ANIMATION EXERCISES
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These are things you should be thinking about and implementing into all of your exercises.
WEIGHT – show weight by squashing the feet and in the quads of the upper legs (on the front side) and in the hips/butt area. In 3D – use a lattice when structuring your character. When in doubt, exaggerate the weight.
POSING with exaggeration
ACTIONS – LEADING AND FOLLOWING actions are easy – example: when a character lands, one foot makes contact and then the other…or if you lift the arms, one arm goes up and then the other.
OVERLAPPING ACTIONS – For example, the character comes to a halt, and her hair and dress continue to flow and settle into place. To be effective, the overlapping has to use "S" curves to change direction.
DRAG ACTION – is where you show a drag on a form as it moves through space. This usually occurs at the ends of the form. If a rubber raft is falling, the middle edge will be intact – the other edges will bend or drag back.
MOTIVATIONAL FORCES – what makes the thing move – 80% or more of all actions happen because of the hips and legs. If a character throws a ball, the action starts with the extension (unfolding) of the front leg, which rotates the hips and creates torque with the torso, and allows the unwinding of the torso to lead the shoulder and the rest of the arm through a throwing motion. Another example: a character can't turn unless he pushes off on the outside foot – then he can change direction.
THINKING time (a character ALWAYS thinks before it does anything). Disney said, "The mind is the pilot."
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ACTIONS – easy example in a walk – the legs are the primary action – then the arms are the secondary action.
ANTICIPATION – (or ANTIC) In a grab, the hand comes up and backward before it goes forward.
COMPENSATION – If a character is running and stops, you have to compensate for the forward momentum (usually by driving the forces up or down, then back up)
REVERSALS – try to work as many reversals into the spine as possible (as long as it makes sense to the action). The spine curves forward, then curves back during an antic, and then curves forward again when the character picks up a stone. HINT: My next lesson at the Toon Institute will have this information.
A CUSHION OR SETTLE is where you move past a keyframe into an extreme/extreme and then cushion back into the original keyframe.
A MOVING HOLD is a very, very slow slow-out of action, to where the movement is coming to a creeping halt.
STAGING (how the action is composed within the frame)
APPEAL – Character Design – the ability to caricature a person, utilizing good design skills, and have appeal
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Simple Tests – Inanimate Objects
Ball bouncing/Rolling
Balls of different weights(basketball, tennis ball, bowling ball, beach ball, etc)
Balls in an obstacle course
The flour sack. A great test that forces an understanding of the principles in their most basic form. Make a four-sack move and react to show emotions and character. Be sure to remember the sack's volume and how it would move between contact with the ground and being airborne. This test is a favorite among animators because there is very little character design and development, and you really have to pay attention to what you are trying to communicate.
Egg dropping/Rolling
Brick dropping
Pendulum swing (using arcs)
Flour sack walk cycle
Flour sack falling off a ledge
A tree falling.
A car is speeding off.
A plane is crashing.
A bag of microwave popcorn (being heated)
A grenade lands and explodes.
A phone is ringing.
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Try these first if you have never animated before:
Overlap/Follow through (hair, tails, etc)
Weight shift
Hop-scotch
Side Step
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A character lifts something heavy. This is hard enough to show shifts in weight throughout the body to get leverage. Still, if you wanted to make the test even more complicated, you could make the character do something else while continuing to hold the heavy object. A great example of weight and timing. Chapter 3 in The Illusion of Life covers this concept thoroughly.
Jumping and landing(straight up and down, across a gap, etc.)
Walk, run, jump ( realistic, cartoon, quad)
A two-legged character walks on all fours.
An old man kneeling down to pray, then rising.
Simple head turn (using arcs)
Climbing a wall (different heights)
Back/front flip
Wall run/flip
Sword Lunge/Swing
A character using weighted objects (hammer, axe, etc.)
Baseball Throw
Baseball Hit
Discus/Javelin/Shotput Throw (or any number of other Olympic events)
Sports (basketball, skateboarding, boxing, etc.)
