Animation Analysis; Laika Studios!

Laika Studios have made themselves extremely well-known with their blockbuster smash hits "Kubo and the Two Strings", "Coraline", and "Paranorman", among a few others. With this expertly crafted, expressive and imaginative claymation, it leaves you guessing; "How do they do it?" Well, in this Blogscape Smackdown, we will explore the animation processes, along with the work and soul poured into these films, with the aid of Jason Hellerman and his blog; "How Laika Studios Animates Their Movies" from nofilmschool.com.

The writer and director of their newest movie "Missing Link", Chris Butler, gives us a premium inside look into the massive creative outlets explored, the techniques, trials, and tribulations that are championed throughout the studio's processes. From our first source; YT channel Insider, titled "How Stop-Motion Movies Are Animated At The Studio Behind 'Missing Link' ". The video delves deep into the sheer amount of love given to every frame of their movies, showcasing time-lapses behind the scenes, impressive rigging machinery, and setups, and huge, wildly elaborate scenery to drive it all home. We discover the characters are in fact puppets, with replaceable faces in order to express a range of emotions. The main character, Link, has proven himself to be extremely difficult to animate, taking a year just to plan out his rig and puppetry, due to his shape- an avocado man with no neck. The design aspect of Link was tricky, too, as it seems, since he's covered almost entirely in hair. The team decided to settle with the same style hair as the other characters, so each bit of hair is delicately handcrafted, painted and cast onto the puppet. We see that for more complicated characters and animation, they have rigs of glorious proportions, often just to support the weight of the character. As shown by the Skeleton in "Kubo," the character proportions often translate into real life, with the skeleton having to be split into two pieces, and seeing it alone in motion is breathtaking. The attention to detail these animators, designers, and riggers put into these characters, scenes and stories leave us baffled; starstruck with the immense undertaking of creativity this studio puts forth. The team ran into a few problems with a scene involving jumping across a collapsing ice bridge. Chris explains that even with the impressive rigs, the scene alone took a year to plan out and shoot. He goes on to describe how when he was writing the scene, he was quite hesitant about the concept alone, even if it was crucial to the story just in concern to the amount of work it would take to pull off. But guess what? They did it anyway. Something else they're not afraid to do is mixing CG into the workflow. The underwater scenes shot for "Missing Link" required delicate planning in what I think was Maya, and the scenes still remained as remarkable as ever, even though they had to switch mediums here and there. This display of affection for the artistic mediums Laika utilizes proves that they are here to stay, and they have a lot in store for them. Laika Studios know dedication is required for these types of things, and they're ready, willing, and able to run the gauntlet for the star-striking effects and scenes that leave impressions on us for years to come.

In a special interview with Chris Butler, we dive deeper into the creative endeavors promoted here. He taps on how the medium of Animation as a whole, specifically in filmmaking, allows for creativity to shine through and for stories to be told that a regular live-action film couldn't dare to try, mostly due to the boundaries reality often sets forth. When we are able to break those boundaries while staying tethered to the core aspects, amazing work can definitely be produced. Laika is absolutely no novice when it comes to telling these stories. Chris expresses that even though they're making stop motion movies, they have very similar setups to L-A Hollywood movies; Lights, Cameras, Sets, etc. The only difference is that the actors are miniature puppets (often ranging from 16 inches tall to 9 or lower). He says it's more or less Live-Action on a smaller scale. The acting portrayed by the puppet characters in tandem with the VA's paints this picture clearly. Had you the chance to tour Laika Studios, Chris tells us its comparable to walking through Santa's workshop; the magical experiences unlike no other-- worlds colliding and branching off in beautiful ways.
His experiences working at Laika for roughly 13 years are unlike any other; he's worked with a myriad of creative individuals with wonderful different ideas, minds, and workflows that ultimately culminate into making each film unique in its own way. He's worked with both friends and colleagues, going through the artistic motions alongside these people, growing alongside these people and learning through both the failures and successes alongside these people. The strengths of a cohesive team that knows each and every one of each other's goals and aspirations proves worthy when working in such a large scale production since the heart of it all shines as brightly as each individual that contributed, which is what makes these films magnificent. When producing "Coraline", they decided to reach out all over the world, searching for the talent they needed when brewing up "Coraline' and the designs, ideas, and story. The diversity presented in the workforce at Laika often aids the process when bringing influence into the story, since everyone is able to chip in in some way. The casting experience is often a deep-dive into the written character's personality, story, goals, and aspirations. When hearing the audition of Zach Galifianakis, Chris describes the otherworldliness, vulnerability, and insecurity he found in Zach's voice when casting for Link. He immediately tied it to the inexperience the character had when considering what the world has to offer really struck a key with Chris, therefore leading to the casting of Zach.

I want to take this paragraph to explore the most influential film of the bunch Laika has produced, and, incidentally, it was my first introduction to the studio. "Coraline" presented to ~11-year-old Ari the potential I could find in artwork, animation, and imagination. The main character is relatable, the design is grim yet charming, and the pseudo-psychological-horror aspect tied it all together like a wonderful, expertly-crafted doll with button eyes. Black, pristine, shimmering button eyes. The paradigms of the characters along with the many interpretations of the story itself led to it becoming a staple for stop-motion in the animation industry as well as a notable figure in pop culture at the time. Rewatching the film is something you might like to try if you've got the time, it's a wonderful experience every time.

