Sir Flambio Foplin
2D Animation
Innovations Project Report
Clare Williams
BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation and Animation
Level H
Spring 2005
1
Index
1.
Introduction
1.1
Aim
Page 4
1.2
Product
Page 4
1.3
Introduction
Page 4
1.4
The Project as an Innovation
Page 5
1.5
Choosing the piece
Page 5
1.6
Background to the Character
Page 6
1.7
Synopsis
Page 6
1.8
The difference between 3D & 2D animation
Page 6
2.
The Industry Pipeline
Page 7
3.
The Method
Page 9
3.1
Calculating the Timing
Page 9
3.2
The Dope sheet
Page 11
3.3
Key Animation
Page 11
3.4
Plotting the arc of Movement
Page 12
3.5
Spacing the Motion
Page 13
3.6
Inbetweens
Page 14
3.7
Camera
Page 15
3.8
Editing
Page 16
4.
Practical Aspects
4.1
The Light box
Page 17
4.2
Top Pegs and Bottom Pegs
Page 18
4.3
Animating in Blue Pencil
Page 18
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5.
The Animation Technique
5.1
Ways to Animate
Page 19
5.2
Single Frames and Double Frames
Page 20
5.3
Timing Problems
Page 20
5.4
Overcrowded Animation
Page 21
5.5
Anticipation
Page 22
5.6
The Take
Page 23
5.7
Overlapping Animation
Page 25
5.8
Animating the Character
Page 26
5.9
Tracebacks
Page 27
5.10
Animating the Letter
Page 28
5.11
Water Animation
Page 29
5.12
Bubble Animation
Page 30
5.13
The use of Stills
Page 30
5.14
Line Flickering
Page 30
5.15
Quality of the Line
Page 31
6.
Conclusion
6.1
Regrets
Page 32
6.2
The question – 2D vs. 3D?
Page 32
6.3
Conclusion
Page 33
7.
References
Page 34
8.
Acknowledgements
Page 37
9.
Appendix – Dope Sheets
Page 38
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1. Introduction to the Project
1.1 Aim
To animate a short sequence from the second year character design storyboard,
conveying both character traits and narrative, using the 2D hand drawn technique.
1.2 Product
A 20-30 second, hand drawn animation conveying a short section of a story.
No colour. Approximately 150 hand drawn frames.
1.3 Introduction
Animation is the means of creating magic on paper. The famous animator
Richard Williams, refers to the ‘aphrodisiac’ qualities of creating images that ‘walk
and talk and think’ (2001, p.11). My own passion lies in creating stories, particularly
those which come alive through animation.
The project focussed on learning another aspect of animation. Hand-drawn
animation. The reason for settling on this idea was primarily because it was an
incredibly exciting topic. Secondary considerations indicated that the project would
be of huge benefit to the development of animation skills and would lead to a reexamination of one’s method.
The rest of this chapter introduces the project, explaining the history behind
the idea and detailing why it should qualify as an innovation. Chapter 2 comprises of
research to identify the stages of the 2D process within the industry pipeline. This
information provides the basis for formulating a personal method of working, which
is explored extensively in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 clarifies a few practical problems with
regards to having to work with new unfamiliar equipment. Chapter 5 focuses on
actual animation technique, involving detailed research and extensive assessment of
problems, successes and failures. The project is concluded in Chapter 6.
1.4 The Project as an Innovation
The fundamental question that is repeatedly asked is ‘how do you animate?’
The course sadly does not offer lectures on animation techniques and one may
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presume that many CG students simply sit down at a computer and work away
haphazardly until they have something that looks reasonable. By comparison the
traditional 2D animation students study the practise in fine detail. Once they have
mastered the art of hand drawn animation, they might switch to CG animation, simply
transferring all their acquired knowledge.
It is precisely the difference between the disciplines that places hand drawn
animators at such an advantage. Computer animation can support a haphazard and
unstructured approach, though it will not always lead to great results but the sheer
time consuming nature of hand drawn animation dictates that it must adhere to a tried
and tested regime. In short, one needs to experience 2D hand drawn animation in
order to establish a method of working and to better understand the principles before
embarking on a career in 3D animation.
This was an innovative project for me as I had never before attempted 2D
animation. I had to greatly alter my working method and technique in order to
successfully negotiate the numerous problems that arose from this new discipline.
Such problems included mastering the artistic technique, which comprised of learning
how to calculate the timing, drawing the keys and betweens and following the
numerous golden rules on anticipation, squash and stretch, whilst exploring the
various practical applications such as using a light box and compiling the animation.
1.5 Choosing the piece
The original intention was to produce a series of unrelated animation
sequences showing Flambio in various types of actions as befitting to his character
and era, for example a sequence showing him daintily hailing a stage coach with his
handkerchief or admiring a new outfit in the mirror. However on closer inspection
the second year animatic revealed a few short scenes, which would be entirely
suitable for a twenty second animation, plus there was the additional challenge of
trying to convey a story which required an emotional development of some kind.
The two sequences that were shortlisted depicted Flambio trying to decide
what to wear and Flambio in his bathtub, reading his mail. Both were nicely contained
sequences and choosing between them was hard. Tutor Claudia Moore and friends
agreed on the bath scene as they liked the image of the bath and thought it a nice
setting for a story. In addition it comprised of slightly simpler animation and with
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hindsight this was a very wise decision. The time limit really restricted the amount of
secondary animation that could be undertaken and there would have been an
enormous amount of cloth movement to animate in the dressing sequence.
1.6 Background to the Character
The Fop, immortalised in the Restoration Comedies of Charles II’s era, was an
extreme symbol for an age obsessed with decoration and style. He embodied the
flamboyant and frivolous taste in its most exaggerated form and exuded continental
influence.
Sir Flambio Foplin is the most outrageous fop living in Charles II’s London.
His love of shoes and all things fancy, is matched by his absolute disregard for money
and all things necessary and mundane.
1.7 Synopsis
Sir Flambio Foplin is taking his morning bath and casually perusing the post.
He tosses away many letters, no doubt bills, with bored irritation but then stumbles
across a very unwelcome and threatening letter from one of his more dubious
creditors, Jake the Rake. The letter orders Flambio to repay his outstanding debts or
cross swords at dawn. Now Flambio can definitely tell his Moroccan silk from his
Venetian lace but his swordsman skills are sadly lacking and there is no doubt as to
the outcome if Flambio and Jack cross steel. Flambio leaps from his bathtub in a state
of sheer terror sending soapsuds flying everywhere.
1.8 The difference between 3D and 2D animation.
The obvious difference between CG animation and hand drawn animation is
that the former produces immediate results. One can quickly manipulate the character
into two key poses, guess the timing between them and playback to assess whether
this timing works. Nine times out of ten it needs adjustment. In this respect CG is a
medium where one can create animation through trial and error, often spending days
playing a section over and over again, tweaking the timing.
Hand drawn animation does not afford this luxury. It is time consuming and
the results are not immediate. Each drawing involves a considerable amount of work,
even in its roughest state and even more importantly, the artist can only see if the
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animation is successful after he or she has completed a chain of such drawings. In
short, the hand drawn animator cannot afford to create keys that do not work and
animation where the timing is incorrect. It is not a medium which is open to trial and
error. It needs to be accurate first time.
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2. The Industry Pipeline
One could not possibly create a method of working without researching and
compiling of a simple pipeline of steps in accordance with those deployed in the film
industry. Hanna-Barbera’s (Butterworth & da Silva, 1979, p.125) depiction of the
pipeline as seen in Figure 1, can be simplified into the following stages:

