This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. Animation in color
. Background
. Bounce for points for shadow, highlights and making the ball look like a sphere and not a
circle.
Lecture: This assignment is to teach Squash and Stretch. Squash and Stretch is basically the
animation equivalent to newton 3 laws of motion.
1. An object at rest will be neither squash or stretched unless a force is applied to it.
2. When an object is accelerating, it will stretch.
3. A squash is how an object respond to newton third law of motion.
When object impact
another object, it will squash.
2. Week 2
Reading: Read pages 11 to 40 of The Animators Survival Kit By Richard Williams.
(This book is also online and will be the main book for this class) )
Warm UP (Draw the frames from any piece of animation that was created before film. This
includes magic lantern shows, Thaumatrope, Phenakitoscope, Zoetrope, Flip-book ,
Movieola/praxinoscope. ) The number of frames use to create these animations very. You do not
need to draw the backgrounds. Pick one character to draw
Project 2: Film a bouncing ball from a side angel so that you can see the arch’s it creates when it
bounces. Than use the video as reference for your animation. Please note we are not
rotoscoping.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. Animation in color
. Background
. Bounce for points for shadow, highlights and making the ball look like a sphere and not a
circle.
. Arch’s and sound
. You can make the sound effects or record the sound effects separately.
I need to hear the ball
bounce.
Example :
Please forgive the quality. This is from when I was a baby animator
Advice: If a sound is on frame 6 than the visual that goes with the sound should be on frame 3.
This advice is general true you can play around with the sound to see the effects of this advice.
Lecture: This assignment is to teach the importance of arch’s. Everything in the universe moves
in arch. With the exception of some machines and computer graphics. If you walk in a straight
on earth from the point of view of the center of the earth you are walking in an arch. This
principle has to do with gravity and the curve nature of Space time. (I want to highlight that at
certain point I can’t explain thing as well as a physicist but I don’t want you to think of art and
animation as this magic system with bunch of made up rules.)
3 Week 3
Reading: Read pages 92 -95 of The Animators Survival Kit By Richard Williams.
(This
book is also online and will be the main book for this class) )
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor Mccay 1914.) You do not
need to draw the backgrounds. Pick one character to draw.
Project 3: Film 3 objects balls with different mass falling at almost the same time. Than use that
reference to animate. Please note we are not rotoscoping.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. Animation in color
. Background
. Bounce for points for shadow, highlights and making the ball look like a sphere and not a
circle.
. Arch’s and sound.
. You can make the sound effects or record the sound effects separately. I need to hear the ball
bounce.
. 3 balls of different mass
Example: I do not have an example of this so will have to pay close attention to your reference.
Lecture: So all object fall to earth at the same speed of 9.8 m/s . However, we do not animate
these objects the same because of their impact their squash. Just because an object is moving at
the same speed doesn’t mean that their impact with the ground will have the same force. “You
get more movement with more mass” (Richard Willims Animator survival kit.) An object with
more mass will have more key frames when it hits the ground. If you do this assignment
perfectly you should be able to feel the weight of the object and understand that each object is
made out of different material. One thing to note is that from this day forward I want you to
know what material your bouncing ball is made of every time you have to animate it. There
should be no balls made from pure toon force. You can exaggerate of course but you should also
know your material.
4. Week 4
Reading: Read pages 41 -91 of The Animators Survival Kit By Richard Williams.
(This
book is also online and will be the main book for this class) )
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Steam boat willy Produce by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks
in 1928. You do not need to draw the backgrounds. Please pick one character to draw
Project 4: You are going to do the ball with an arc animation again but this time you are going to
add a tail. You decide what kind of animal tail you add but you must find reference for this. One
thing to not is your tail is not sentient. The ball is not a thinking creature. The tail on the ball un
like most animals. Is just responding to physicist and the force being applied to the ball. Please
note we are not rotoscoping.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. Animation in color
. Background
. Bounce for points for shadow, highlights and making the ball look like a sphere and not a
circle.