Laika studios is an amazing place to be; creating elaborate, astounding scenes, characters, stories, and situations like never before. They've definitely proven worthy as the champion of stop motion animation, and they aren't leaving any time soon. Trust me when I say that we will see them again with another decade-defining story like "Coraline" sometime in the future.

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Link of Interest! (pun not intended)
This week's LoI is based in art school portfolios since we run into the topic tomorrow.  This page explores a myriad of content, giving a deep-dive into each student's portfolio, their reasoning behind the structure, and gives each piece a loving touch of expertise. Take a look; you might find some inspiration for your future works.

Art in Practice; Why it Matters in Animation

So as we as artists are always told, the key to getting better is practice! Studies have shown that we as humans learn better in smaller chunks and in repetition than in big pieces once in a while. This week in Blogscape Smackdown, we analyze "Practice Art and Animation" from AnimatorIsland (Ferdinand Englander) via YT. They explain in depth the ways to better your artistic and creative endeavors and habits in order to form a solidified understanding of your subjects and media. This comes in the form of 4 simple tips.

Tip One, as they explain it, is "Be Specific" with your studies. Englander describes how bigger, more vague goals are often too hard and too far-off to reach and are just recipes for intimidation. Identify what you need to improve, and begin with the basics of that part. I, for one, still struggle with drawing necks, torsos and midsections along with mouths. Something to consider here is that this definitely takes a ton of time, but also consider that your daily "work" in animation or illustration alone will only get you so far. Practicing what you feel is a weak point will hone your creative skills to make your improvement visible. Tip Two is to do just that, whether it be by using a sketchbook or a binder to hold your work. Using loose sheets of paper may mean you could lose the visual progress that may impress yourself and others around you. This establishment of prosperity is key to creating the drive for imaginative creativity in your artwork.

Tip Three is to set a schedule and create habits. There are artistic challenges like Inktober that are meant to create healthy artistic habits without too much stress, and that's always welcome in my house. Set aside a timeslot for just art and art alone. Daily practice may seem hard to keep up, but you will never know until you try. Tip Four; along with this, you should be logging your work; what you worked on, how long, how it went. This also means you should be practicing what is hard for you, not what you've already got locked down. There is a difference between seeing things and knowing how things look when you go to draw them; taking a closer look at things in both a metaphorical and literal sense could help you build your skills further. Logging your work (or documenting it in further detail) could help you in kickstarting your drive for the next day.

Englander provides a heaping helping of details and hands us creative tools towards the end that could help you on your journey. I've come across a few of these before, and although I was a bit timid back then, they would have definitely helped me along my track. Hopefully, you can find use in these programs and sites to level up your art. This blog is quite useful as a reminder of where to aim your creative energy, so I must extend my thanks to Englander for the information.

This week's link of interest comes from Clara Lieu; an Art professor at RISD. The focus an artist must have when nearing the end of their Senior year of high school usually arrives in the form of a portfolio. Stress and anxieties rise when this time for artistic evaluation comes around, but fear not! Lieu provides us with what you should and should not include in your portfolio- providing essential tips for a better overall shot at your dream college, including a variety of content as well as professional evaluations of student portfolios. Take a look if you've got some spare time.

Pixar Magic; Lighting up your world.

This time on Blogscape Smackdown, we investigate our second TED talk of the year, hosted by Danielle Feinberg: "The magic ingredient that brings Pixar movies to life". This is a deep dive into the creative imagination of a Pixar animator who grew up wanting to take part in the artistic side of sciences and coding- realizing her potential the minute she was introduced to 3D animation. Feinberg takes a particular liking to the lighting aspect of animation due to how it can make or break a scene and often is the key factor in creating the illusion of realism in animation. Here is an analysis of her speech.

The parts of lighting in 3D animation that make the job worth it for Feinberg is the moment when all the pieces fall into place to create the vivid worlds she imagines. From a few lines and faces into a myriad of creativity, her passionate spark is lit ablaze when the scene sprouts alive. The artist in her truly never gets old of this "Wow, I helped make this" moment, and I don't blame her. She explains that lighting has many different uses; such as to tell a story, tell the time of day, tell what emotions are being conveyed in the scene, to draw the viewer's eye, to differentiate a character from a busy set, etc. There's so much creative power to lighting that remains untapped to amateur animators that often takes years to master. The sheer amount of imaginative freedom that can take place inside an animator's computer can become chaotic at times, which leads us to her next point.