Storyboard
A ‘visual highlight of a script’ with enough information to convey the story to
the viewer (Butterworth & da Silva, 1979, p.36)

Animatic
Conveys more information than the storyboard - particular attention to timing.

Bar sheet – information on timing for scenes and camera movements

Exposure Chart/ Dope Sheet
Information from the Bar sheet is transferred to the Exposure Chart or Dope
Sheet. It is as Raul da Silva describes a ‘visual display of action to be filmed.
It shows field sizes, character movements, pans and every movement for the
animation sequence. It is used by the key animator & ultimately created for the
cameraman as a blue print. It accounts for every single frame in the picture’
(1979, p.116).

The Path of Action
Raul da Silva summarises this task:
This step is used in setting up extremes for character to
be used by the key animator…It conveys different information
to the storyboard as it gives you an idea of the action required
in the sequence of motion & shows the most extreme
character poses in the sequence (1979, p.37).

Background

Key animator
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Plots the key poses, then the extremes and finally the breakdown position.

Inbetweener
Draws the specified number of inbetweens at the specified spacing.

Flipping
Technique used to check the smoothness of motion.

Cleanup
Tracing process – reducing every drawing to single tidy line.

Inking & Opaqueing
Outlining and painting colours. Gloves are worn to prevent fingerprints
marking the acetate. The outline is often done on an electrostat. Colours are
painted on the rear of the acetate.

The checker
Checks for mistakes comprising of broken lines, dirt and painting mistakes.

