SKM 4200
Computer Animation
Chapter 1: Introduction
About the course
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2-hours of lectures per week
3-hours of lab per week*
Prerequisite: SKM3200
Evaluation
– 1st test
– 2nd test
– Lab
– Project
– Final exam
 15%
 15%
 15%
 25%
 30%
About the course
• 1st test (15%)
– Topics covered from weeks 1-3
– To be held on the 5th week, during class hours, God willing 
• 2nd test (15%)
– Topics covered from weeks 5-10
– To be held on the 11th week, during class hours, God willing 
• Final exam (30%)
– Comprehensive… Tests your understanding of what’s been
learnt from weeks 1-14 
– I have no idea when…
– But God willing, from weeks 15-18 
About the course
• Lab (15%)
– Demonstrators  Mr. Nabil and Ms. Siti Khadijah
– Small assignments will be given/completed during lab sessions
– To be completed and submitted to demos by 11:59am on Fridays of
the same week
– Late submissions will not be entertained
• Final project (25%):
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In a group of 3-4 people
Submit group name/members: Class time 3rd week
Finalize and submit idea/story synopsis: Class time 6th week
Submit storyboard: Class time 9th week
Final project due: 14th week (2D / 3D animation)
Late submissions will be penalized… and if too late, will not be
entertained 
Topics covered in this chapter
• Fundamentals of Animation
– Definition
– Persistence of Vision
– Frame rate
– Key Frames
• The Animation Process
– Traditional (Disney’s way)
– Computerized animation
• The 11-basic principles of animation
Definition
• What is animation?
– A group of consecutive static images rapidly
displayed to create the illusion of motion
• So in all, animation “tricks” into believing that
what we are viewing is actually alive, i.e.
animated 
Persistence of Vision
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Explanations:
– Where a rapid succession of images (one after the other), is said to be retained by the visual
system
– Basically, the eye is ‘thinking’ of one thing while it sees another thing…
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The theory suggests that an image persists for a certain period of time after the
original exposure
– You might have experienced this yourself after looking too long at neon-light signs
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Examples:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdGnn9JzdOE&feature=related - Thaumatrope
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSrDnIVgVv0&NR=1&feature=fvwp - Cut out flipbook
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yacvvtl4Z20&feature=related – Barack Obama Illusion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3yarT_h2ws - Things - Zoetrope
All these made possible based on the basic principle of Persistence of Vision
Frames
• What are frames?
– Static images/pictures
– The basic visual building blocks in animation
– When sequentially displayed one after the other,
produces animation
– Note: Frames must be sequentially displayed fast
enough so that effective animation is produced…
• Which brings us to the concept of frame rate
Frame-1
Frame-2
Frame-3
Frame-4
Frame-5
Frame-6
Frame-7
Frame-8
Frame-9
Frame-10
Frame-11
Frame-12
Frame-13
Frame Rate
• How many static images are produced/displayed
within a specific duration of time
• Normally expressed in frames-per-second (fps)
– Different TV standards define different frame rates
– Although this term normally relates to digital video,
the same concept applies to animation especially
when converting analogue to digital animations…
• Determine the smoothness of the end result
– Lower frame rates cause a jerky effect
– Higher frame rates make the final animation smooth
Keyframes
• Frames that defined the starting and ending
points of an action
– A few keyframes are created over a short period
of time
– A succession of keyframes do not produce the
illusion of motion (with keyframing being the
exception)
• This requires “in between” frames to be drawn (in the
classical sense) or generated (for 2D/3D computer
animation)
Keyframes
Example: http://www.3dmax-tutorials.com/graphics/il_animation_traditional-2.jpg
From the main webpage: http://www.3dmax-tutorials.com/Animation_Concepts.html
Keyframes
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In betweens 
Keyframes
Example (Walk Cycle Keyframes)
Contact
Down
Pass
Up
Keyframes
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Applying only the keyframes for animation http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83&page=2
Keyframes
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Same set of keyframes, but with in-between frames added
The Animation Process
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9.
Storyboarding
Recording dialogue
Rough, colorless sketches
Inking department
Painting department
Background
Photographing
Adding dialogue (and editing)
Release 
The Animation Process
• Storyboarding
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The idea/concept of the story is discussed and confirmed by the director(s)
and animators
Characters, storyline, actions…
Image courtesy of
Mr. Md Nabil Zawawi
(SMM2005 – Chapter 5
(Animation)
The Animation Process
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http://www.justdisney.com/animation/animation.html
Please visit this website 
The Animation Process
• Recording dialogue
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Before the animation is done
Allows animators to know what the character is saying
Simplifies modeling of facial gestures, mouth movements, limb movements
etc.
