Principles & Portfolio: A March Update

This past month has been pretty solid. Probably one of the first notable times I've struggled with class concepts. But that only makes it that much better when you eventually click with the subject. In this case it was 2D animation. It was necessary to step out of my comfort zone and apply new concepts. 

Concepts such as flipping throughout your frames to have a better understanding of the animation along with the 12 principles applied throughout each work. Our main competency being the walk cycle separated into three days (even though it was intended to be two). One day for the legs and main torso and another for the arm swing.

Everything built up from multiple assignments beforehand to focus on individual principles and smaller combinations of the 12. For instance, we had always been practicing timing since our first assignment which means every principle learned/applied stuck the following day. Principles like squash and stretch, slow-in/slow-out, & follow through/overlapping action were carried out with bouncing balls, pendulums, the combination thereof (Bounce with follow through), and eventually the whip. While all reflecting a small build up it allowed us to approach the walk easier.

There is anticipation in the movement of each step, a clear focus on where the frames are going with proper staging, and it all works through natural arcs to mimic the influences of the physical world. However, animation isn’t constrained to everything realistic which allows us to push our gestures/ poses through exaggeration. This is better exemplified in the last video where we had to combine all of the principles together in one animation (As you should always).