Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Weight
Weight is an implied, if not critical, concept in design and animation. The weight of your
subject in the frame is a function of the way it's colored; its contrast, shape, and location
in the frame; and the negative space around it, to name but a few ways of looking at it. In
animation, weight takes on a more important role. How you show an object's weight in
motion greatly affects its believability. As you'll see in the axe tutorial in Chapter 8, creat-
ing proper motion to reflect the object's weight goes a long way toward producing believ-
able animation.
Weight in animation is a perception of mass. An object's movement, how it reacts
in motion, and how it reacts to other objects together convey the feeling of weight.
Otherwise, the animation will look bogus—or, as they say, “cartoonish.”
Weight can be created with a variety of techniques developed by traditional animators
over the years. Each technique distorts the shape of the object or character in some way to
make it look as if it's moving. Although it may seem strange to distort an object's dimen-
sions, doing so makes its motion more realistic. Chapter 8 will touch more on creating
weight in animation. Here's a quick preview.
SquASH AnD STRETCH
This technique makes a character, for example, respond to gravity, movement, and inertia
by literally squashing it down and stretching it up when it moves. For example, a cartoon
character will squeeze down when it's about to jump up, stretch out a bit while it's flying
in the air, and squash back down when it lands to make the character look as if it's react-
ing to gravity.
EASE-In AnD EASE-OuT
Objects never really stop suddenly. Everything comes to rest in its own time, slowing
before coming to a complete stop in most cases. This is referred to as
ease
-
out
.
Just as objects don't stop suddenly, they don't immediately start moving. Most things
need to accelerate a bit before reaching full speed. This is referred to as
ease-in
. The
bouncing-ball tutorial in Chapter 8 illustrates ease-in and ease-out.
FOLLOW-THROuGH AnD AnTICIPATIOn
Sometimes you have to exaggerate the weight of an object in animation, especially in
cartoons. You can exaggerate a character's weight, for instance, by using well-designed
follow-through and anticipation.
You should create a bit of movement in your character or object
before
it moves.
Anticipation
is a technique in which a character or object winds up before it moves, like
a spring that coils inward before it bounces.
Likewise, objects ending an action typically have a
follow-through
. Think about the
movement of gymnasts. When they land, they need to bend a bit at the knees and waist
