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Showing posts from January, 2025

Squash and Stretch

  Exploring the Principle of Squash and Stretch in Animation: A Guide and Activities The principle of Squash and Stretch is one of the most fundamental and versatile tools in animation. It adds life, flexibility, and a sense of weight to animated objects and characters. At its core, this principle reflects how objects change shape while preserving their volume. For instance, a bouncing ball squashes when it hits the ground and stretches as it flies through the air. Squash and stretch can convey weight, speed, and emotion, making it an indispensable principle for animators. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned animator, exploring squash and stretch through hands-on activities can deepen your understanding of this principle. Below are ten activities designed to help you practice and apply it. 10 Activities to Master Squash and Stretch Bouncing Ball Animation Draw or animate a ball dropping, squashing upon impact, and stretching as it bounces back. Experiment with differe...

Welcome to Spring 2025: Animation 1B

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 Dear Students, Welcome back to Animation 1B! This semester, we’re taking the foundational skills you learned in the fall and building upon them with a focus on CG animation techniques . Here’s what you can look forward to: Mastering provided character rigs to create dynamic and expressive animations. Exploring scene blocking, stepped keyframing (pose-to-pose and straight ahead), and the art of exaggeration and polishing. Finalizing animations with lighting, rendering, and compositing . Each week, you will complete: Reading Assignments on animation principles and professional workflows. C-E-R Typed Responses to deepen your understanding of animation techniques. Visualization Assignments to refine your skills in planning and executing animated scenes. You’ll also engage in collaborative projects, allowing you to develop animations as part of a team. Skills Performance Exams will help you demonstrate your technical growth, and our PBL will involve creating short, polished animat...

2025 - Animation Blog. Article I. Origin & Relevance of Animation Principles

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  The Origins of the Principles of Animation and Their Modern Relevance The 12 Principles of Animation stand as a cornerstone in the history and practice of animation. Developed by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas and published in their seminal 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation , these principles encapsulate decades of innovation and refinement in traditional 2D animation. Johnston and Thomas articulated these principles not as rigid rules but as guidelines to create believable, dynamic motion and emotionally engaging characters. Over time, these principles have transcended their origins, influencing not only hand-drawn animation but also computer-generated imagery (CGI) and even rapid prototyping in stop motion animation. The Origins: Disney’s Golden Age The principles emerged during Disney’s "Golden Age" of animation, a period spanning the 1930s to the 1950s. This era saw the creation of iconic films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (...