Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
believable performances, animators are able to make characters attractive
to the audience. As a result, the audience will find the characters interesting
and engaging and ultimately more able to carry and develop a complex
storyline. Appeal in a character should not be misinterpreted as meaning
that all characters with appeal are cute and cuddly—far from it. Some of the
most memorable characters are villains, who often have more interesting
personalities than the “good guys.” Appeal is at the heart of all good character-
based animation; without it the work is reduced to movement and the
characters become simple manikins.
The script is the source of the emotional engagement, but the acting and
performance are what develop characters to a point where they possess
appeal. This should not be considered necessarily as being dependent on
naturalistic movement; simple actions or exaggerated movements can
do much to enhance a character's appeal. For example, the very simple
animation of the characters in
South Park
is very much part of their appeal,
whereas the extreme gymnastic display by
Spider-Man
is as much a part of his
persona as is his distinctive costume design. Both types have appeal but for
very different reasons.
I think that the additional topics I cover in the rest of this chapter are worthy
of consideration separately from the principles set out in the earlier portion—
not that they necessarily occur separately from any of the principles, it is just
that they are such important factors in animated movement.
Drag
We will cover the issue of
drag
in more detail later, when we look at animal
locomotion. For this chapter's discussion it might be enough to say that
drag acts on an object as it moves through a gas or a fluid. Resistance is
encountered on the surface of the object as it moves through the fluid or gas,
creating drag on the surfaces and trailing edges of the moving object and
resulting in turbulence.
For the purposes of this discussion we can see how an object will move; as
a result of drag, part of that object will be delayed in its movement. A figure
wearing a coat with very long sleeves might illustrate the point well. If the
outstretched arm in the long sleeve makes a rapid sideways movement, the
inertia in the arm is overcome before the inertia in the long sleeve that hangs
limply down. When the sleeve does move, the area nearest to the arm moves
first as it is drawn through space with the arm. The cloth that hangs farthest
from the arm moves at a later time and trails behind the action of the arm. As
a result of drag on the trailing edge of the sleeve, a curve occurs in the flowing
material.
We may see evidence of drag in all manner of objects. Though it applies to
all moving objects (it is only the amount of drag that varies), it is particularly
evident in things such as long hair and fabric.