Science is always a go-to for grounding unbelievable ideas and animations-- a backbone of sorts to keep things "tethered", as to not fly over the audiences' collective heads. The example Feinberg uses is "Finding Nemo", in which the studio had to do extensive research into the sciences of oceanic movement before even animating. Things such as how the light travels through the water, the invisible currents that move particulate around underneath the surface, how red and green light fade with depth-- the sciences of the ocean are used not only to convey realism but also to help establish shots, she explains, since fog beams were used to hint to the direction of "up" in shots where the surface wasn't in sight. Combining these sciences created the aquatic magic of the scenes here since the combination of invisible currents bending particulate in and out of the fog beams creates a realistic vibe that is both relatable and quirky, fitting in nicely with the story itself. Feinberg explains that tethering your creative limits won't always lead to epiphanies since they (Pixar) had to bend reality to create a believable world that the audience could immerse themselves in-- cranking up the realistic visibility of water to convey a theme, adjusting colors to fit the certain moods an area or scene has, so on. The goal of animation is to create something you and an audience can enjoy and relate to; not something hyperrealistic. We see that every day already. One of the hardships Pixar ran into while working on "Wall-E" was his binocular lenses, which were his only way of acting and conveying emotion. They realized that the way they had him set up, he always appeared glassy-eyed; a hard selling point for any audience that's looking for human qualities. They fidgeted with it forever until they created a light specifically for Wall-E that reflected off of his aperture blades, creating humanesque irises in his lenses. This, ultimately, sold him as a robot with a soul. A robot capable of human emotion. We look for human-like qualities in animation that we relate to. It's ultimately what drives animation; that search for the perfect mix of humanistic realism and fictional sciences that spark millions of forking paths in an animator's psyche. The great thing about this is they were able to utilize the glassiness of his binoculars in a later scene where they had to sell the idea of lifelessness in Wall-E. It worked extraordinarily well, and the movie benefitted greatly from the discovery of this accidental light.

There came a stage in "Finding Nemo" where the entire team struggled. This was the jellyfish scene, one based almost indefinitely on a real-world clip of South African jellyfish. The problem with this scene was that the tether Feinberg explained prior began strangling them when all they were able to focus on were the percentages and data- the sciences; rather than the arts, the beauty of what life brings. She decided to dive deep into the scene when it came time for her and ended up doing the impossible for the team. The moment, she describes, is what she lives for when it comes to her job, her animations, her lighting, and passion; the moment everything, specifically the sciences and arts weave together to give life to a scene and wow everyone in the room. The moment where a scientist also becomes an artist. The moment where you know you can't let this go.

The arts and sciences of this world are astounding to think about, especially on your own. I really enjoyed Feinberg's speech on the intermingling of these ideas. The insight she offers into only an aspect of animation alone gives us all the notion that animation of all kinds can create miraculous spectacles when put to good practice. I remember loving the movie "Coraline" growing up, and I believe it's for this reason. The combination of lighting and dark themes along with the happy-go-luckiness of claymation made for a beautiful endeavor 11-year-old me couldn't get enough of. Although claymation isn't my thing personally, the introduction to animation at a young age definitely inspired me with later projects. The tether of sciences we place on animation often is viewed as a line to cross, but we need not forget the importance of a tether. Without it, we overshoot, we lose sight; grip. We need the line to reel us back in from our flow before we get lost in it and burn out. Find that happy medium and run with it.

Composition, Depth and Power, the Triforce of Shooting Film!

This time around on Blogscape Smackdown, we analyze V Renee's take on camera movements and rules, focusing in on the rule of thirds.
 They open strong, suggesting that by utilizing the rule efficiently, it can establish dominance on screen. Renee links to a video by John Tindell, which delves more into how power can be established by roles and camera and character placement alongside the rule of thirds in both the second and third dimensions, including the background, foreground, and midground. They explain how by putting a character in the foreground, they become a focal point of a scene- more prominent and therefore more important, whether it be to the scene itself or the overall story, while framing something in the center of the frame draws our attention directly to it, providing a sense of authority that may have been otherwise lacking in the scene.
Both the video by Tindell and the blog in question by Renee explain how the rule of thirds is used in a film by splitting the screen into 9 different parts, with the intersections being the important "focal points" that indicate power or relevance to the scene. Renee indicates that being on the top row provides a heightened sense of power.
Multiple references are used, such as a scene in The Avengers in which an argument erupts over Thor's staff and the Tesseract. During the scene, each character gets a spot in one of the camera's power-points as they deliver dialogue, the scene ending with the staff holding the Tesseract stone falling on the top horizontal line, the stone falling on the top-right point of interest, making for a powerful scene that openly conveys the emotions held by the characters and displaying that Thor alone has the most power in this situation and his actions brought about the argument, to begin with.
Renee goes on to explain how not just size or staging matters here, color plays a huge part in this, as well.
The element of Contrast in a film is used to juxtapose two or more opposing ideals, and one of the ways this is done is through the use of color; Red V Blue, Monochrome V Colorful, Dark V Light, so on.
The effects of composition on a film's emotional impact are certainly there, and it's arguably one of the most crucial parts of filmmaking since an odd angle, weird colors or bad delivery can ruin a scene for someone. This is useful in animation too, of course, since camera angles combined with perspective and creativity can amount to crazy-good scenes. As usual, however, we only can get better at framing shots with practice, so go out there and knock 'em out! Even if you fowl, you still hit the ball, right?
[LOI]
Related to this topic, I found a really cool music video (half•alive - still feel.)
 that was shot entirely with only 7 cuts (there was a wardrobe change halfway through one), it was really interesting to watch the ebbs and flows of the camera, dancers and the music; I think anyone can find at least some enjoyment from this song. The song's lyrics deal with a mental illness called depersonalization- the composition of the MV along with the enchanting choreography make for a magical viewing experience. This band came out of nowhere with this song and it's become a hit, I'm excited to see what's coming next for them. Enjoy!

