Notes from Animation - from Pencils to Pixels by Tony White

White Tony, (2006), Animation - from Pencils to Pixels - classic techniques for digital animators, London, Focal Press

7 Digital Desktop Production

- "It has long been said that if an animator can create anything, for the underlying principles apply to just about everything else in animation." (White and Disney, 2006: 184)
- different animators assigned areas of strength e.g physical action - walk, jump, running or dialogue/ interaction of character within environment
- 2d backgrounds - from basic block colour to complex water colour, sets the location, the mood and the visual style in which characters will move around in
- environments 3d - like b/g sets the location but three dimensions allow camera to move within the set and focus on any part of detail and include animated effects such as running streams, waterfalls, drifting clouds, wind or rain to get the interaction of character and environment right.
- special effects 2d and 3d anything from a hurricane, fire, lightening effect. Nowadays, audience expects to see detail e.g the flesh and muscle movement under the skin of a walking animal/ creature
- 2d animator animates main action and passes the special effects work onto an experimental special effects work onto an experienced special effects artists working on a separate sheet or on same level of key frame but in different colour
- compositing 2d and 3d - the combination of several animation levels or layers together to create one picture

8. Principles of Animation 

- importance for animators to know that nothing moves in an entire straight line
- subtle curve path of action
- "A great trick of the Waner brothers animators was to take a key position as far as it could go, then add one drawing beyond that which gives the action a fleeting extra emphasis in the pose." (White, 2006: 220)
- a 'hold' - freezing action for a number of frames
- in 2d animation energy called 'boil' hand drawn lines suddenly disappears when a position is held
- tracebacks are shot random order to keep held line convincing
- creating poses for specific effect need to be exaggerated beyond the real to make action fully believable
- fluid jointed character - all down to suitability, weight, structure, fluidity all affect a way the character looks and moves
- walks = 2 keys as stride positions
1. right arm forward and left leg forward
2. the reverse
- passing position - midway where trailing leg is coming half way
- inbetweens can be any number within walk depending on speed
- eyes and expressions 'the eyes are the doorway to the personality' - can tell mood
- inbetween cuts to make an action slow and speed up e.g a person falling asleep