Week2
Overlapping Action & Follow Through
The Animator’s Survival Kit pp. 231–244.
Pendulum
Ultimate Version
Juice Box
Initial Version —— showcase
Golden Pose
Week3
Course Record
- Quick way to create overlap by shifting keys in Graph Editor
- The build-up of force before an action. All movement comes from forces. Famous quote: “Any animation consists of anticipation, action, and reaction.”
- Acting in Animation: Objective (goal), be specific (why the character moves), personality, thought process (let it breathe). “Acting is reacting.”
Squirrel reference
Tailed_Anime
Ultimate Version
Acting_JuiceBox
Golden Pose
Week4
Basic Polish in Animation
Adujust Tail animation.
Juice Box_Acting_Polishing
Golden Pose_Franky
Week5
Walk Cycles & Weight Distribution
Course Record
- Everyone’s walk is unique (influenced by character, age, gender, health, etc.).
- Walking = “a process of falling over and catching yourself just in time” (The Animator’s Survival Kit pp. 102–163).
- Center of Gravity (COG): Check balance by drawing a vertical line through the middle of the pose — equal positive space on both sides = balanced.
- Strong silhouette and line of action in poses.
- Pose-to-Pose Animation basics: Blocking key poses first, then connecting them.
Tools: Animation pickers (Studio Library, AnimSchool Picker, MG-Picker) to speed up posing.
Walker
Ultimate Version
Pose to Pose
Week6
Critique previous weight shift assignments + introduction to Basic/generic Walk Cycle
Core walk structure: Key Poses (Contact poses), Breakdowns (Passing position), Extremes (highest/lowest points of the arc).
Walk Cycle
Pose to Pose Polish
Reference
Hand Pose
Week7
Week8
Body Mechanics Planning + Final Walk Critique
Key Points
- Body Mechanics = the mechanical foundation of any shot (weight shifts, foot placement, posture, balance). This is the first layer; acting comes second.
- Strong emphasis on Reference! — Analyze hips, weight center, arcs, timing, etc.
- Planning tools: Paper sketches / 2D animation tests for poses and timing + video reference.
- Everything is a ball — use proxy methods (basic shapes) to test timing and movement.
Animatic
Blocking
Week9