Appealing back the layers!

     Hey everyone! This time, we're reviewing the final principle of animation provided by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas; Appeal! This is a combination of all the previous principles and a bit more sprinkled throughout.
     Appeal is essentially what makes or breaks a character, idea, situation or story, and therefore is incredibly important in any animation. Ethan Hurd, a Disney Toon Studios animator, explains that both a bunch of bunnies and the Joker are appealing although they're on opposing sides of "subject matter." Hurd states that appeal has nothing to do with subject matter; you can make anything work if executed in an enjoyable and cohesive manner. Hurd continues, comparing a real-life shot of a bouncing ball to a 2d animated one, showing how making believable animation is appealing, even if it means reaching a bit further with making it such; employing squash and stretch along with other distortion-type principles to give the illusion of life.
      Two more examples come in the form of exaggeration, in which Hulk uses a whole 3 frames to punch someone out of the shot, and when Thumper stops mid-motion to reconsider an action he's taking. Sometimes, breaking the rules of "believable animation" is wholly necessary to create appeal, as shown with these two examples. He then goes on to explain how Appeal is broken into two parts; Order and Interest. The prior being the pattern or logic applied to your movement, with the latter being a creative decision used to keep the audience invested in your work. Hurd uses an example of two different drawings of Iron Man doing the same action, just in a different pose, to illustrate this. The flatter, less polished one beat out the first due to how the pose is clear and supports the main action, regardless of proportionate dismay.
     The final examples given are a comparison of what simplicity can do for an animation; comparing two shots from "Duck Dodgers", one remade later, and comparing a dynamic scene from "All Dogs Go to Heaven" to one from "Cinderella" in which the same action is taking place. These help to show us what appeal means and how it can be manipulated to our design.
    In my honest opinion, I love this one. It gives us a set of rules to utilize or break to create what our minds have wished for a long time. Character creation is one of my favorite things, even though I can only make up main characters as of now, and creating an appealing character is challenging as heck. The trouble I fall into during ideation sprouts mainly from how tough it is for me to string events together into a coherent story, but it's just another thing I'll get better at with time.
     In conclusion, the final principle of animation, Appeal, proves to be the most crucial to any animation as it's a "culmination of all the other principles above it, plus something extra" (Ethan Hurd). It gives us a steady platform for creation and allows us to give our best shot at ideation and imaginative thinking.

Solid Drawing and Poses- A Comprehensive

Solid Drawing is one of the major components in creating animation, as it refers to the skills needed to give 2D images a 3D feel. Of course, to be a good animator, you need artistic integrity-- it's often enough that years of work are built upon in an artist's lifetime to get to a final, amazing product. This week in BSSD, we will be analyzing the principle of animation called Solid Drawing as told by Jay Jackson, an animator taught by legendary Eric Larson.

In the computer age of animation, we don't need good drafters to come about a successful animation since digital enhancements allow us to continue editing to our hearts' content without damaging the piece. Jackson explains mostly from experience his way of doing things, along with tips such as how you should be spending half the time planning and half the time animating, and to not dive into animation without a clear pathway of which to walk along. In order to animate with a professional sense, the artist must be able to draw a character at any angle and take into consideration the following things; Line of Action, Weight and Balance, Twinning, Twists, Silhouette and Counterpose. All of these are mediocre at best to master alone, but in combination, they form the principles and dynamics that go into Solid Poses.

Let's tackle the most fundamental of these mini-lessons first. Twinning is, if not the most detrimental to any pose, as symmetry kills any form of life it touches. Stiffness is bound to come with symmetry and to break this you'd use the rest of these to help drive the knife deeper into the crack of lifelessness. Weight and balance go hand-in-hand as balance is dependent on weight to take form. Take into consideration your character's body type, size, and shape when animating. All these factors come together to control your character's motion, feel, expressiveness and gravity. Movement is obviously the most important thing, and being able to vividly express your characters through simple and complex motions is imperative to animation.

 Silhouettes come in handy when coming up with a clear, readable pose. Make sure when doing a dynamic pose that you can clearly get what's happening if your drawing was blacked out. If not, you end up with a flatter image than you intended. When making poses, the first thing you may want to do is draw a line. This will serve as a guide for motion direction in the pose. This is called the Line of Action and is very important to implement in any scene to promote dynasticism.

Solid drawing, to me, is extremely important to my work. I'm always trying to improve my dynamics by implementing perspective and action into animation and it helps a ton that I can conjure vivid ideas from my head to animate on the dot. If you hadn't noticed yet, I love using abstract lines and shapes to form powerful movements alongside a character's, but I plan on spending my independent study chip on combining a study of dynamic animation AND abstract shapes to music. I already ready to dive in, but it seems a bit early. This blog really helped me in pinpointing where I can improve my work. Although it's short, it's also sweet and to-the-point. Thanks, Jay Jackson.