Camera man
Uses exposure sheet

Editing
Compilation of animation
Figure 1: The stages of production by Hanna-Barbera
(Butterworth & da Silva, 1979, p.125)
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3. The Method
Having identified the stages of the 2D process within the industry Pipeline, it
was time to use this information as the basis for formulating a method of working. It
was the aim to produce a pencil sketch animation, so the pipeline did not include the
cleanup stage or the inking and colouring stage. The storyboard and animatic had
already been created and assessed, so the first task became the problem of timing.
3.1 Calculating the Timing
Calculation of timing was the first stage in the animation of a scene. It was a
source of some confusion and anxiety. How could one know how many frames to
place between key poses? The exact timing was vital for the correct composition and
number of inbetweens. Two solutions were explored with varying degrees of success.
1st Solution
The first solution was tested on a very short simple section of animation,
which was a trial and did not feature in the final project. The animation was of
Flambio holding an outfit up against himself and deliberating on whether to wear it.
Two keys were drawn, the start and end frame of the animation, the former depicting
him holding the outfit loosely, the latter where he had pulled it up under his chin.
From these keys an inbetween was calculated and all three drawings were brought
into Adobe Premier Pro to work out the timings. Trial and error established that the
drawings worked on double spacing but since the movement was so quick it required
two further inbetweens each side of the breakdown, in order for the sequence to run
smoothly. This approach seemed quite easy but there were obvious disadvantages. It
meant that after every couple of drawing the outcome would have to be accessed in
Premier Pro and one would never know how many frames were required for a given
movement until the animation was finished. This would make planning overlapping
animation and easing in and out of movements incredibly tricky. In short, there would
be no ‘blueprint’ to work from and one would be effectively improvising. Instead it
became obvious that a dope sheet was required, with all movements for every bodypart accounted for, down to the very last frame.
2nd Solution
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The second solution was to video a subject acting out the animation. This was
also fraught with problems as a person could not satisfactorily impersonate a cartoon
character and there was a danger that his or her rhythm would permeate Flambio’s
actions. However there was not a viable alternative. After filming the action, the
movie was played in Premier frame by frame and one could begin to draw up a dope
sheet of movements. A huge amount of information was recorded, for example the
number of frames it took for the character’s hand to travel from A to B, when blinking
occurred, the direction in which the subject was looking and when the direction
changed. The result was an in-depth guide for the scene, which was rigidly adhered
to.
3.2 Dope sheet
The dope sheet was a new experience. Having avoided using one in CG
animation, it suddenly became essential in the creation and planning of hand-drawn
animation. It organised the timings for actions into a clear, easily accessibly and
visual layout. The benefits were that one had a chart detailing everything that was
required in order to successfully animate. One could see where one was going and
could plan time accordingly.
Since the industry dope sheet accounted for many things that were irrelevant
to the Flambio animation, it seemed sensible to use a custom made dope sheet, on
which more information could be stored on the timing of the action. Since the pace of
Flambio exceeded that of a human, an initial rough dope sheet recorded the timings
from the video, which were carefully considered in the formation of a second dope
sheet, drawn up to store the timings used in the actual animation. The most detailed
dope sheet was made of the opening scene where Flambio discards his mail and in the
writer’s opinion the scene benefited enormously from this approach. It stands in stark
comparison to the last scene, which was made without a video or a dope sheet and
fails abysmally. See Appendix for dope sheets.
3.3 Key Poses
The next stage became to identify the key poses and draw them.
The key drawings convey the story. It is vital that these drawings work.
Richard Williams recalls an incident where he was watching Frank Thomas spend
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ages drawing a cat, then he realised that the drawing was Frank’s key (2000, p.60).
Similarly, the key drawings in the Flambio project, were also the most time
consuming. Often huge scraps of waste paper were churned out before a suitable
drawing was produced. The main reason for discarding a drawing was that it didn’t
have enough impact. Exaggeration became the watchword. However exaggeration
involved taking a leap of faith and drawing something that seemed outrageous to the
rational mind. This accounted for all the waste. With hindsight all the keys could do
with exaggeration by another 100%, particularly those in the two takes.
3.4 Plotting the arc of Movement.
Having completed all the keys, the next task became to take two consecutive
keys and plot a path of motion between them.
Tony White offers would-be animators the following fundamental piece of
advice:
Remember that everything that moves in life moves in arcs (1986, p.38).
In Figure 2 he demonstrates how even a turn head incorporates a slight downward
movement, to prevent the features from appearing to slide across the face.
Figure2: Correctly animated head turn
incorporating an arc (1986, p.38).
Richard Williams offers similar advice recounting how one day an animator
was having trouble animating a horse. When he joined up the eyes, the problem
became clear. The horse should have been moving in smooth arcs (Figure 3).
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Figure 3. The motion path of the horse. The correct path of the horse moves in arcs
(2000, p.90)
It was therefore necessary to ensure that all Flambio's movements travelled in arcs.
This actually became a fundamental part of the animating process. After
plotting the two key poses, the next task was to create a rough arc of movement
running between the two keys. This was plotted on a separate sheet of paper before
any of the spacing had been worked out and then acted as a guideline. The spacing
was then worked out along the arc. Figures 4 and 5, show arcs that were created to
describe the motion of the hands and the leap from the bath.
Figure4
Figure 5
The arc of movement was plotted to describe the intended motion of the hands and
body.
3.5 Spacing the motion
Once the arc of movement was completed it became necessary to work out the
spacing and number of inbetweens and plot these at points along the arc. The arc and
the spacings formed a template for the subsequent drawings and although the template
was on a separate sheet of paper, the method loosely resembled a much older way of
animating which Richard Williams (2000, p.46) describes seeing in the work of Grim
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Natwick. Figure 6 demonstrates Grim’s work. He not only draws the arc of movement
but also plots in the spacing. Figure 7 shows the arc for Flambio’s hand movement
and the spacing.
Figure6: The work of Grim Natwick showing
Figure 7: A drawing from the
