One of the most important parts of animating is researching the different animation principles. This is the different styles or designs of sequences which make up the finished project. Below is a perfect display and description of what each principle is and how it is applied.
All of these animation principles are considered when creating a piece of work and can be seen used in every single one of the animations in the industry. Therefore I used this guide and reference in order to include some in my work.
Animation Principles Used
One principle I used was squash and stretch which I used in the hand when the character lets go of the weapon. The fingers are stretched out in order to simulate dropping an item. Within this same scene I also used exaggeration for a brief moment when the weapon is falling from the characters hand. In reality the weapon would most likely drop directly down but I made the weapon dramatically fall and stick into the ground. This could loosely be considered anticipation as well due to the abnormally long time it took to fall however this was not intended originally. Lastly, the use of the second character compliments the scene as brings in the ‘secondary action’ principle when he is kicked out of the window. Instead of just falling, his arms and body bend backwards to simulate being kicked hard in the spine.
Furthermore in the deer scene, I wanted the characters emotions to be conveyed through his dramatic head actions. Once again with more time I would have liked to have increased the use of blend shapes in order to animate the face further than the eyes, but to make up for this, the character raises his head and shakes to convey he is angry or upset. I also tried to use anticipation in this scene when the character stops before kneeling down towards the deer. This is a brief thinking moment for the character so although small, I think the anticipation is used well here.
Finally in the sitting scene, I have attempted to use staging to convey a dark and sinister atmosphere. The lighting used makes the subject look darker in the shadows and almost hides the characters emotions, also while implying something bad is about to occur. In addition the first turn of the head (towards the weapon) is much quicker than when the character returns to the front. This has aspects of timing and motion since the head is faster the first time so its straight to the point.
Principles I would have liked to have used
Due to time constraints, my animations didn’t originally work out as planned. For example I wanted to have a scene where my character throws the weapon at an enemy for example. This would have been perfect to use anticipation, follow through as well as arcs. Another principle I would also have liked to have experimented with would have been appeal which could have been used to show emotion during the deer scene for example.
References
12 Principles For Game Animation- GameCareerGuide.com. (2017) Gamecareerguide.com. Available online: https://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/2064/12_principles_for_game_.php [Accessed 4 May 2022].