The True Tea feat. Tyrannical Corporations (guest stars Corruption and Debt) ((BSSD))

     Now, college is something we've been lectured on thousands of times by now, we get that it plays a huge role in our furthered education and can launch some of us directly into our dream jobs, but did we ever take a second to consider our options? No, I don't mean CalArts or Harvard. Our real options, ones that aren't fueled by money-hole corporate for-profits. Unless you catch a lucky streak and somehow slam a scholarship, it's quite likely that the prestigious school you seemed to take an interest in (partly due to a few alumni) is only going to cripple you financially until you're well in your later years. The thing I took note of that I did a lot when researching colleges that often leads to a collective pitfall for those interested is that we see one really successful person (such as Rebecca Sugar) come out of SVA and make her own cartoon series (Steven Universe) within 4 years of graduating (her thesis film, Singles, debuted in 2009, SU began airing in 2013) and assume we will have that luck of doing the same. I realized, however, that it doesn't matter what college you go to, it's what programs you take and how you use that in tandem with your creative drive in order to succeed. Like Ms. Licata referenced, people come from all around and it's the ones that use their creative spark that burn the brightest flame. Your location doesn't define you or your skill level. That's up for you and your audience to decide.  In this blog, we will be reviewing the damage of these for-profits with sources from The Atlantic- two articles by Bryan Snyder and Sam Edwards.

   
((In this blog nothing more happens, so enjoy this fresh watermarked stolen meme converted into a gif for your viewing pleasure))

tired of timing (BSSD)

yall already know who it is with the cringy title here; today we analyze the topic of timing in animation!!! so cool, right!! the social construct we made up to make ourselves feel extra organized can most definitely be applied to animation! Hey, here's a joke. Scientists got so tired of looking at the moon revolving around the earth, so after 24 hours, they called it a day. Getting back on track, this will be a brief analysis of Dave Burgess' blog on Timing in relation to animation.
     Burgess, being a Disney and Pixar veteran, actually finds that timing is the most fun of his animation routine. He's been through the wringer, being an animator back in the 2d period up to now, working on computers. He then explains that timing can be broken down into 2 basic sets of knowledge; how fast something moves and how long it stays still on the screen. He also warns to make every frame count, or else you're running the risk of failure. After learning of what the goal of the scene is, he uses references, recordings of people, scenes from other shows, and live-action sets to get a feel for the overall setting and endgame. Once Burgess is complete sorting out the content in his mind, he takes to his computer; animating keyframes as so to determine the entire main action to ensure the movement is clear and readable. This is another principle known as Pose-to-Pose animation.
     Burgess offers his breakdown wisdom, saying that the key to perfecting this technique is to utilize ones we've already learned. Some examples employed are Slow in, Slow out, Anticipation and Squash and Stretch. These used in harmony can truly spring life into your work. What comes next is a semi-rigorous course of double-checking and determining readability and continuity among scenes.

     This article offers a wonderful insight into the animation process, given that it comes from a pro animator at both Disney and Pixar. I think this is a great perspective choice, as it shows us that no matter how hard you think it is, you'll overcome and you may just find yourself enjoying that work.  The crispy-clear examples provided alongside a well-typed blog make it appear fun to read, which just may have been Burgess' goal with this.
     My thoughts on timing are that no matter who you ask, it's crucial to any form of media. Readability goes along hand in hand with this; if something happens too fast, you wouldn't understand the main action, while if something is slower than you'd like, it feels dragged out, almost as if to pad for time, which is never a great thing. What did you think of this article?

Blogscape Smackdown; Secondary Action!

   After hours of useless procrastination and expert level time-wasting, I return at the latest possible time to give you the low-down for the next principle of animation! As always, these principles are designed to aid you in the journey to better work, and this one is no joke. Secondary action is the hot tea of today, so strap in and enjoy!
    Kevin Koch, the writer of the reference article, says that if there are any one of the principles to hone in on, it's this one. Koch states "good secondary action energizes your shots and marks the difference between being a competent animator and an entertaining visual storyteller."  The level of character that including this can add to your animation is very telling.  By Koch's definition, secondary animation is a movement dependent on a primary action. This means principles of drag and follow-through are used alongside it. Now we can start to cohesively piece together why these 12 need to work harmoniously to produce good results. Adding to his original claim, Koch delves into the intricacies of this. Secondary action isn't just a second motion following a first, it harnesses the ability to be something different all together. For example, take the scene of an artist sketching using a pencil. Anything aside from their eyes on the paper with their arm moving the pencil is a secondary action. This can range from them shaking their arm from fatigue, looking around quickly for spectators, mumbling to themself while nibbling on the pencil's end, anything is possible with the grasp of secondary action.
An important little note to keep in mind is that the main action can't and shouldn't be overcast by anything else. Having a drunk character stumbling around is the main action, while the swinging of their arm holding a wine glass, for instance, paired with a crazy few expressions ties in as a few secondary actions. Examples from past students/mentors is presented to showcase how little things such as moving a pair of chopsticks, a teacup, or a wine glass can influence the way your character is viewed in the scene according to the context provided. An easy way to help you notice where to adjust your work is to play the animation with no sound. If it works fluidly and you can gauge the shot, it's a great fit!

My opinions on this one in particular are of course going to be positive. I love how much you can do with secondary action in animation and the amount of livelihood and character you can develop here! This principle offers expansive worlds of creative flow and I hope you can use it to your advantage.

Kevin Koch does a masterful job at explaining the topic, and left me with no stone left unturned on the subject. This was one of the few so far I actually enjoyed picking apart. He avoids using complicated terminology and provides a myriad of simple details that crescendo into the climax of the article and let it down easily. Thanks, Kevin.