spacing worked out along the arc of motion
Flambio animation showing
(Williams, 2000, p.46)
spacing worked out along
the arc of motion.
The biggest mistake made during the early part of this project, was to divide
all the spacing up equally. If one returns to Figure 6, one can see that Grim slows in
and out at each extreme. The tighter the spacing, the more cushioned the movement
and the loser the spacing the more speed and/or impact the movement will have. The
opening scene in Sir Flambio Foplin, is marred by the fact that everything seems to
flow at the same speed. However the lesson was learnt. By the time I came to the
‘takes’, I was planning for impact, slowing out and hitting the overshoot with more
force, though this could have been greatly intensified.
3.6 Inbetween
Grim Natwick declared ‘bad inbetweens will kill the finest animation’ (cited
Williams, 2000, p.52). The majority of the work and time in this project was spent on
the inbetweens. It was a very difficult skill to learn. The inbetweens had to progress
by just the right amount and often it was hard dividing the movement into the
respective number of steps. Even when the spacing had been religiously plotted, the
task was still a difficult one. Th e greatest personal hurdle was learning to draw the
character from slightly altering angles; to envisage Flambio in 3D. Where possible the
solution was to retrace the previous key but reposition this according to the spacing
chart. This helped greatly and also had the added advantage of guarding against over-
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animation. It was one of the hardest skills I had to master and has brought into sharp
relief my abilities as an animator. However the animation seemed to flow reasonable
well without any obvious staccato effects.
3.7 Camera
Figure 8 shows the proper equipment used in the filming of animation.
Figure 8: Animation Stand and Camera
(Butterworth & da Silva, 1979, p.57)
Raul da Silva explains that one can also use a normal camera on a tripod but this is
infinitely more stable and professional (Butterworth & da Silva, 1979, p.55).
With regards to the Flambio project, the choice lay between a camera on a
tripod or a scanner. Both had advantages and disadvantages. The scanner was bound
to produce images of better quality since it was so much closer and of a higher
resolution, however the camera would be less likely to reveal pencil smudges
accumulated over time. However both might be susceptible to slight movement. The
choice was made to use the scanner since constant quick testing had resulted in much
use of this piece of equipment. However the result of scanning a larger sized piece of
paper resulted in images that were slightly off centre, creating a lot of problems when
one came to edit the shots. The most obvious casualties are the close-ups. These could
also have benefited from appearing slightly larger on the screen.
15
3.8 Editing
Once scanned the images were imported into Premier Pro and the animation
compiled. Most of the images had to have the background added in and while this was
a relatively simple operation, the result was not entirely satisfactory. A small section
of the bath, the rim, was present in all the animated images. It would have been a
much better idea to have used the rim from the background image, since the animated
rim moved manically due to scanning inconsistencies, with the result that the top of
the bath shimmered and wobbled. This mistake was remedied in the worst cases,
particularly the shots at the end of the film after the characters departure, as the lack
of action rendered the wobbling painfully obvious.
The scanner chose the most inappropriate time to start mal-functioning with
the result that images continually came out discoloured and had to be rescued with
layers copied from previous drawings.
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4. Practical Aspects
4.1 The Light box
The light box was to become an indispensable piece of equipment and with
hindsight I would never attempt an animation without it, however I was used to
curling up in a corner with a sketchbook on my lap and on first encounter, the
formality of sitting at the light box filled me with dread. The vertical orientation of the
board was totally at odds with my normal comfortable drawing position.
Paradoxically the initial attempts to animate without the light box, only served
to highlight the reasons for using one. The initial piece of animation was just a means
of testing the water and not part of the project. It consisted of Flambio holding a gown
in front of him and pulling it up under his chin, as mentioned previously. The
animation was incredibly simple, consisting of three frames; two keys. The three
drawings can be seen in Figure 9. The character did not move his feet and in order for
him to appear in exactly the same position, it was necessary to animate the next key in
exactly the same position on the paper. This necessitated the use of tracing paper so
that a second drawing could be made while the previous drawing could be clearly
seen underneath. In actual fact I had blundered upon the correct method of animating
except that using the light box would have made it ten times easier. Many problems
arose from the tracing paper moving about and parts of the previous drawing not
showing through clearly. The result was reasonable but there was obvious movement
where there wasn’t supposed to be.
The light box was the practical solution. As Tony White explains, ‘most
animation work is concerned with slight changes of movement from drawing to
drawing. It is therefore necessary to see 2 or more drawings in relation to each other
at the same time’ (1986, p.20).
The light ensured that one could view four of five images simultaneously
which was a major asset to the animation and the pegs prevented the paper moving
about.
17
Figure 9: These three frames comprised a preliminary test made without the light
box. It only served to highlight the impracticalities of not using one.
4.2 Top and Bottom Pegs
The light box, had a peg bar at the top and the bottom, providing the option of
attaching paper at either end. Although it was not a huge problem it seemed sensible
to seek from reference books as to which method of working was considered most
helpful. Richard Williams recounted numerous anecdotes and arguments between
animators, while advocating that one made a decision based on personal preference.
Tony White had more practical advice:
There is no correct position and all animators have their own
preferences. In my opinion it is better to have top pegs, because bottom
pegs tend to get in the way of the animators hand while drawing. The only
time I would use bottom pegs is when the animation is near the top of the
screen so top pegs would tend to be a handicap while drawing (1986,
p.19).
As the light box was in an up right position gravity and comfort dictated that the top
pegs were used.
4.3 Animating in Blue pencil
One of the techniques that had been suggested was using a blue pencil for
roughly plotting in shapes, since the blue wouldn’t show up under the camera. This
was a recognised procedure in the industry. However this idea was rejected, firstly
because it would have shown up under the scanner and secondly because of personal
preference.
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5. Animation Techniques
5.1 Ways to Animate
There are three methods for creating animation as outlined by Richard Williams in
his book ‘The Animators Survival Kit’ (2000, p.63). Each method has advantages and
disadvantages.

