thoughts on storytelling

In the previous parts of this series I have first written about how animation isn't about creating movement but about creating life , how as an animator you achieve this by using only three tools and the basics of how these three tools, the pose , the timing and the spacing , work. But knowledge is worth nothing without experience. It is by combining knowledge and experience that we get the wisdom that we need to be able to start to master the basics of our craft. As always, saying this is one thing, doing it another. Although the animator only uses three tools, the usage of these tools gets complex. Not only can they be used in several ways on their own, they also always influence each other. Change one and you chance the rest.

In this series I've already explained how animation is the art of giving life and how this is done by using three tools . I've gone through the basics of the first two tools: the posing and the timing , and now it's time for the last of the tools: the spacing. Compared to the pose and the timing the spacing probably is the tool that is the hardest to understand how to use efficiently.