A character showing off on a diving board (does he fail or succeed? See Monsters vs Aliens for a fail)
Changing from one emotion to another
Being hit by a ball
Throwing a heavy object
Slumping into a chair
Standing up (on the ground, in a chair, etc.)
Sitting down (on the ground, in a chair, etc.)
Diving for cover
Answering the phone
A giant is falling over.
Bursting out through a door
A character clutching its head in despair
Waiting for the results of a job interview or tryout
A character slapping its head as if it just said something stupid
Tasting something delicious or disgusting
Watching a scary movie
Trying to operate a complicated DVD player
Falling out of a chair
Leaning on something only to find that it gives way and falls over
Trying to carefully remove a painting from the wall
Tuck and roll
Trying to remember where they put something
Trying to move against the wind, such as from a giant fan, trying to reach a goal
Catching a heavy object, such as a boulder
A tightrope walker
Trapeze artist
Weightlessness/underwater
Running through/avoiding obstacles such as an obstacle course
Having fun on a trampoline
A character climbing a pipe, such as on the side of a building
Two characters of different strengths/sizes sawing a log
Quadrupeds/Creatures
Winged Creatures(dragons, birds, etc)
Dropping something off at the mailbox
The character tries to access a bank machine, and it misbehaves
The character tries to use a restroom and can't
The character thinks they're going to sneeze, then not, and finally sneeze.
A character trying to swat a fly or catch a bug
Stretching
Coughing
Laughing
Lying down
Kneeling down
Rubbing your hands
Checking the time
Answering a phone
Ducking under a swinging object
Reaching into a cupboard
Pulling out your keys
Buttoning your shirt
Brushing your teeth
Flipping a pancake
Turning on a light
Opening a window
Putting on a Shoe
Putting on a Hat
Putting on a Belt
Putting on pants
Putting on a Glove
Putting on a Shirt
Opening a Soda (variation: it's been shaken)
Opening a box of chocolate
Opening a Car Door (variation: for a date)
Opening a Jar (variation: it's stuck)
Opening a Bag (variation: it's a mystery what's inside)
A character is climbing a ladder but has to jump and pull himself up to reach the first few rungs.
Dropping onto a soft surface, such as a giant pillow
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Advanced Acting Exercises… if done well, these should go on your reel.
Waiting for a late bus or being late for a bus that's on time. Show the emotions a character might go through while waiting for a late bus. Pay close attention to facial expressions, body language, and detail.
A witch is trying to mount a broom that doesn't want to be mounted.
The character opens something (e.g., a box or a present) that refuses to open. The character can only use body parts for the first beat… but may resort to other measures (i.e., tools and explosives) after trying with their own weight and extremities. Note, the character will be affected by the tools used (i.e., blast of an explosion).
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Advanced Body Mechanic Exercises… if done well, these should go on your reel.
Animate someone riding a pogo stick or some other ‘fun’ object (i.e. using a hula hoop
Personality walk cycle with biped or quad using power centers/leads to show attitude. Start with a vanilla walk cycle. Now make 4 variations on the same character to illustrate an emotion. For example Angry Stomp, Happy Run, Sad Shuffle, Cocky Strut, Questioning Tiptoe, etc. Be sure to refer to the bouncing ball for your arcs and paths on this one.
Animate two characters sawing a log. The first character is a big, macho man. Animate him pose-to-pose first holding one side of the saw and cycle his animation. The second character is a scrawny little guy who gets yanked around, grabbing onto the saw for dear life. This idea would be even better if there was some kind of big finish where the little guy gets the best of the big guy.
Put a short character in a tall room with one window, one door, one light (and switch) and a hanging ceiling fan (with hanging switch). The room contains 3 boxes, a ball, and a board. Imagine the different ways your character could figure out how to reach the hanging switch and then animate the most outrageous. Next, subtract two boxes and add a skateboard and try again.