Straight Ahead.
This begins with the fist key pose and moves progressively through the scene.
The advantages are that it lends itself to ‘improvisation, vitality, creativity and
spontaneity’(2000, p.63). The disadvantage is the animation might meander
and miss the point and there is general disorganisation with regards to time
planning.

Pose to Pose
This process involves initially drawing all the keys, then plotting the extremes,
the breakdown position and finally the inbetweens. This method is more
disciplined. One moves from Key A to B to C and seldom wanders from the
path. It may lack the spontaneity of the first method but it does not risk
rambling animation that evolves into a long drawn out trek around the world.
However as Richard Williams explains the animation may end up ‘choppy or
rubbery’(2000, p.63).

Combination
This is the recommended approach. One should create the keys first and then
use them as a guide, while one fills in the animation using the straight-ahead
method.
Obviously there is no right or wrong method, it is entirely down to personal
preference and situation. The writer has always animated using the first method,
since the animation gains a spontaneity and life, but while the immediacy of CG
can support such an approach, a much more disciplined structure is needed when
approaching hand drawn animation to avoid costly errors. Considering the two
factors of limited experience and the time limit imposed on the project, the
decision was made to adopt the Pose to Pose method as it gave one absolute
control over the animation and allowed one to plan accordingly.
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5.2 Single frames and double frames.
This is a subject of some contention between animators. Richard Williams
recalls how ‘a lot of great animators say that twos are really better than ones, that
ones lead to a mushy result, that broad fast actions on twos sparkle and adding ones
diminishes the vitality’ however it his own belief that ‘if you plan for ones the result
is usually superior to twos’(2000, p.79).
The general consensus appears to be that most things can be animated
competently on twos but faster action requires ones. Williams concludes that the best
method to use is ‘a combination of twos and ones. Normal action on twos, fast or very
smooth actions on ones’ (2000, p.79).
This was the method deployed in the Flambio animation. Time necessitated
economical working so normal action was animated on twos while the leap and the
fast takes were animated on ones.
5.3 Timing Problems
Richard Williams confidently asserts that the major beginners mistake is
‘Doing too much action in too short a space of time’ (2000, p.99). Flambio Foplin
shows many instances of this mistake. In fact most of the flaws in the animation, stem
from trying to cut corners and guess the timing.
With hindsight I realise that I was misled by the sheer volume of work into
thinking I had animated much more than I had. Therefore any animation that wasn’t
carefully timed, generally wizzed by. The first instance of this error was in the
animation of the bubbles. The idea was for the bubbles to spiral upwards but in reality
they shot around like little rockets. Fortunately this problem wasn’t hard to correct.
The bubbles were erased and re-positioned in much closer proximity to the bubble in
the preceding frame.
Flambio’s facial features in the opening scene have also caused some concern.
They are simply too busy, though poor tracing may have contributed.
The animation of the splash in the final scene where Flambio leaps from his
bath, afforded the same problem but this will be dealt with in the water section.
In complete contrast, the leap motion was far too slow. Again the timing had not been
measured and the mistake was to underestimate how fast the character should move.
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There was no feeling of acceleration or weight and the character appeared to drift
airily off screen. The solution was to take out some of the keys but the result was still
bland, leading one to suspect that there was more at fault here than just the timing.
It was a difficult scene and one that was reanimated several times. The first
attempt was marred by over animation. There were two keys, an initial key depicting
Flambio in mid-leap and a second key depicting him extending forwards but the
timing was too fast for such a drastic transition Figure 10. The decision was made to
remove the second key and retrace Flambio in various positions moving across the
paper. This produced the opposite extreme, too little animation. However this was
never corrected.
Figure 10: The two keys initially used in the
Leap sequence.
5.4 Overcrowded animation
In certain scenes there was simply too much animation. Why was this so? As
with the timing problem, the sheer volume of work was very misleading and as one
worked through pages where a single hand moved a fraction across the page, the
understandable reaction was to mistakenly believe that the scene needed a lot more
happening or else the audience would die of boredom. In reality the hand flashes
across the screen and so do all the other bits and bobs, with the result that the poor
viewer does not know where to look. The opening scene where Flambio discards his
letters, was the first to be animated and shows the greatest evidence of this flaw. Tutor
Claudia Moore has advised that I should have waited for the letter to almost settle
before bringing the toe into the scene, as a result there are two many strands of action
all happening simultaneously. Bubbles, letter, character, facial expression, toe. Poor
21
viewer! It was a good lesson to learn. Richard Williams advises ‘Do one thing at a
time and be crystal clear’(2000, p.316) and this was reinforced by many of the
animations that were viewed. ‘Geraldine’ (2000), makes particular use of still images.
In a scene with two or more characters, it is not uncommon for only one character to
be moving at any one time and generally the movement is restricted to one small area
of interest e.g. the mouth. In ‘Intolerance’ (2000), there is a similar focus on the
mouth, which is accompanied by occasionally blinking eyes and in ‘Father and
Daughter’ (2000), the movement is again quite minimal. The feet are animated
peddling the bicycle but there is very little animation in the body or the clothes.
In short, movement attracts attention and as the films all show, it can be a very good
tool with which to manipulate the viewers’ attention. This lesson was learnt the hard
way.
5.5 Anticipation
Cartoons tell a story and therefore ‘every move, manner & gesture (has to be)
crystal clear’ (Butterworth & da Silva, 1979, p.33) in order to convey the narrative to
the viewer. Therefore it is very important for the animator to direct attention towards
the right area of the screen so that valuable information is not missed. This is done via
anticipation, which is possibly the most essential component of animation. John Halas
writes:
One of the tricks, which an animator has to learn, is how to attract
the attention of the audience to the right part of the screen at the right
moment. This is of great importance to prevent the audience missing some
vital action and so the thread of the story. If there are a number of static
objects on the screen with attention divided equally among them and
suddenly one of the objects moves, all eyes go to the moving object about
1/5 second later. Movement is in effect a signal to attract attention. If
therefore a preliminary movement is made before the main movement,
such as drawing back the foot before a kick, the attention of the audience
can be attracted to the foot. This ensures that they will see the kick when it
