Tony White's Animator's Notebook: Personal Observations on the Principles of Movement

265 Pages·2011·22.68 MB·English

by  Tony White

Tony WhiTe’s
AnimATor’s noTebook
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Tony WhiTe’s
AnimATor’s noTebook
Personal observations on the Principles of movement
Tony White
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
White, Tony, 1947-
Tony White’s animator’s notebook : personal observations on the principles of movement / Tony White.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-240-81307-3 (pbk.)
1. Animation (Cinematography) I. Title.
TR897.7.W495 2011
777'.7—dc23
2011020156
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-240-81307-3
For information on all Focal Press publications
visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com
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iv
Contents
INTRODUCTION x
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
DEDICATION xv
CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Process of Animation 2
Animation’s History in a Nutshell 4
The Process of Animation 6
Principles of Animation 20
Keys 24
The Importance of Testing 29
Timing and Spacing 31
What Not to Do 32
CHAPTER 2 The Generic Walk 34
The Challenge 37
Drawing from History 37
The Basic Principles 38
Body Action 43
The Head 44
Body Lean 45
The Final Walk 46
Variations 47
Timing 47
Front Walks 49
What Not to Do 50
CHAPTER 3 Stylized Walks 52
The Pose (or Gesture) Is Everything 54
Other Conditioning Factors 54
Double-Bounce Walk 57
Key Positions 59
v
Contents
In-Betweens 60
Sneaks 63
Timing 65
Observe! Observe!! Observe!!! 67
Mo-Cap 68
In-Betweening 2D Animation on One’s 68
CHAPTER 4 Personality Walks 70
Intrinsic Balance 73
Central Balance 74
Physical Limitations 79
In Conclusion 88
CHAPTER 5 Quadruped Walks 90
Naturalistic Quadrupeds 91
Cartoon Style 99
CHAPTER 6 Generic Runs 108
Misconceptions About Runs 110
Body Angle 114
Arm Actions 116
3-Frame Run 117
Keys Only 119
Run Cycles Versus Straight Ahead Action 119
Foot Slide and Background Panning Speed 119
Slow-Motion Runs 120
Never Neglect Your Research 121
Pose Is Everything 121
Reminder on Stride Length 121
Environmental Issues 122
Head-on Runs 123
CHAPTER 7 Jumps 126
Bouncing Ball 128
Comparing Bouncing Balls of Different Types 133
vi
Contents
The Standing Jump 133
The Running Jump 141
CHAPTER 8 Weight 150
Falling Leaf 152
Cannonball 152
The Lesson 153
The Pose Is Everything! 155
Weight in Movement 159
Moving Weight 160
Anticipation 161
In Conclusion 164
CHAPTER 9 Arcs and Anticipation 168
Arcs 168
Anticipation 176
CHAPTER 10 Overlapping Action 186
Overlapping Action on Hands 189
Hair 194
Random Use of Overlapping Action 195
Clothing 196
The Nature of Cloth 197
Keep Things Moving! 200
Staggers 200
CHAPTER 11 Fluidity and Flexibility 206
Squash and Stretch 213
Secondary Bodily Movement 215
Face Flexibility 216
Flexibility in Objects 218
CHAPTER 12 Basic Dialogue 222
But First, Know Your Track! 225
Body Language 226
vii
Contents
Rough Pose Test Animatic 227
Final Key Poses 227
Facial Expression 228
Bite 'N’ Chew Exercise 229
Animating the Face 230
Lip Sync 233
Vowel Sounds 234
Vowel Anticipation 235
Tongue Action 235
Teeth 236
Two-Character Dialogue 238
INDEX 242
viii
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