Reading Assignment Write-up #1

The readings for week 1 were about the history of animation. Some of the earliest attempts at ‘animation,’ were the boar drawings in the Altamira caves and the drawings on Egyptian walls and Greek pots.  Although these drawings weren’t moving, they were meant to suggest motion. Throughout history, people have made advances, using the “persistence of vision” (Thomas, 1), with inventions such as, the thaumatrope, phenakistoscope, zoetrope, praxinoscope, and kineograph. These attempts were improved, until the animation industry was created. It was interesting to learn about the history of animation, how it started and how it became successful.

The readings for week 2 were about: arcs, timing, movement, reversal of curves, and squash and stretch. Some of the things I found interesting about these readings were: arcs, timing, and squash and stretch. Before these readings, I didn’t think about things moving in arcs, I just thought of movements as movements. After reading the Arcs article, however, I can see how everything is affected by arcs. I found the drawings of hand gestures moving in correct and incorrect arcs to be the most helpful part of this article. Similar to arcs, I didn’t think of the specifics of motion in animation. I thought movement was only conveyed through the drawings, not the spacing. The spacing section in the Golber article, however, made it easier to understand, “The closer together your drawings are, the slower your action; the farther apart they are, the faster,” (Golber, 103). I still find it a little hard to do, but I understand how spacing affects timing. Even before the readings, I knew about the principle of squash and stretch. A lot of cartoons I’ve seen (ex, Ed, Edd, n Eddy and Cow n Chicken) use extreme examples of squash and stretch to create a more ‘cartoonish’ look. The most important thing I learned from the squash and stretch excerpt from The Illusion of Life, is the use of flour bags to make sure that anything being animated keeps its volume, “The famous half-filled flour sack, guide to maintaining volume in any animatable shape, and proof that attitudes can be achieved with the simplest of shapes” (Johnston & Thomas, 1).

The readings for week 3 were about: the breaking of joints and the principles of animation. Of these 2 readings, I found the principle of the breaking of joints (in the Williams article) to be the most interesting. The descriptions, and especially the drawings, were a great help. Although, I found the many options for the breakage of joints to be a little intimidating.

The readings for week 4 were about: the line of action, movement, weight, overlap, squash and stretch, and action. I found the line of action (in the Blair article) to be the most interesting. I still have trouble drawing on a line of action (I tend to draw without a line of action, so it doesn’t look as accentuated). I found the drawings to be helpful, especially those that said what was right and what wasn’t.

The readings for week 5 were about: entertainment and anticipation. I found the sections on character development and anticipation to be the most interesting. In the Dan’s Animation Tricks article, I found the parts about dragging to be the most helpful. Similar to the breakage of joints, dragging helps make movements seem more natural. Finally, the section on character development, in the Glen Why Animate article, was also helpful. Unlike the other readings, which focused mainly on how to animate, this section focused on how to create characters with: story, history, personality, environment, music, and design. This section would be useful in creating a realistic/believable character. The one thing I did not think about when creating a character is the music, “[the] style of music [that] reflects the heart and attitude…of your character” (Johnston & Thomas).

I think that all of the information from these readings will be useful as I move forward in animation. What stuck out to me the most, however, are: arcs, timing, squash and stretch, breaking of joints, line of action, anticipation, and character development. Some of these things, such as: arcs, timing, breaking of joints, and anticipation, seem to be the basics of any animation. However, I think that the amount of: squash and stretch, line of action, and character development, can make the difference between good attention-grabbing animation and forgettable cartoons.