A character walks to a mailbox, deposits an envelope, and walks away. Now, how is that action different if the envelope contains (1) a heartfelt love letter, sent without knowing whether the recipient feels the same way about the sender, or (2) this year’s tax return, which includes a big fat check made payable to Uncle Sam, or (3) the last mortgage payment on a house, or the last alimony check to an ex? The basic goals are the same (approach mailbox, etc), but the motivation behind them and the mood expressed will be dramatically different for each one.
The character tries to access a bank machine and it misbehaves
The character tries to use a restroom and can’t
The character takes on a profession as a mover and has to move an awkward object
The character enters a dark corridor/cave with a weapon drawn awaiting a surprise from the dark
The character meeting death from an attack
The character thinks they’re going to sneeze, then not sneeze and then finally sneezing
A character trying to swat a fly or catch a bug
A character trying to stay awake finally falls asleep (maybe something really loud wakes him up at the end it is up to you)
Character sneaking up on another character to scare them
Character leaning against the wall, chewing gum or a toothpick, hands in his pockets or maybe flipping a coin, waiting for something to happen
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Advanced Acting Exercises… if done well, these should go on your reel.
Waiting for a late bus or being late for a bus that's on time. Show the emotions a character might go through while waiting for a late bus. Pay close attention to facial expressions, body language, and detail.
A witch attempts to ride a broom that keeps bucking her off. Andreas Deja (animated–Jafar in Aladdin, Scar in The Lion King, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, etc.) spoke of this test at a talk I attended in LA. He referred to it as what Disney asked him to do before he was officially brought into the Animation department.
The character encounters something that he wants to open. Perhaps it has difficulty opening it. It may react to whatever it opens (but you don't see what's inside). The character can only use body parts for the first 30 seconds, but may pursue some other means (i.e., tools and explosives) thereafter. This one is really open-ended and can test your ability to convey many storytelling ideas through body language and facial expressions, without a single line of dialogue.
Dialogue/monologue in which the character starts off feeling one emotion and shifts to another. Close-up shot, one camera, usually better if it is dramatic.
Two-character dialogue – introduces staging and interaction; possibly a sequence with cuts? Standing or sitting, the character doing nothing, body language should suggest a thought process without any interaction with an object. It can be drama or comedy.
The character on the phone, but not talking, listening to a person on the other end talk about something: important, sad, happy, and/or "fill in the blank". Choose the subject matter to really express how the receiver of that information reacts. The exercise is designed to help people develop a character's thinking through eye movements, subtle facial expressions, and pantomime.
Display the feelings a character would experience while waiting for something or someone. Gender-specific reactions can be really revealing here. How would a man react versus a woman? This is a good exercise because it demands pure acting outside of dialogue. Much like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, your character will need to show lots of emotion through psychological gestures.
A character is doing something and needs to get someone's attention. Lots of eye movement and subtle mouth stuff, as well as body language, on an exercise like this.
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Advanced Game Level Exercises… these go on your reel if executed well.
A confrontation between two characters. One is losing but makes a spectacular comeback, just when you thought all hope was lost. This is the massive fight between the Boss and the Hero, or the dramatic clash that has led up to your dramatic quest Hero/villain attempts to execute their strange and unfamiliar powers. Suddenly, something goes horribly wrong, and their power backfires.
Swinging through an environment, holding onto a rope, and landing in front of a Boss character or creature, proceeding into a struggle using contact and props.
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Advanced Creature Exercises… these go on your reel if executed well.
Create a walk cycle with a four-legged character with personality.
Do the same thing as above, but now illustrate your ability to translate it into four legs or even an insect, and go to six or eight legs. Always refer to real life and then translate that into your own work. It is excellent when you can create a connection between an animal and human nature. Still, if you keep the integrity of the animal's bare essence, then the Animation will be much richer. Of course, a dog would not have the emotional range of a human, but you still know when a dog is happy. Think to yourself, not only how a human might react to the situation, but also how "insert animal/creature here" would react to it also.
Four-legged character (cat, dog, etc.) walking, jumping, climbing, stretching, yawning, scratching, etc. Move—>Stop—>Move or Stop—>Move—>Stop over uneven terrain.
3-legged character – two legs cannot move in unison.