General Animation

Here we can find tips on Getting Started and FAQs for Animation.

## Getting Started

You're given a shot! Ask:

1. Who is the character? What do they do? What are their intentions? Why are they in this shot? Are there more than one character?
2. What happens in this shot? Are they interacting with someone else? What is the character's goal? Is there dialogue?
3. What's the layout? Do they need to stay in a certain spot in the composition? Do they start in the frame, or do they enter over the course of the shot? Where do they end up?
4. What is the animation style of the project? Do arms move realistically, or do they bend into fluid arcs? Does motion work pose-to-pose, or do things move fluidly?

With this information, you are ready to start planning! What is next?

1. Think through the shot. Determine what movements your character will be doing.
2. Shoot video reference! Find someone to help you shoot, and make sure you get multiple takes.
3. Analyze your reference. Find your key poses. You may want to import the clip into a program to draw over your poses (using a tool such as Maya's Grease Pencil) if you need them to be more exaggerated than what you're capable of.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** Be sure to not skip this step! You will notice as you progress as an animator that the only people who skip this step are new to animation. Industry veterans always shoot reference. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

With this information, you are ready to start animating!

1. Block out your shot. Blocking is setting your main story-telling poses. Think about the timing of your shot. This is the most important part of the animation process. If your blocking pass looks wrong, all subsequent steps will also look wrong.
2. Spline your animations. Splining is taking your blocking pass into the graph editor to smooth out the transitions between your main poses.
3. Polish your shot. At this point, your animation should be 90% done, and you can move on to adding in the small, minute details. Pay attention to things such as fingers and faces.

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## FAQs

Q. What are the main principles of animation?

A. There are Twelve Principles of Animation, as outlined by Disney Legends Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in their book The Illusion of Life. They are:

1. Squash and Stretch
2. Anticipation
3. Staging
4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
6. Slow In and Slow Out
7. Arc
8. Secondary Action
9. Timing
10. Exaggeration
11. Solid Drawing
12. Appeal

Q. What body parts should I start with?

A. Always start your animation with the hips and feet. These are what drive locomotion. If you don't know what the hips and feet are doing, you won't now what the rest of the body should be doing.

Q. What is Gimball Lock, and how do I get out of it?

A. Rotation can be controlled by various means. Gimball rotation is helpful because it allows for rotation of each axis separately from eachother. However, it can be possible for two axes on your rotation gizmo to overlap, making it difficult to rotate on one axis. If you find yourself in Gimball Lock, it can be difficult to get out of, but tools such as Maya's Euler Filter may help. The primary use of the Euler Filter to calculate the rotational values of your controls to get them back into the range of 0-360 (for instance, if you have rotated your X Axis to 450 degrees, Euler will bring it back to 90 degrees), however it can also help get you out of Gimball Lock.