Tick-Tock-Timing! (BSSD)

Slow in and slow out is paramount to any animation, and in this analysis of Kevin Koch's take on this subject, we'll be discussing this principle of animation and the effects it has on your work. The definitions of this principle vary, but the common meaning is taken as the effect in which when an action takes place the movement needs to gradually increase until it's up to speed, and then slow down upon reaching the climax action. Having no SI+SO in an animation leaves it mechanically unstable, so try adding some support in there!

Koch explains how SI+SO works in correlation to the real world and its properties, revealing that
 "objects accelerate when they start to move and therefore they needed more drawings there."  This became known as "Slow in." The gradual increase in speed up to the top velocity indicates the further along the action you go, the fewer frames you'll need to succeed. The opposite happens when an action is ending. The subject loses energy and slows down. There need to be more frames towards the end; hereby dubbed "slow out." Koch then shows a few timeline examples of frame spacing that can be used to demonstrate this process. The more inbetweens there are, the more gradual the animation will appear.

The concept of Physics is easily applied here, with the 4 main components being "Position: where something is in space Translation: movement from one position to another Velocity: the rate of change of position over time (speed with directional information) and Acceleration: the rate of change of velocity over time" Koch explains why early stop-motion looks so jittery by revealing how they worked with Straight Ahead animation instead of the more reliable Pose-to-Pose. The animators had no way to monitor their actions and spacing throughout the animation, leading to spacial and timing errors. Use these pieces to your advantage to study points to avoid in your work.

The points provided here apply to any part of the body, and applying these principles to your work takes a bit of time in the beginning. You won't begin to notice much of a problem here until far along in your animation, and that's okay. The implementation of this into the real world has its effects and reasons- some of them being to build force, to provide safety for your limbs while swinging them, and to show power in your work. If someone were to punch, without SI+SO, they'd be full force on the dot, sending all gravity laws into wack, possibly breaking their arm and whatever is in its way. Kind of reminds me of Deku from BHNA. These laws are applied in both real life and animation to provide safety and also direction in your work.

My personal opinions on this are as usual; they're imperative to the survival of both your animation and your own being. Imagine a world where any forces can just pop outta nowhere and knock your socks off and then the force instantly stops. It seems like something the Flash can pull off but not without repercussions. Koch's analysis was very informative and I thank him for providing us with this information.

Facial Animation! (BSSD)

This week on "Blogscape Smackdown" we visit the expressionate beauty of Facial Animation. This is yet another key component in animation, as it delves into how much life you can give a subject with a few facial features. Dana Boadway-Masson explains how Facial Acting is imperative to a good animation as it reveals what the character is thinking and how a thought process folds into this. The analogy of a computer is used with reference to an "input" (stimuli causing the reaction) and an "output" (reaction).

Her next topic addresses blocking facial expressions; how to use and how many. She alludes to the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Silly!) and explains how to break a shot down into main emotions and how to flow through them. The example of Benedict Cumberbatch is used to show how much emotion can go into a single sentence. The raw power of his facial acting allows him to employ such emotion in such a short amount of time. Enveloping this into your animation can really bring it to life! Timing this can be challenging, but just keep in mind when your character is reacting and how you would react under these situations as well.

Next, we revisit the Ball animation as an example of what /not/ to do for Emotional Hangtime. If there's a shift in force in your animation, don't forget to include some time for the emotions to change! The example used to relate to emotional hangtime is the bouncing ball's squash segment. This part is slower at the top and bottom due to the shift in gravitational forces. As we've gone over before, the lack of the transition makes your animation look robotic, and this applies to ANYTHING ELSE YOU'LL EVER DO IN THIS FIELD. To avoid this when working in the notion of facial acting, pose to pose animation is your best bet. Try reacting to what the character is reacting to, and process the different types of emotions you'd feel in that scene. Then flow through them with adequate timing and BAM! There ya go.

It's commonplace for animators to have a mirror beside them to have a "check" of their facial expressions in order to make sure they are accurate to what you're portraying. Dana brings up Dialogue blocking and how it's important in the way that the animator themself cannot edit this. They can only work around it. She goes on to point out that with precision, a majority of your dialogue can be done using only jaw movements! Exaggeration is key here and using the eyes and brows of a character can amp up the level of creativity to explore within your piece. Zohbugg has some great references for these- they're used throughout the blog to give an example.

Utilizing an order of operations will help a lot in framing your emotions in animation. They say that the eyes are the focal point, and anything else follows right behind. bringing these details to a key can level up your expertise in mastering animation.

My thoughts on this topic are that facial acting is KEY to any great feature! Someone may be able to act with their body or voice, but the face is likely the most expressive thing on screen and you don't want to look like a plain crusty bagel, do you? You may aim to be a Blueberry bagel, or even an Everything Bagel! Don't let those invisible walls of your mind hinder you from progressing. Break through and live strong.

Ari May Actually Follow-Through With This One! (BSSD)

Hi! It's Ari, and today on "Blogscape Smackdown" We'll be reviewing the principle of animation that accords to Follow-Through and Overlapping Action.

