ARTICLE RESPONSE — 10/21/2018

                              — ANTICIPATION: THE 12 BASICS PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION.


                           Coming back to the topic of animation, and the twelve basic design 
                           principles, Chris Hurtt develops his ideas on the importance of one
                           of the most basic principles: Anticipation. He has written many articles
                           on the basics of animation, and this one showcases anticipation as a 
                           crucial element of design. Hurtt clearly explains the staples and reasoning
                           for the use of anticipation in his essay.

                           Hurtt begins by explaining what anticipation truly is: the art of preparation
                           for an action or event. With the use of 3d models, Hurtt demonstrates that
                           without anticipation, there is no motivation in any movement. We'd have no
                           clue where the next action would be, and it would start without warning and
                           break the overall flow of the animation. In addition to anticipation, this 
                           principle is flexible to merge with other principles such as squash and
                           stretch, or follow through. Using a 3d face model, Hurtt compares the 
                           difference between actions without anticipation, and with anticipation, by                                 eyelids moving, heads going the opposite direction, and head bobbing 
                           before the initial movement. This makes the overall look much more
                           fluid, smooth, and vibrant. Hurtt also warns the readers and aspiring
                           animators to be conscious of when not to use anticipation, like when a 
                           punch is being thrown. The head would not turn towards the fist-- but away
                           instead. It can be a hard skill to master, but with the writings and examples
                           given to animators, it can easily be made a breeze.

                           I personally learned more about this principle through Hurtt's examples
                           and writing, and found it to be extremely interesting. The clear cut demos
                           and fluid writing of Hurtt always seems to help me grasp the concept much
                           better. I found it personally helpful that he incorporated models without
                           anticipation, which showcased how it looks stiff and mechanical. This, 
                           along with the correct models, gave me a much more clear understanding
                           of the importance of anticipation within the animation world.

WEEK OF 10/21/2018 — WEEKLY RESPONSE

                            ————————— WEEKLY COMMENTS —————————



                          ♕  — LEARNED : I learned more about walk cycles, and just how many
                                                           frames it really takes to make one! It's incredibly hard,
                                                           and I'll admit I'm finding myself scared of how it'll turn
                                                           turn out. But! I've come to understand it takes a lot more
                                                           time and persistence to create an intricate animation.



                          ♕  — WANT TO LEARN: I want to learn lip syncing! I'd love to try it out,
                                                                       and I'd love to start making singing animations of my
                                                                       characters! It'd be really fun I think, to be able to use
                                                                       songs and words to my advantage, rather than body
                                                                       languages.



                          ♕  — FRUSTRATED: The waving tail was the bane of my existence. Holy hell,
                                                                 it is the hardest thing for me that I cannot seem to get down
                                                                 no matter how much I try. I'm working my hardest to try
                                                                 and master the tail flick, especially since all my characters
                                                                 are Devils and demons with long tails. I'll continue to work
                                                                 on it however, and study more animations.



                          ♕  — HAPPY: Well, I think the most obvious thing would be my birthday!
                                                    I had an amazing time with my few friends that came over,
                                                    and my family. I got my absolute favorite plushie from an
                                                    animation I adore called 'Gloomy Bear!' I also am glad that
                                                    my wave project wasn't a total bust, glad it turned out alright!


                          ♕  — INTERESTING LINK: You know, I really tried to stop myself from ranting
                                                                            about my favorite movie, but I can't any longer!
                                                                            This article, about the movie 'Wolf Children' shows
                                                                            the progress of storyboarding and importance of
                                                                            television background, and colors to show mood!
                                                                            It's honestly an amazing movie, and I find myself
                                                                            drawn to it by the colors and stylistic aesthetics.

SQUASH AND STRETCH — ARTICLE REPONSE

                   


                                                              — Article Response —


                  The twelve principles of animation are most certainly the basis for every
                  aspiring animator, and keeping the most important one— squash and 
                  stretch in mind, is a lifeline to animating. The article written by Chris Hurrt
                  on the importance of squash and stretch illustrate how essential it is to
                  demonstrate a characters personality, and maintain smooth, flexibility. 
                  
                  Hurrt begins by speaking of the imperative to displaying elasticity and life flow 
                  into animations. To give a 'fleshiness' and 'flexibility' to characters and objects
                  in order to further highlight motion and the laws of gravity. Hurrt also warns the 
                  readers to maintain volume, and not change the proportions of the object. The
                  author explains how squash and stretch not only help with flexibility, but also
                  personality within characters. A perfect example Hurrt uses, is the Disney Flour 
                  Sack character sheet. Multiple images show the flour sack displaying emotions
                  based on the squash and stretch of the character, making it come to life and
                  show much more emotion and quality character traits. These simple steps are
                  necessity to show squash and stretch, a basic principle of animation.

                  Disney's Twelve Principles of Animation are a staple guide to any animator, one 
                  of the most important qualities being 'squash and stretch' as Chris Hurrt showed 
                  in his article: Squash and Stretch, the basic principles of animation. He explains 
                  how maintaining volume, showing emotion, and displaying flexibility are all 
                  crucial factors when animating objects and characters.

                  My own views on Squash and Stretch follow the same; absolutely crucial to
                  any animator, aspiring or professional. Following these laws will make your 
                  character much more vibrant, and I agree whole heatedly with Chris Hurrt.
                  I learned a little more about the physics and follow through that should go 
                  along with squash and stretch, which was interesting to explore! Making sure
                  to align any turns, twists, and extra motions with the squash is important; and 
                  a factor I have missed in the past. It was nice to see in writing how I made my
                  mistakes in past animation, and grew from them.

                  I did not have any disagreements with Chris Hurrt, I believe he was correct and
                  factual when bringing about the topic, and all around had an absolutely perfect
                  claim about the importance of squash and stretch, and things to keep in mind
                  while animating. Keeping things professional with your style may be rough, but
                  the twelve principles of animation are there as a guideline to help grow your 
                  own style in my personal opinion.

                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  
                  

WEEK OF 10/14/18

WEEKLY COMMENTS: MIKEY

——————

           — LEARNED:  I learned much more about physics and animation! The weight of things, timing, easing in and out, all of these things I have learned how to manage and work with better. I also learned more about color theory, and how to work pastels and vibrant together without making it look like a mess.

           — WANT TO LEARN: I'm really excited for the keyframing lesson, and I want to know more on walk cycles. I'm nervous as hell to start my walk cycle, but I'm sure with the lessons and packets I will manage. 

           — FRUSTRATED: Honestly, this has been the hardest week. My brother died 3 years ago on October 10th, and I struggled hard that day to try and keep a smile on and continue to work. I also have struggled hard with my long animation project, I probably bit off more than I can chew. The pendulum just won't work right!

           — HAPPY: I'm happy that I spent time with my two best friends all week, and we played a new game together! I'm getting closer and closer to finally feeling comfortable with the people I surround myself with, so I'm glad I'm doing better than last year.

           — INTERESTING LINK: This article talks about one of my favorite 'scary' movies, Coraline! It talks about the emotion throughout the film, and the hidden messages and meanings conveyed through the animation.

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