comes. (Halas & Whitiker, 1981, p.58)
Almost every movement has anticipation and the anticipation is always in the
opposite direction to the subsequent action. If someone looks up, they look down first.
Thus when Flambio is startled on discovering the letter he leans backwards before
flinging himself forwards and on reading the contents of the letter, he momentarily
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leans forward before going back. With hindsight I cannot imagine animating without
anticipation but prior to this project I had very limited experience of this technique
and certainly would not have imagined that so many actions warranted such
treatment. It was a particular aim of this project to develop this skill, hence I took the
opportunity to animate two separate ‘takes’ as discussed in the following section.
5.6 The Take
Tony White describes the take as ‘one of the most powerful ways to register
surprise in a character’. It is an ‘exaggerated reaction to an event ‘ (1986, p.106)
Figure 11 depicts the various stages involved in the take. The process starts in the
normal position before shrinking to a preparatory gesture, the Squash. From here it
moves into the overshoot gesture, or Stretch, before settling back at the normal
position.
Figure 11: The stages involved in the Take (Halas &
Whitiker, 1981, p.76).
A take usually lasts about 14-16 frames and follows quite rigid timing.
Whitiker places the squash on frame 5 and the stretch on 9. Richard Williams (2000,
p. 286) also positions his squash on 5 but his stretch occurs on 8, before coming to
rest on 16, as demonstrated by Figure 12. In most of his examples he animates the
slower anticipation on twos and the fast action on ones.
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Figure 12: Richard Williams’ example of a take
(2000, p. 286)
The amount of squash and stretch one uses depends on the nature of the
character. Williams explains that when dealing with a ‘flesh and bone anatomical
character there should be little visible squash & stretch otherwise the character will
look rubber and unreal.’ (2000, p. 109). In animating Flambio it seemed appropriate
to use some squash and stretch since the character was comparatively cartoonish.
Flambio’s reaction to the letter provided the action for the first take. In this
instance animation occurred before an in-depth study had been made on the topic and
as a result, the work differed in numerous ways from the examples of Whitiker and
Williams. Figure 13 highlights the stages of this take. From the normal position,
Flambio leans back in a stretch and then flips forward abruptly back into the normal
position. Quite by chance I had stumbled upon Williams timing, using twos to
animate the slow anticipation and ones to catapult Flambio forward. For a first
attempt it was competent. There was a small amount of stretch in Flambio’s arms at
the extreme, however the animation could have benefited from a squash at the
beginning, which was something I set out to remedy in the subsequent attempt.
Figure 13: The stages of the first take
.
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Flambio’s reaction to the contents of the letter initiates the second take. It was
a closer shot and therefore provided the additional challenge of animating the facial
features. These were to form part of the squash and stretch as demonstrated by the
work of Williams and Whitiker. Figure 14 demonstrates the stages of this take. From
his normal position, Flambio shrinks closer to the paper and his expression condenses
slightly, he then springs upwards into the overshoot gesture; neck and shoulders
stretched and expression elongated before returning to the normal position. The
timing again followed Williams’s example with the anticipation occurring on twos,
the action on ones before coming to rest again on twos. It was far from perfect but
showed signs of progress. With hindsight the squash could have been much more
dramatic.
Figure 14: the stages of the second take.
5.7 Overlapping animation.
Overlapping animation describes the process whereby different parts of the
body come to a halt at different times owing to the transmission of force through the
various joints in the body. The extremities, the hands and feet, are often the last to
start moving as forces are filtered first through the shoulders or hips and then through
the elbows or knees. The same technique applies to hair, clothing and regions of
excess body fat.
The animation suffered because there was not a detailed exploration of this
technique. The tendency in the opening scene was for the hands and head to all move
in unison, despite the video research clearly showing the head leading. This was
sloppy animation.
However the head stops before the hand reaches the backward extreme and the
hand begins moving forwards before the head comes up. In addition the hand lags
behind the movement of the arm as shown from the sequence of drawings in Figure
15..
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Figure 15: The images show the arm swinging forwards and the hand trailing.
5.8 Animating the character
Character animation is the ultimate achievement of animation art.
Characterisation in animation is concerned not so much with what the
characters do, as how they do it. (Halas & Whitiker, 1981, p.118)
It is reassuring to discover that even professional animators shy away from
character animation. Richard Williams recounts how:
Frank Thomas, master of animating empathy and pathos always
criticised me for spending too much time on spectacular surrounding
animation and not enough of going straight for the emotional centre.
Part of the reason was that we weren’t good enough at it so we’d work on
the ‘world of the piece’ and leave the ‘Hamlet’ stuff till last – but franks
criticism is valid (2000, p.317).
In order to convey the character of Flambio, it was necessary to consider what
made him unique. Tony White lists these elements as ‘size, weight, personality,
speed, psychology and physical well-being’ (1986, p.57).
Flambio is slight, light and bendy like a little reed. His body language is dainty
and befitting of his era. In terms of Laban, Flambio’s movements could be described
as a mixture of flicking and gliding. He is quick, excitable, prim and snooty yet easily
startled. This latter quality was conveyed by the use of two ‘takes’, which had the
added advantage of allowing repeated practise at this particular technique and was
further reinforced through the rapid animation of him falling over backwards in
shock, a peculiar mix of chaotic daintiness. In the opening scene where he discards
his mail, a lot of attention was given to elegant hand gestures with slight flourishes
and the dainty descension of the letter was intended to mirror Flambio’s physicality.
This was combined with aloof positioning of the head and a dainty toe wiggle to
suggest his thorough enjoyment of the mornings pampering session. Attempts were
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made to keep the action light and swift and upbeat. In comparison to a heavier object,
Flambio was not so restricted by gravity. He could make sudden fast movements and
come to rest abruptly.
The characterisation could have been a lot clearer and stronger and would
have benefited from exaggerating the ‘takes’ even more, however it does go someway
to conveying the impression of a dainty, rather posh little chap who is rather inept at
dealing with stressful situations.
5.9 Tracebacks
Tony White draws attention to the irritating problem of seeing ‘parts of the
animation suddenly freeze, while other parts of the scene are freely animated’. He
attributes this freezing to the fact that ‘a held drawing is used’ and his solution is that
