6 Principles of Animation

  I'll start by saying that when you write down animation principles in a movie, don't just write down the first thing for each you found in the first half hour in order to eat, otherwise looking for 6 can be a chore. Without further adieu, the first principle to mention is arcs. Arcs are easily used the most in every piece of organic motion, although they're easy to spot, analysis is a bit tricky. You can see that virtually all character movement, from arm gestures to acrobatics is based on a basic curve that the movement follows. Movement without arcs is more awkward than wearing a shoe on the wrong foot. Now for secondary action! Secondary action is used really effectively right at the beginning, with Flint's dad's eyebrow raising at the experiments. While basic, it does reveal traits of his personality, which is the whole purpose of secondary action. Squash and stretch is almost as common as arc, it wasn't until after I learned about it that I realized how common it is in 3D animation. While there are some obvious examples of it, like Flint being manhandled by the cop, or dragged behind a rocket, it can be seen in most motion throughout the film. Follow through and overlapping action, easy to spot, simple to explain. Perfect. Overlapping action can be seen in Flint's lap coat and most characters hair. You can see a LOT of effort was put into designing, lighting, and animating the hair to make it life-like, while this seems tedious and redundant, I've seen 3D animations without such work put in the hair. It looks like clay. The packet's description of timing is kinda confusing, but I think I get the idea of it. I could only pick up on the most obvious example, when it goes slow-mo as Flint rockets past his dad, showing his concern with trying to impress him with constant failures. Exaggeration, good golly is exaggeration prevalent in this movie. While I could babble about intense reactions, facial expressions, or Flint inability to look his dad in the eyes, I'll take a different path. There was an example of exaggeration that was simple yet sophisticated and reminds me of Ed, Edd, and Eddy honestly. It's Flint's attempts to take of the spray-on shoes, teeth, power-tools, a crate, simple but effective.