. Arch’s and sound
. You can make the sound effects or record the sound effects separately. I need to hear the ball
bounce.
. A ball with a tail
Lecture: I have always struggled with this assignment. I thought that the ball with a tail was a
thinking creature. It is not. I also hate that there is no good reference footage for this assignment
and that this assignment isn’t really talk about a lot in any of my animation books but I will
explain why this is the most important assignment you’re going to master. This assignment
comes with a story One of my animation professors was working on Happy Feet 2 with a buddy
of his. This buddy said “Man all animation is a ball with a tail.” As my professor thought about
it and realize that yeah all animation is a ball with a tail. Now in the years since I heard that story
I have realize that waves do not fit in the ball and tail category. I mean they are kind of all tail
and no ball. Maybe the planet is the ball. Either way waves are like the only thing plus minus
abstract animation. That doesn’t fit the ball with a tail idea. I might be wrong am sure the
animators on Happy Feet 2 thought about waves in this idea that all animation is a ball with a
tail. We can get into this more when we learn about walk cycles. The main point of this
assignment is to teach you anticipation, slow in and slow outs, secondary action, Follow through
and overlap. I mention before there isn’t any good reference material but there is a cat toy that
perfect for this assignment and you also try a ball of yarn.
You work with anticipation before as a squash can be anticipation for a stretch. The same way
overlap can be anticipation for a follow through.
Slow in and Slow outs: When a force is enacted on an object it needs time to speed up. You
don’t go from 0 to 60. If you did it would need to be exaggerated. When an object is about to
come to a stop it slows down.
Secondary action. Often times objects will have a secondary action along with the first action.
This is often use with thinking character. For example, a tail on a dog is a good example of
secondary action.
Follow through and overlap: Bring us back to Newton laws of motion. With newton third law for
every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Object don’t just stop they overlap and
follow through. ( Be careful not to confused Secondary action and Follow Through and Overlap)
5 Week 5.
Reading: Read pages 92-173 of The Animators Survival Kit by Richard Williams. (This
book is also online and will be the main book for this class))
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Have you got any castles produce by Warner bros it’s a
Merrie Melodies 1938. This cartoon does include racist depictions of Asians and African
Americans. The only reason I pick this cartoon is because it showed a black man beating up a
white man. It is believed that the first time this happen in cinema was in 1967 in the film In the
Heat of the Night. However, this cartoon predates that feature by almost 30 years. Ironically it
was Uncle Tom of all people who did this Rip Van Winkle. If you are watching it on YouTube,
it’s at the 5:16 mark. For this warm up you do not have to draw any of the racist depictions for
your 12 frames. I just wanted to tell you about that one scene.
Project 5: Record yourself walking. Than use the reference to animate. For this animation, we
will be only working with silhouettes and outlines like in reading. Please note we are not
rotoscoping.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
A complete walk cycle.
Example:
This is the one assignment where everyone should have almost identical projects.
Lecture: Walk cycles should be done on 3s. It is a balance of picking yourself and falling. If you
look at your reference you will note that your hips are rotating. You will also note that your legs
and arms are moving in an arch’s. You will also note that your whole body is made up of balls
and tails. You will also note that as we are kind of squash and stretching as we walk. Note that
we are not changing our dimensions but are condensing and contracting. You might also note
some head turning in your reference. The walk cycle is the first time you are really putting all
the 12 principles in motion. One thing to not is after this class making the bouncing ball be
second nature to yourself should be your top priority. Than the walk cycle. To help you master
the walk cycle here is a list from Richard Williams and Hayao Miyazaki. Just to be clear I am
combining two list. I still look at this list when I am animating a walk cycle. You should as well.
Please note the animator’s survival Kit has a lot of list. Please write them and look at all of them
even if I don’t mention them.
