joints" - (breaking up the movement of anarticulated object) and "breaking a joint" - (unnatural bending) Both conceptsare used for the same purpose of getting smooth curvaceous movement. The wholeidea of the broken joint is that it is unnoticeable to the eye, so, yes it canbe used for realistic animation.

A successive bending of joints limber upmovement -- It's an unfolding action. If twinning is happening, think about whatparts can be delayed.

Another example of overlapping action is delayingthe movement of loose fatty tissue (Jowls) behind the quicker moving muscle andbone (skull).

COUNTER ACTIONA counter action is where one partmoves in the opposite direction to counter the weight and thrust of anotherpart.

BREAKING JOINTSThe unnatural bending of joints to obtaincurvaceous movement with straight line segments.

If the successive frameswith broken joints are less than five and less then the number of frames withnon-broken joints the distortion will not be noticed.

To really add SNAPto a movement put one "crazy" position the frame before the extremeposition.

The word "crazy" was Mr. Williams' but I think it's a bitmisleading. It is not an extreme. It is a slightly out of joint position a framebefore the Extreme. After the extreme you would ease into a heldposition.

He gave the following example: (Please pardon my crudediagrams)

The example he gave was an arm making a pointing motion.Starting with the arm bent at the elbow (V), hand pointing up. On the end frame7 the arm is straight out (---), hand pointing forward. On frame 6 the hand isclose to its final position but the elbow is broken in a reverse bend upwardabout 20 degrees (^-). I would not really call frame 6 an extreme more like asemi out of place in-between.

DIALOGUE

Consonants must have 2 frames to read - steal from the preceding sound ifneeded. Hit the mouth accent on the vowel. Vowels need 2 poses an accent pose and a cushion pose. Pop the mouth open on vowels with an accent pose and immediately ease into acushion pose "Boil it down" - Keep the mouth movement simple. Form the words (watch singers) Lift the head 3-4 frames in advance of the modulation. Upper teeth are anchored to the skull. Women usually show upper teeth only. Men (50/50) show upper or lower teeth only a rare few show both. The tongue is hooked at the back of the lower jaw, not stuck in the throat Never in-between the tongue, always snap it from one position to the next. When giving dialogue a character should be progressing (or regressing)somewhere. Get the body action right then add the mouth.

Break up the action andthe dialog - do one thing at a time! For example talk then point or point thentalk

Animate dialogue on level sync, then in post, test delaying thevoice audio by approximately 2 frames to see what works best.