ANIM 345 Blog #7 "+26 to Tech Points"

Fred Moore was a huge influence for current and even past Disney animation artists. He was a man who embraced all the 12 techniques of animation that were previously stated and created wondrous scenes of life and character in his animation. Though Fred was a bit hard on himself and decided to make a list of important things to remember while animating. He condensed the points into the a list of 14 crucial thoughts to remember while animating.

FRED MOORE'S 14 POINTS OF ANIMATION: (pg 128)

1. Appeal in drawing.

This technique was last on the previous list. It's interesting that Fred puts it at the top of his, reminding himself that the character must always have appeal to keep people watching and interested.

2. Staging

Staging is about the proper placement of characters and backgrounds so they end up where they should be and don't get visually lost or awkward.

3. Most Interesting way?

Would the audience be interested in seeing the animation and like it?

4. Is it the most entertaining way?

Can you improve the animation in any way to make it more enjoyable?

5. Are you in character?

Making sure that the character is consistent is important. Most characters have their own way of moving or walking and don't change unless they have a reason to.

6. Are you advancing the character?

Does your animation help the audience understand the character better? What does this emotion or action say about them?

7. Is this the simplest statement of the main idea of the scene?

Make sure that they idea or emotion gets across clearly, don't muddle the understanding of the unnecessary action.

8. Is the story point clear?

Pay attention to what is happening in the scene and how it synchronizes with the other scenes.

9. Are the secondary actions working with the main action?

How concise are the other movements in the scene and do they hurt or help the main focus?

10. Is the presentation best for the medium?

Can you realistically do what you want with the materials provided? Would it look/communicate better if you used a different medium?

11. Does it have 2 dimensional clarity?

How solid is the drawing? Clean lines and figures are important.

12. Does it have 3 dimensional solidity?

Does the character or figure stand out? Is the perspective right with the figures in the appropriate foreground or background? Make sure that the scene does not appear to be a flat drawing.

13. Does it have 4 dimensional drawing?

Do the characters carry weight with them as they move? How do the physics of the world apply to them? Techniques such as follow through and drag help with this illusion.

14. Are you trying to do something that shouldn't be attempted?

Fred's example is "trying to show the top of Mickey's head". Breaking the fourth wall or trying to slip in something lewd are other possible examples.

-----------------

Bill Tylta was another animator at the time and came up with his own, more condensed list of 12 animation elements. (pg 137)

Inner Feelings and Emotion

This would probably be the hardest to express if all there is is facial animation, the body is and posture are key to expressing emotion.

Acting with clear and definite action

Clarity in motion and movement have been expressed before but the definite term interests me. The purpose of movement should also be kept in mind.

Character and personality

This one is particularly redundant, if you have an idea of the character's inner feelings and emotion, then they're personality should come naturally.

Thought process through expression changes

A cheap trick is just pause the animation or zoom into the person while the voice over says what the character is thinking. But in leu of a voiceover the animator will have to show the thought process in the characters face or expression, such as moving the mouth or shifting their eyes.

Ability to analyze

You should be able to recognize the small details of the animation and if something is wrong, then they should be able to recognize what is wrong.

Clear staging

STAGING IS IMPORTANT!

Good composition

To me, composition is a combination of solid drawing and clear staging. It refers to the overall view of place and characters and whether the whole image works together.

Timing

Timing is... um... important to...

ANIMATION!

.... and stuff.

Solidity in drawing

Solid drawing skills. See Above. And Earlier Post.

Power in drawing

For power in drawing, draw Goku. Rather, the drawings and designs should carry emotional weight and speak for themselves.

Strength in movement

I think this refers to 4th dimensional drawing, making sure the motions have effects and after effects in their world.

Imagination

I'm surprised it has taken so long before anyone has mentioned this. Animators need to have an incredible imagination because before they put anything on the page they need to see the image in their head. They have to use their imagination to see the animation before it's anything has been drawn. But most importantly, imagination lets the animate in new and creative ways.

There are some strong repeating themes in these guidelines. The biggest one for me would be solid drawing. There is an old joke that when you're drawing comics you find that you need to learn how to draw everything. In animation you not only need to know how to draw everything but be prepared to draw it front back and inside out. Solid Drawing can not be understated.

Works Cited

Thomas, Frank, and Ollie Johnston. Disney Animation: the Illusion of Life. New York: Abbeville, 1981. Print.