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.

Previously in this series on the basics of animation I've talked about how animation is about revealing character and how the animator only has three tools to do this . In the last article I talked about the first to: the pose , and now I will get in to the second tool: The timing. The timing is the time, or amount of pictures/poses between two key poses, or two breakdowns. The timing can also be the time the character takes to react to something. Or a simpler way of putting it: The timing is what creates the rhythm of the scene.

Previously in this series I've covered that we as animators always need to remember that our job is not to create movement, but to create life , and that we only have three tools to get the job done . In the animators toolbox the tool that is the easiest to grasp probably is the pose. The poses are the individualpictures in the animation. There are the "key-poses" (sometimes called "storytelling-poses") which are the poses that are the most important to communicate the message of the scene or WHY the scene is in the film, then there are the breakdown poses which are the most important poses needed to communicate HOW the character gets from key-pose to key-pose. Last but not least are the inbetweens, the poses in-between the others, the poses that creates fluidity in WHAT the character is doing. Although the inbetweens often are seen as the key-poses illegitimate younger brother, they are just as important as the key-poses and breakdowns.

Animation = to give life, as I wrote about in my last article . Saying this is one thing, doing it is a whole other matter. This article will cover the basics about how animation is done. When we first get in to animation, and have learned how to make things move, I think we all always try to take a too big leap forward. Instead of mastering the basics of our craft we start looking at small technicalities, like worrying about if the inner or outer part of an eyelid that moves first in a blink. Although we theoretically may know that we need to learn the basics, we yet often need to take these leaps to learn this on a deeper level and understand that we need to take a step back. But at times, instead of admitting that we need to learn the basics, we continue to work on things out of our reach. The irony here is that it is our fear of looking incompetent that keeps us incompetent. To develop as animators, and as people, we need to develop humility to see that we always have a lot m...

People often misunderstand animation as making characters move although proper translation of the word "animation" is "to give life". Movement does not equal life. We don't see life in characters that only behave as robots controlled by the animator. For us to interpret life in the character her movements need to be motivated by the character herself, her psychology, her emotions, wants and needs. Movements not motivated by the character herself is bad animation.