instead of placing the static portions of the drawing on a held cel, it should be
retraced. He explains that ‘when filmed the tracebacks have life, which the held
drawing does not’ (1986, p.38).
The Flambio animation created a similar problem. In the interests of time and
practicality the background, Flambio’s bath, was edited in afterwards. However using
one frame for the entire sequence resulted in severe discrepancies. The rest of the
scene flickered with a sketchy quality while the background appeared frozen. There
was a similar problem in the sequence disclosing the contents of the letter. Since it
was important for the viewer to be able to read the letter, it seemed wise to refrain
from tracing the message in to every drawing, in case the letters should flicker and
compromise the legibility. However the result of editing the letter in afterwards was
that it remained peculiarly frozen on a flickering sheet of paper, whose movement
distracted the viewer anyway. It was decided to trace the message in to every drawing
to see if Tony White was right. It worked much better. The letters remained legible
but had a life of their own.
The majority of the sequences of animation had a small static section at the
beginning and end, like bookends, so that the action would not be to quick for the
human brain. As far as time permitted, these stills were retraced. The result was far
improved in comparison to the ‘bookends’ that were left as static holds.
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5.10 Animating the Letter
Experimentation was required to see how a letter dropped. The conclusion was
that letters are actually quite heavy and fall abruptly, while a single sheet of paper
drifts slowly and randomly to the floor. Regardless of weight, both objects rotated in
the air, as Halas explains:
Most objects have a tendency to rotate when flying through the air, the object
is then drawn pivoting by a fixed amount about the successive positions of the centre
of gravity along the parabola’ (1981, p.38).
However what was particularly interesting about the fall of the single sheet
was that occasionally an up current of air would lift it higher for a moment and as a
result it seemed to fall in stages, each swoop getting lower to the ground. This proved
far more interesting to watch, more of a challenge to animate and more importantly it
echoed the dainty characteristics of Flambio and his surroundings. However, it was
decided that the letter should fall in neat symmetrical swoops as this would not unduly
distract the viewer from the main action and this same principle was applied to the
bubbles, which twirl upwards in neat symmetrical curves.
The process of animating both the bubbles and letter was greatly aided by
creating a set of motion paths on a separate sheet of paper, which could the act as a
guide. Figure 16 shows the motion paths of bubbles and the falling letter.
Figure 16: Plotted motion paths for the bubbles (brown,
red, blue and black) and the letters (green)
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5.11 Water Animation
Water animation was a new and scary prospect. It had the potential to go very
wrong and ruin the entire scene. Halas explains that in achieving ‘realistic liquidity’
the ‘timing for animation of water is quite critical… If timed too slowly it looks oily
or even treacly, whilst if timed too quickly it may fizz in an unliquid way (1981,
p.89).
The animation of the water would have proved extremely time consuming
especially if one had to create waves and ripples every time Flambio moved in the
bath and this dilemma was cunningly avoided by topping the bath with a hefty wad of
bubbles and suds. However the splash resulting from Flambio’s sudden leap from the
tub, could not be avoided.
The first task was to study how water behaved in some detail. As water moves
too fast for the eye, a few splashes were filmed, which could then be viewed frame by
frame. The result was in keeping with Halas’ depiction:
It starts as a mass of water, which spreads out into irregular sheets,
held together by surface tension. As it spreads out even further, the
surface tension breaks down and the sheets disintegrate quite suddenly
into drops, which continue outwards individually. Each little droplet
making up the mass of the water proceeds on its own trajectory or
parabola regardless of what happens to any other part of the splash(1981,
p.89).
Figure17shows two images from the animation demonstrating the two depictions of
water above.
Figure 17: The pictures demonstrate the technique I was using to animate the splash
in accordance with Halas depiction. There is an initial wave of water, which breaks
into droplets as the surface tension breaks down.
The leap sequence was not successful and the water was possibly one of its
redeeming features. A highlight was the animation of a few ripples in the empty tub at
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the end as the water settles. However although the water did not resemble treacle it
could have benefited from being much slower. Once again I was misled by the
volume of work into thinking that I had animated more time than I actually had, with
the result that my animation flashed by. This would be one of the most fundamental
lessons that one could carry into any further experimentation within this field.
5.12 Bubble Animation
It was suggested that the bubbles in the bathtub were looped to save time in
animation. With hindsight the flaw in this idea should have been obvious. The result
was that the bath water appeared to be heaving and the only solution was to return to
the light box and animate every single frame with new motion.
5.13 The use of Stills
Two sequences contained stills. The first sequence was opening the letter and
the second was the panic scene. The second scene did resemble animation due to the
speed with which it was edited but it merely a string of key poses. Extensive study of
animations, particularly ‘Geraldine’ (2000), had enlightened me to the fact that stills
can work best in creating the desired effect. The disjointed chaos of the panic scene
was nicely conveyed by the succession of predominantly non-sequential images.
5.14 Line Flickering
A lot of animators proceed beyond the simple animation of shapes and
incorporate the animations of lines, colour and shadows. This technique is carefully
deployed to create a certain sensation in keeping with the nature of the piece. In a
‘Girls Night Out’, the animation of the shadows beautifully captures the impression of
the husband watching television in the dark, the light flickering as the image changes.
In contrast the flickering in the pub scene, serves to suggest movement and bustle
everywhere even when the characters are still. This same principle is explored in
‘Crac!’(1981), where the animation of colour creates a spectacular cacophony of
chaos and fluidity during the barn dance and adds to the overall impression of the ever
changing, ever merging nature of time.
There was a great deal of line flickering in the Flambio animation owing to the
lack of a clean up and the slight discrepancies in the scanning process. Although
30
initially mortified I came to like the result. It had a fresh sketchy quality and seemed
so much more alive. More importantly, the setting for the scene was the bathroom and
the evidence of steam would cause shapes to appear to shift. While the animation of
shadows and colours would have created a stronger sensation of steam, the I am glad
that I stumbled upon this problem as it has opened my eyes to different ways of
animating and forced me to look outside the ‘Disney’ box.
5.15 Quality of the line
The decision to animate in pencil created a great deal of problems and