http://lightstoneanimation.com/Images/dialogue.jpg
http://www.awn.com/imagepicker/image/4357
The Animation Process
• Rough, colorless sketches
– Lead animators draw the keyframes, which are normally quite messy. Gaps (action,
movements) are left in between keyframes
– In between animators then “fill in the blanks” to finish the scenes
http://haribololz.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/traditional-animation-2/
The Animation Process
• Inking department
– The drawings are copied onto Cels (clear celluloid acetate material)
– Example: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Animation_exampleinked_drawing.png
The Animation Process
• Painting department
– Painters at the painting department will apply the pre-mixed colors on the backside of
the Cel
– Example: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Animation_examplekey_cel.png
The Animation Process
• Background
– Background images are then added adhering to the particular scene
– Cels are transparent… therefore the backgrounds will be visible
– Backgrounds can either be static, moving, or multi-planed
Background of clouds from: http://mashfreaks.com/backgrounds/Clouds/tile_cartoon_clouds.jpg
The Animation Process
• Background
– Video on multi-planed background - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d4AUwkKAw&feature=player_embedded - Moving Backgrounds
The Animation Process
• Photographing
– Using a camera, facing down
– Camera captures each frame of the animation (can go up to hundreds of thousands,
depending on the animation’s duration)
• Dialogue is added
 The whole animation process can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OebUzEhSLBI&feature=related - Making Of Disney's
Snow White
 HOMEWORK: Watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJX0EoHx3w8
– Something might just come out in the exam about this…
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
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11.
Squash and Stretch
Timing
Anticipation
Staging
Follow Through and Overlapping Action
Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action
Slow In and Out
Arcs
Exaggeration
Secondary Action
Appeal
Reference to be downloaded (Please pay close attention to Sections 2.1 until 3.0!!!:
JOHN, L. (1987) Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation. SIGGRAPH
Computer Graphics, Volume 21, Pages 35-44.
The link below might only work within UPM:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.93.811&rep=rep1&type=pdf
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
1. Squash and Stretch
– Defining the rigidity and mass objects via shape distortion to convey
flexibility
– Gives illusion of weight and volume to a character as it moves
– Useful in animating dialogue and facial expressions
– Reduce the effects of strobing
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
Using Squash and Stretch to convey flexibility of the characters
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
2. Timing
– The speed of an action
– Gives meaning to movement
• Conveys the properties of the object whether it’s heavy,
light, big or small (e.g. heavier objects moves slower
• Object motion can give an idea of its weight
• Consider Video_1 and Video_2
– http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/a
nimation/character_animation/principles/timing.htm
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
2. Timing
– No in-betweens - the character has been hit by a strong force
and its head almost snappedd off
– One in-between - the character has been hit by something
substantial, .e.g., frying pan
– Two in-betweens - the character has a nervous twitch
– Three in-betweens - the character is dodging a flying object
– Four in-betweens - the character is giving a crisp order
– Six in-betweens - the character sees something inviting
– Nine in-betweens - the character is thinking about something
– Ten in-betweens - the character is stretching a sore muscle
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
3. Anticipation
– Action involves: PREPARATION, THE ACTION and
TERMINATION
– Prepares the viewer/audience for the upcoming action…
(gives a hint of what the character will do)
– Leads their minds to what will
or might happen next!!!
http://www.officialpsds.com/images/thumbs/Road-Runner--Wile-E-Coyote-psd36956.png
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
4. Staging
– Presentation of an idea so that it is unmistakably clear
– Audience’s view must be directed to where it needs to be
so the idea is conveyed and not missed
– Don’t include too many ideas at a time
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
– The termination of an action…
• Actions often do not end abruptly
• Dog Running and Falling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgcw2d4wFQw - Follow through and
overlapping action
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
6. Straight Ahead and Pose-to-Pose Actions
– Straight Ahead
• More spontaneous
• Animator knows how the scene should go along, and how it tallies
with the storyline
• Requires high creativity
– Pose-to-Pose
• Actions are planned
• Charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene
• Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is
the action.
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
7. Slow In and Out
– Spacing of in between drawings (frames) between the extreme poses
– Fewer in-betweens make the action faster and more in-betweens
make the action slower
– Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like
http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/bouncing_ball_example_of_slow_in_out.htm
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
8. Arcs
– Describes the visual path taken by an object from one extreme pose to
another
– Smoothens the animation (compared to moving in a straight line)
– Sometimes an arc can be a straight line, e.g. something falling from
the sky
Image courtesy of
Mr. Md Nabil Zawawi
(SMM2005 – Chapter 5
(Animation)
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
9. Exaggeration
– Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely
broad, violent action all the time
– It’s like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and
actions
– Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will
give your animation more appeal…
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZfuIfdBJC2s/S1Vb1Rhe4cI/AAAAAAAAAjU/aO_NnYkmkKA/s400/corny1.jpg
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
10. Secondary Action
– Action resulting directly from another action (motion occurring as a
consequence of another previous motion)
– Adds realism
http://www.animationbrain.com/follow-through-overlapping-2d-animation-principle.html
The 11 Basic Principles of Animation
11. Appeal
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A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal.
Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All
characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous,
comic or cute.
Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read design, clear
drawing, and personality development that will capture and involve
the audience¹s interest.
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/img/pix/woody100701_414x450.jpg
How Pixar does it?
• This is where you come in
• First Assignment (due 10:00am before the next class)
• TASK: In a group of 2, prepare a write up (in your own words… and in
English) of the whole animation process
– Subtask-1: Search the Internet
– Subtask-2: Write up the report in MS word or any word processing software of
your choice
• Deliverable: Only doc, docx or pdf will be accepted. Please take note
– SEND TO: skm4200@gmail.com
• Subject heading: matrix1[ ]matrix2[ ]assignment1
• [ ] indicates a space
• Please follow this subject heading naming convention, or else 1-mark will automatically
be deducted from your assignment