3D Computer Animation

About 3D Computer Animation

When it comes to 3D computer animation, there are some basic principles that have been put in place by two Disney animators back in the early 1980’s. They created these principles because they strived to create the illusion of moving animated characters.

Their book has been considered a ‘Bible of the industry’ and has been voted as one of the best animation books ever through an online study. These 3D computer animation principles have been practiced in the past when animators used to largely hand draw the animated characters; nowadays computer animation using animation software still use these rules.

12 Basic Principles Of 3D Computer Animation

• Squash and stretch - considered to be the most important 3D computer animation principle, the aim of this is to create some sort of effect whereby the object appears to be flexible.

• Anticipation - this refers to creating a build up for the audience in a bid to make the action seem more real to life. Sometimes, animators do not use anticipation even though it might be expected and this in turn creates a kind of special effect.

• Staging - this 3D computer animation principle aims to capture the audience’s attention and point out what is happening at any given moment and also what to expect. This principle is achieved by using light or shadow and the angle of the camera may be adjusted in order to focus on important details.

• Straight ahead action and pose to pose - either one of these 3D computer animation principles will be used at the time of drawing the animated characters or objects, and straight ahead action refers to each drawing being framed one by one from start to finish. Pose to pose on the other hand refers to drawing the most important frames and then filling in the gaps at a later time.

• Follow through and overlapping action - these two 3D computer animation principles are similar to one another. Follow through occurs when the character still has body parts moving even after it has been stopped. Overlapping action occurs when various body parts do not move simultaneously or even at different speeds.

• Slow in and out - placing more frames at the beginning and end of a movement allows the animation to look much more realistic.

• Arcs - not all movements run in a straight line and therefore in order to achieve a natural and realistic look, animators need to bear this in mind when reproducing such movements.

• Secondary action - this 3D computer animation principle provides more life to an animated scene. An example would be someone carrying out facial expressions while laughing. They need to emphasize the action rather than taking away from them.

• Timing - refers to the speed in which action is carried out and this is governed by the number of frames per action.

• Exaggeration - contrary to what it may suggest, this 3D computer animation principle means keeping things as real as possible so that the animation looks as true to life as possible.

• Solid drawing - in 3D computer animation this principle largely considers 3D space objects and emphasizes on giving them weight and volume.

• Appeal - in 3D computer animation this refers to a character that has charm and is appealing to the audience. This is usually achieved by making sure that the character is interesting and real.

3D Animator