possibilities. Unlike the ink pen, a pencil granted greater versatility with regards to
line quality. Lines could be very heavy and dark or very faint. The darker lines would
attract the viewers’ attention, while the lighter lines would detract attention. In theory
one could manipulate the viewers attention towards the areas one wished, similar to
the use of a moving object interposed among static objects. This technique was
deployed with varying degrees of success.
The initial worry when viewing the opening scenes was that the constant fierce
bubbling in the tub was distracting the viewer from the primary animation of the
character. However it seemed a shame to dispense with the bubbles, as the idea of the
tub resembling a C17th Jacuzzi was quite a jolly and upbeat image. The solution was
to lighten the bubbles . The result was far less intrusive and the bubbles merged into
the background.
However the choice of medium created many problems and not all have been
effectively eradicated due to lack of time. It has been impossible to work with a
continuous pressure and some images are darker than others, ruining the continuity of
the piece to a certain degree. Sometimes one particular feature has accidentally been
made darker, with the result that on sporadic frames our attention is drawn to some
random part of the scene. Again the result is disharmonious. Other images have been
too light and almost disappeared off of the paper. These required lengthy retracing,
since editing in Photoshop would have distinguished the image from its peers in
appearance.
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6. Conclusion
6.1 Regrets
There were many sections within the piece that could not be animated owing
to a lack of time. This particularly affected the secondary animation, which was not
explored to its full potential. Ideally the curtain should move when Flambio leaps out
of the bath and the letter in his hand should move when he ‘takes’ and flaps it about.
It was never proposed but it would have been an interesting experience to undertake
the cleanup and inking process, possibly using acetate so that some experience with
colouring cels could be gained. The piece works fine in pencil and there are no regrets
about using this medium but it would have been interesting to see how it looked when
coloured in.
The other regret was that one of the avenues of exploration had to be
sacrificed, though not before careful consideration as to its relevance. In the brief it
had been proposed that there would be experimentation with practical methods of
producing the animation, using a scanner and digital camera. When I first approached
the project everything was extremely mysterious and unfathomable but as I gained
experience scanning and collating the animations, it became obvious that the whole
process of using the digital camera would not qualify as an innovation any more. I
knew how to implement the process and I knew what to expect from the outcome.
Furthermore, the project was fundamentally about actually mastering the hand drawn
technique and since time was running out I sought advice from my tutor Chris Sams
as to whether this should be prioritised over the more redundant experimentation with
the camera. He agreed.
6.2 The question - 2D vs. 3D?
2D is very much harder and more time consuming and if one doesn’t plan ones
animation diligently, there is very little chance of anything working. With 3D, the
results are immediate and one can effectively dispense with all the planning and still
manage to produce something reasonable, though this method of working is not
advisable.
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However, with hindsight I realise that I prefer 2D animation. I have a long
way to go and possibly will never have the opportunity to explore it again but the
animation I produced felt so much more alive and subtle. With 3D, one puts a
character in one pose and then in another pose and the transition is at the mercy of the
computers calculations. With the 2D method I was able to exercise so much more
control over the result. It was easier to convey the subtle aspects of personality and
expression and taught me the benefits of careful timing, particularly in the ‘takes’. I
wont be using the computer as a crutch any more.
6.3 Conclusion
I was not expecting perfection. I was not expecting to produce a piece of
finished and polished super animation. The project was always going to be work in
progress, with areas that could be improved and added to. The fundamental aim, as
outlined in the introduction, was to gain a deeper understanding of the animation
techniques and rules, which I had hitherto remained oblivious to. Prior to this project I
did not have a technique by which I animated and I was floundering haphazardly at
the computer, sometimes producing animation that seemed to work through sheer luck
and sometimes producing animation that looked absolutely dreadful. This project has
forced me to understand and master some of the skills that will form the foundations
for future animations. It was a learning curve. I struggled with a new technique and
forced myself to animate according to a set of rules in an unfamiliar way.
However it was also my aim to produce a piece, which did have elements that
worked and could be exhibited as a piece with potential, demonstrating some
successful applications of the things I had learnt. In this I feel I have been successful.
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7. References
BOOKS
BUTTERWORTH S. & DA SILVA R., 1979. The World of Animation. New York:
Eastman Kodak Company.
CULHANE S., 1988. Animation: From Script to Screen. New York: St Martins
Press.
HALAS J. & WHTIKER H., 1981. Timing for Animation. London: Focal Press.
WILLIAMS R., 2001. The Animators Survival Guide. London: Faber & Faber Ltd.
WHITE T., 1986. The Animators Workbook. London: Phaidon Press Ltd.
FILMS
Annecy 2001 Awards, 2001. Video. France
La Morve, 2001. ArnauldPoitevin, Pierre Santamaria, Eddie Mehong Shit Li,
Claire Lee.
Comics Trip, 2000. Christophe Barnouin, Natalie Bonnin, Luc Degarrdin.
France: SUPINFOCOM
Geraldine, 2000. Arthur de Pins. France: Arthur de Pins
AP200, 2000. Loic Bail, Aurelien Delpoux, Sebastien Ebzant, Benjamin
Lauwick. France: SUPINFOCOM
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Hasta los Huesos, 2001. Renee Castillo. Mexico: Calavera Films
Moya zhizn/Its my life, 2000. Natalie Berezovaya. Russia: Argus
International.
Intolerance, 2000. Phil Mulloy. Great Britain: Spectre Films
Father and Daughter, 2000. Michael Dudok de Wit Pays-Bas. Great Britain:
Cinete Filmproduktie/Cloudrunner Ltd.
Annecy Awards 1990, 1990. Video. France
Tango, Zbigniew Rybczynski Grand Prix Annecy 1981
Crac!, Frederic Back Special Jury Award Annecy 1981
Dimensions of Dialogue, Jan Svankmajer Grand Prix Annecy 1983
A Greek Tragedy, Nicole Van Goethem Grand Prix Annecy 1985
Ropedance, Raimund Krumme Special Jury Award Annecy 1987
Smatchkan sviat/ A Crushed World, Boyoko Kanev Grand Prix Annecy 1987
The Hill Farm, Mark Baker Grand Prix Annecy 1989
Animation on 4 Volume 1, Video. Connoisseur Video
Next, 1989. Barry Purves.
Feet of Song, 1980. Erica Russell.
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The Victor, 1985. Derek Hayes, Phil Austen.
Girls Night Out, Joe
Destiny, 1980. David Anderson.
Black Dog, 1987. Alison de Vern.
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8. Acknowledgements
Many thanks to:
My tutor Claudia Moore for her unstinting support and inspiration.,
Chris Sams for his help and advice,
Tim for his superb music composition
My housemates and poor downtrodden boyfriend Sander.
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9. Appendix
38