Inrtoduction
In this project, we are planning to create a 2D video game within our chosen groups based from the name “Escape from Coleg Gwent”. We are going to be working as individuals and a team, to discuss our ideas and concepts.
We have to design and develop a 2D or 2.5D game demo with the title ‘Escape from Coleg Gwent’. The aim is to use a combination of live action, audio, 2D and 3D elements to produce a game that is visual and interactive. In this project, I would like the concept artist role as my specialist role as I enjoy that the most.
1) Squash and Stretch
The idea of this, is to identify the characteristics of a moving object. An image that is being squashed and stretched quickly is used to represent movement and motion. For example, a ball bouncing onto the ground gets flattened when it hits the ground. The ball’s fastest point is as it’s falling, just before it hits the surface.
In this image, the first reference shows the path of a falling ball using the squash and stretch technique. This add more animation to the movement of the ball and the more frames, the better and smoother the animation looks.
This is what we should avoid doing when animating.
2) Anticipation
Anticipation in animation is when an object or character prepares for an action to hint about what they’re next step is, and to make animation more realistic; such as a person jumping. When jumping, a character may crouch down as if gathering energy.
In this example, a character can usually be seen winding up, hinting that they are about to run. This adds more emphasis to their movements and more power behind their actions. Anticipation helps communicate actions to the audience by preparing them for the next action.
3) Staging
Staging is the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear. This can cover a large part of animation. Staging helps the animator be in full control of where the viewers are watching. However, bad staging is caused when animation happens too fast and the viewers don’t know what to concentrate on.
The camera has a lot of involvement in this, as it is important to know when to take shots further away or closeup. The focus of the scene also shouldn’t be far to the side. The main action of the scene should be clear and simple and never upstaged by something else.
4) Straight ahead and pose to pose
Straight ahead is where multiple drawings or frames are drawn to show movement. Whereas pose to pose is where you draw the first scene and the last scene first, and draw the middle scenes afterwards. Pose to pose can save a lot of work and is used by more animators. Straight ahead animation is better for animation that is unpredictable, this can include animating something like fire or water movement.
5) Follow Through and Overlapping Action
Follow through and overlapping action can be used to add a great deal of detail to a character. This means that when the main body of something moves, the tip of the appendage should be the last thing to follow up on the movement. The end should follow through the furthest compared to the rest of the body.
The more drag you give something, the more it says about the object/character’s mass.
6) Slow in and slow out
This principle refers to how movement starts slow, builds speed and finishes slowly. This makes movement look less mechanical, unless animating a robot – in which it’s movement is consistent. Using this principle can mean only using one frame in between if the movement is quick enough. The best way to fix a choppy animation is to evenly space each frame.
7) Arcs
Most organisms will follow an arc when moving.
Forgetting about arcs can cause mistakes and cause shapes to shrink in sizes as they move. With fast movement, you can add arcs in form of a smear. This is where we draw an arc in between and fill it in with colour and add some transparency to give it the affect of fast movement.
8) Secondary Action
Secondary action refers to gestures that support the main action to add more dimension to the character animation. For example, if a character is walking with anger, the primary action would be their legs, and the secondary action would be everything else.
In this image, the primary action is the character knocking on a door, and the secondary action is the motion and movement of his spare hand. When his hand is clenched in a fist like this, it makes him seem angry. If his hand were to be clutched close to his chest, he would seem nervous or scared. It is important not to let the secondary action overpower the primary action.
9) Timing
The personality and nature of an animation is greatly affected by the number of frames inserted between each main action. The more drawings you have layered closer to each other, the slower the action will appear. However if you have fewer drawings further from each other, the action will appear very fast.
The standard frame rate for movies is 24 frames per second (fps). One drawing for each frame is called ‘drawing on ones’, and one drawing drawn on every two frames its called ‘drawing on twos’ and so one. It is more common to draw on twos. Drawing on ones is more useful for faster actions, but drawing on twos can add more emphasis to movement.
10) Exaggeration
Every action can be taken to the next level to increase the impact on the viewer. Adding more exaggeration doesn’t mean make the animation more detailed and realistic.
The second image has more exaggeration and this gives it more power.
11) Solid Drawing
This principle is about making sure that forms feel like they’re in a three dimensional space using volume weight and balance. Animation is made a lot easier by being able to drawing things in three dimensions.
Drawing in three dimensions will help the animator be mindful of the space their in. It can also help to draw perspective lines on the ground to keep track of where they are.
It is also important to include overlap. Overlap shows that not everything is on the same layer and adds more dimension to the drawing.
12) Appeal
Characters that we animate should be pleasing to look at and should have some characteristic that is likeable to the viewers, even the villains of a story. Use a variety of shapes for different characters to add diversity. Play with proportions to magnify features that are interesting or shrink features that are more boring. This method is used by cartoonists.
Keep the designs simple, this allows more freedom in animation and adding a lot of detail adds a lot of restraint to each frame
Conclusion
This workshop has narrowed down the different elements of animation into a more simple form and easier to understand. I have been able to learn about the general requirements an animator thinks of when animating – such as how much detail they include in each frame, how they emphasise exaggeration and movement and the depth of animating something acting on the force of gravity. Animating a bouncing ball had more to it than I first thought, it has an arc trend it has to follow and getting it to fall as if gravity is pulling it down is harder than I thought.
Leah Morrell Games Designer 