Drew Adams,  a Dreamworks animator, dives into detail on the physics and characteristics required to correctly execute these factors in any animation. He majors in Body Mechanics, so it makes sense for him to make analogies to the physical figure and bring anatomy into play. Why do we need it, you may ask? To quote Adams, he says "Because Sir Issac Newton says you have to. It's 'The Law!' " He then explains that you may purposefully leave out this principle to give a mechanical and stiff effect on your animation. However, it's when it's unintentional where the problem arises.

Believability is the key to a good animation, and these sets of principles do their darned best to help us get there.

Adams continues by delving into some examples of these actions, using the pendulum to explain how force affects an object and "drags" it along behind. Utilizing the pendulum is a great way to practice Follow-Through, as it can be toyed with for speed and timing to allow us to experiment with differing amounts of force.

The second and third examples are applied to characters, the most imperative of the two being a squirrel. Without the principle of overlap and follow-through, the tail stays stationary and the entire animation seems eerily stiff. Since a tail is comprised of many nerves and joints, it isn't supposed to be hard like leather. Instead, a flowy, fluffy type is what we want here! The second example of the squirrel delighted me with a wholesome animation of the ball and tail flowing through the wind without any care in the world! Thanks, Kanye! Very cool!

My thoughts on this principle are static, yet I do admit I love when something just butters my eggroll. Seeing something so nastily rigid and then immediately swapped with something delicately beautiful like a flowing scarf or tail brightens my mood. It'll sure help you brighten your attitude towards your work as well once you see the difference this makes! Good luck!

PoA Anticipation!

The second topic in the subject of “Principles of Animation,” we bring in “Anticipation.” The hallmark of
ability required to draw back the robotic mechanics of stale animation; this allows animators to give a
sense of motivation to their movements. Chris Hurtt gives any examples about what and what not to do,
using 3d models enveloping the differing types of anticipation in sync to show how to use it correctly.
The addition of Squash and Stretch with Anticipation brings an element of life to any animation, and
Hurtt explains that even a bit of anticipation can add to the “surprise” effect of something popping out.
This bit of info is explained as implemented so the audience can enjoy the movement instead of missing
it due to a lack of context. He then explains how most forms of anticipation come from broad actions,
such as a batter’s swing or a head turning in the opposite direction before looking somewhere. Adding
organic flow to your animations takes practice, but implementing differing types of anticipation in your
work will help you in succeeding in this aspect. This along with overlapping action and SnS will level up
your work. Hurtt explains that anticipation sells the idea of built-up energy and the combinations you
use will improve your ability to make the actions believable. Mastering this skill requires an
understanding of the materials going in to anticipation and a good trick to finding mistakes you may
have made is to play it backwards. Hurtt says if the animation appears stiff, it’s time to edit.

My thoughts about this subject are that anticipation have quite a large role in our lives. Without this
simple subject, we’d be a robotic cult of stick people, never knowing what would come next. The usage
of this in our work and daily lives attributes to the liveliness of our movements and the more organic
you can make it, the better it’ll work. Good luck with these.

-Ari J

S&S in Our Media

The ability to utilize Squash and Stretch while animating is crucial to building a keen understanding
of applying physics and motion to your works.



 Squash and stretch are the key principles in which when expressing emotion or movement,
objects appear to, for lack of better terminology, squash and stretch. There are many factors going into maintaining harmony with the rest of the work while utilizing SnS, and one of those is keeping the same volume throughout. Without this, things seem unnatural and you lose the
illusion of movement and fluidity.



 All the technicalities provided, this is one of the easiest things to slip up on, and we won’t blame you for it. Applying these techniques without accidentally overdoing / underdoing it or sliding in
some volume change is nothing you’ll take to quite fast. Practice makes perfect, after all. 



As our local clown friend Annabelle stated in her blog on this topic; “There's nothing to think about,
only consume. These are the principles of animation, as written, and will remain as such.” These
statements hold true for likely all the principles of animation, due to how rigid the analyzation is.
You’re given a topic to analyze, yet there’s no room to explore because the content that’s in place
cannot be changed, influenced or molded by your hands. 



One statement I will make, however, is that in order to become a skilled artist, you need to realistically
study the rules in order to break them strategically.



Here's a video on line weight and how to use it to your best ability.



-Ari J✯

The Intricacies of Pixar's Cannibalistic Crew

Pixar’s “Wall-E” instantly became a children’s classic after its release in 2008, with its quirky protagonist, a recycling robot of whom the movie title is given. The intricacies of this film- from the plot’s heavy-handedness on the effects of materialism, to the economic and environmental destruction of the earth- gives us an idea of how hopeless life becomes if we don’t pay attentive mind to our actions. 10 years later, we as students are tasked with pulling apart the movie, not for educational value in terms of historical context and effect, but instead as a hearty swing into the properties of animation. Here we will evaluate 6 of the 12 present principles outlined.

I found the staging of this film to be amazing at pointing out different moods and emotions, as well as dealing with how the audience may or may not react to these situations.

Such is shown in the opening scene, as we pan across a barren wasteland we are quick to discover is Earth. Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class) is the last of his robo-kind on Earth, and due to this, he’s developed a sensible loneliness. The beginning scenes portray the desolation left due to human carelessness, and yet when we enter Wall-E’s home, he’s portrayed as beyond optimistic, playing 1950’s era films, nearly a century in the past, seeing what Earth was like back then. Before he was needed. When he meets EVE, they fiddle with a lighter, and the flame from it represents the emerging relationship between them. The staging and composition of this movie is beyond professional, as it accurately and effortlessly portrays emotions simply through utilizing the psychological effects of color and spacing.