Straight from your reading
1. Learn the body
2. Use Straight Legs on contact and push off positions. (Going from Straight to bent or bent
to Straight)
3. Twist the body – Tilt the shoulders and Hips Have the shoulders oppose the hips swivel
the hips
4. Flop the knee in or out
5. Tilt the belt line favoring the leg that’s lowest.
6. Flop the Feet
7. Delay the Feet and Toe Leaving the ground until the very last Instant
8. Tip the head or make it go back and forth
9. Delay parts. Don’t have everything working at the same time.
10. Use counteraction Hair, clothes, parts of the body that have fat in them.
11. Break the joints
12. More ups and downs for weight
13. Use different timing on Legs versus arms versus head
14. Twist the feet take them off the parallel
15. The smallest change will create something different.
This list is from your reading it’s not word for word but most of it is. This is from
Richard Williams.
1. front leg energetically moves forward.
2. the entire body compresses like a spring
3. the rear leg braces the body forwards (“up” pose)
4. kick upwards, same as frame 1 but with the opposite foot
5. When the background is moving and the character is running in place
Use pose 5 instead of
pose 2 ( I will link an article below so you will have the full context )
Hayao Miyazaki advice
Richard Williams also has rules for running but for now I want you to focus on walking
6 Week 6.
Reading: Read pages 174- 213 of The Animators Survival Kit by Richard Williams.
(This book is also online and will be the main book for this class))
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Snow White and the Seven Drafts 1937 produce by Walt
Disney.
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Snow White and the Seven Drafts 1937 produce by Walt
Disney.
• Project 6: record yourself walking with one these character traits, Proud, Grumpy, Happy
Sleepy Bashful, Sneezy (sick or unwell), Dopey. Than Animate using that reference
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. A side profile character design of yourself.
A complete walk cycle.
. Background
Color
Example :
Old man walk cycle
Lecture: Remember the last rule from Richard Williams list one. The smallest change can make
something different. That’s the key to making a walk cycle with personality.
Reading: Read pages 217- 272, 327 -333of The Animators Survival Kit by Richard
Williams. (This book is also online and will be the main book for this class)) Also read
319- 366 of The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Max Fleischer Superman 1941) Please note we are not
rotoscoping. I understand the irony.
• Project 7: Find video reference of a four-legged animal walking. That is not in any way shape
or form related to a horse. Please not a horse or anything that look like a horse. Use that
reference to make an animation.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. A front character design
. Background
.Color
.Light and shadow
Example :
Lecture: Four-legged animal are really fun to animate. I gave you a lot to read and I don’t really
have much to add on. I will say that this is your first time with a ball and a tail that has a mind of
its own so be aware of that. Horses are complicated they have their own section in survival Kit
and I struggle with mastering them. If I remember correctly it like the front walks like a human
and the back is like a four-leg animal.
8 Week 8.
Reading: Read pages 273- 303,334-382of The Animators Survival Kit by Richard
Williams. (This book is also online and will be the main book for this class))
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Any Tom and Jerry Cartoon. Ideally from the original run.
Please note we are not rotoscoping.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. A side character design
. Background
. Color
. walk cycle with personality
Lecture: It’s about how you walk and look and how you wag your tail. It’s all coming together.
9 Week 9.
Reading: Read pages 304- 314of The Animators Survival Kit by Richard Williams. (This
book is also online and will be the main book for this class))
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Speed racer / Mach GOGOGO . Please draw from the
original. You can do people or cars. Please note we are not rotoscoping.
• Project 9: Find a piece of 11 second audio that you would like to animate from a television show
or movie. Animate only the head and facial expressions.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. A front character design
. Background
.Color
. Sound
Example :
11 sec club
Lecture: So you’re not ready for the 11 second club monthly competition just yet. I just want
you to do the reading than the mouth movements and the fascial expressions. Basically, the
whole head.
Extra Credit: Tell me what limited animation is? How was it used by Hanna Barbara Studios?
How is it used in anime? How is it used in contemporary productions that use Toon Boom
Harmony?
10 Week 10.
Reading: Read pages 315- 325of The Animators Survival Kit by Richard Williams. (This
book is also online and will be the main book for this class))
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from Scooby Doo any version) Please note we are not
rotoscoping.
• Project 10: Continuing from last project. You are going to draw the key from your reference.
Than you are going focus on animating the body. I recommend doing an under layer that breaks
the body down to all balls with tails. If you are familiar with life drawing and boxing your
figures out I recommend that. Than go back and using limited animation techniques to draw the
body on a separate layer from the head and maybe from each other to make the animation look
like one drawing.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. A front character design
. Background
. Color
. Sound
Example :
11 sec club
Lecture: It’s time to put everything together all the principles of animation. The tips in your
reading and adding personality to it. The point of this assignment is learning strong poses. Also,
how to exaggerate the acting. Very few actors are well animated but that doesn’t mean there not
good actors. You have to take the actors performance and push it. In order to make good
animation. When I say good animation, and talk about actors that are well animated I mean
actors that use their whole body when acting. I am talking about Charlie Chaplin, Barbra
Streisand and Chris Tucker. Odd list I know. These actors are constantly in iconic poses and they
squash and stretch and they know how to exaggerate when they need to. This is going to be a
hard assignment because this is the first one that you’re really pushing the animation and the
acting.
11 Week 11.
Reading: Read all of chapter 9 from The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie
Johnson
Warm UP (Draw 12 key frames from any Studio Ghibli film) Please note we are not rotoscoping.
• Project 11: So, I have been secretly preparing you for this last project. I think college semester
are between 15-17 weeks. So, we have the rest of the semester to finish this last project. The
warm ups are design to get you adjusted to different art styles and more complicated characters.
For your final we are going to do an Animation Study. For this animation study, we are going to
study a scene from a studio that you want to work for. If possible we are going to find the
storyboards of the screen and a clip from the show / movie. This is the best way for you to see
how far away you are from your dream job. I want you to recreate 4 seconds. Using
backgrounds, you create and characters you make. I want the words animation study on the final
project and I would like a comparison slit screen.
This Project must include the following.
. Reference
. A full character turn arounds
. Background
. Color
. Sound
Example:
Lecture: Let’s get real for a sec. Do I think you’re ready? Honestly no. You need to do the
bouncing ball a bunch more time. I skipped the run cycle. I have other books for you to read like
Planning character animation 3D-2D by Wayne Gilbert. There really so much more right. Let’s
do a quick review of things I want you to know before this course is over.
1. Always research or make reference
2. Know your process. My process has been always being changing yours will as well
3. Don’t be afraid to go back to basics
4. Break down animation into ball with tail and bouncing ball
5. Always storyboard. We didn’t do a lot of that but preproduction set you up for success
6. Production team are very important.
7. To quote My Hero Academia remember your origin. Remember why you got started on
this animation journey.
8. Your never done learning go outside make notes of other people walk cycles and body
languages.
9. Give up when you’re ready to give up and don’t wait to learn, don’t wait to try new art
and new animations. Don’t hold yourself back. You got to believe in you before anyone
else does.
10. Lastly let me know if you made it. Whatever that means for you, short films, new jobs,
video art. Let me know what you do with your animations.
Television quality vs Film quality animations. Every time I was close to getting a job in
animation it was from a foreign studio. Unfortunately, if you work 2D or 3D in America
you have to aim for Film quality because even if you get on a television show you might
be ask to work on film quality work. Think the first season of Invincible, X-men 97, Paw
Patrol movie. A lot of 2D job in America is action base work and they will type cast you.
Right now, even comedy is very action focus so you got to get good at that. There are like
3-ish American studios doing 2D right now. Maybe more but I don’t know what gets
made overseas and what gets done in house. A lot of revisions are done in house. Don’t
work for a startup you wouldn’t put your money into and you have to get good a
communication and explain everything about animation and price to client if you’re
going to be freelance. When networking on LinkedIn always introduce yourself, and tell
them why your connecting. (That’s just a me thing) In person networking business cards
with QR codes. Separate your portfolio if you do other kinds of art like complete
different websites. I hope I set you up for success we covered a lot in a short amount but
there a lot we didn’t cover as well good luck to you on your animation journey.