The property of Follow-through and Overlapping animation is imperative to creating organic motion, and this movie nails it with small and big details throughout its runtime. When Wall-E wakes up, it’s clear that he’s tired due to how his arms dangle on the ground, following his body as the main motion. When EVE locks up after scanning the plant, she is dragged by the string of lights Wall-E has, and EVE is following through as she’s hovering, being pulled along.

Exaggeration is extremely important to any film or animation, as, without it, it’s left bland and emotionless. This exaggeration is conveyed through the characters designs, with EVE being more simple yet expressionate, and Wall-E having big, puppylike eyes, making him seem more trustworthy. This ties into appeal as well, but that’s for another paragraph. The quick-draw emotion showed by EVE when whipping out her gun at the slightest sound also lets us know she isn’t keen to annoyance and acts on impulse. The exaggeration of the Axiom passengers’ obesity also shows how the underlying tones of materialism and simplicity of this movie play into its core message.

Solid drawing is crucial in the way it aids in making your animations look organic. The way things move in this film makes it easier for the viewer to believe and enjoy the content being presented. The plantlife sways when moved, the Captain moving around in interest, Wall-E’s head tilts and EVE’s worry and frantics, asymmetrical human postures, EVE’s gun, and the fire extinguisher in space are all good examples of solid drawing.

Events and dialogue are timed well enough here to give the viewer just enough sense of danger, sadness, reconciliation or empathy to relate to the scene at hand. Some examples include the first dust storm, when Wall-E enters his humble abode seconds before impact, leaving us with a climax of worry and anticipation, and when the passengers of the Axiom slowly realized their current situation and surroundings and planned accordingly with their actions. The captain’s rebellion against Auto and his line of “I wanna live!” convey strong will and passion, leading the viewers to side with the captain.

Arcs also help in avoiding rigidity while animating, and they’re employed constantly throughout the movie. Some examples include the Captain jumping on Auto during the short yet successful rebellion, EVE’s movements, and the cleaner’s freedom from the lines in order to clean the foreign contaminant.

All in all, The principles of animation are the building blocks to a concise finished product, and the strike of appeal they bring helps give it a nice shine and some character. Use these in harmony with color, shape and line, and you’ll have a masterpiece in no time.

If you’ve heard of Film Theory, here’s a video done by Matthew Patrick on the morality of the food quality on the Axiom.

Zomorodi Response

In the technological uprise of the 21st century, we often find ourselves floundering around to simply occupy ourselves. Just now, I checked my phone, and I'm beginning to think it's an act of impulse. We've been coerced into connecting flashing dots to new events and messages. That, along with the tingling need of our minds to just do something simpler is always beckoning.

Our journalist friend and mother, Manoush Zomorodi, dives deep into the problem that recreational technology brings, and explains the psychological connections it has to boredom, our creativity, and productivity. She hosts a podcast in which she hit a wall whilst brainstorming ideas for the next session. She wanted to bring in new viewers and explore interesting topics, but her mind was shooting blanks. The emptiness presented itself so prominently that Zomorodi began digging up her mental past and traveling back to the last time she had an original, creative idea.

She became a mother around the time that the legendary iPhone came into the market, and so instead of exploring the endless creative possibilities of the piece of technology, she was preoccupied tending to her child. The third month in, she found herself feeling rejuvenated and prepared, and so she finally got her hands on the tech. It ended up, to nobody’s surprise, being nothing more than a distraction. When she wasn’t caring for her kid, she was mindlessly scrolling through media. She states that the companies that host the media are constantly at odds, pining for your attention. The goal of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are indeed to act as an escape for some people, but it ends up as an enigmatic mess of time-wasting. Just today, I sat down to work on art and schoolwork and pulled up youtube for background noise. 4 hours later, I caught myself binge-watching Shameless on Netflix with nothing but a single sketch done. The mind river that big media corporations create often suck you in and keep you in the flow for way longer than you intend.

Zomorodi began a project entitled “Bored and Brilliant," an effort to combat these compulsive acts. The task was simple enough- distance yourself from your phones. The project seemed to be a wild success, with tons of stories of those freed from their ball-and-chain scrolling lifestyle and how sprouts of boredom birthed creativity in their hearts, but the data showed on average that only 6 minutes of time was captured from the technology. The scientists reassured her that to be able to make this much progress in a week was a daunting but spectacular task. The conclusion she came up with is that creativity is locked behind boredom and the new-age technology is only hindering us when it comes to advancing as individual thinkers.

As someone who seemingly needs distractions, I wish I could say I didn’t need to rely on technology. I’d like to build a platform on social media in order to ensure a future for myself through making connections online, but I see through the veil of my mind sometimes that I’m doing too much (or too little) too fast. I see that I could only honestly benefit from a challenge presented similarly as Zomorodi’s.

The reflections we can make from this TED talk is that we need to be more conscientious of how we utilize our time. In this world, we’ve got a lot to learn from one another. Hopefully, we can use technology in harmony with our good intentions and thoughts to bring about a better society.