Here is an example of overlapping action in live action comedy show Mr Bean. Notice the frantic gestures of his hands at 0:23. The hands lead the action while his arms and shoulders follow. His clothes also display follow through. When he is practicing his bow for the queen his head leads while his torso follows. The way he moves tells a lot about his character and shows the appeal of his child like
mannerisms. overlapping action is fluid and shows the energy by Rowan Atkinson.
Follow through and overlap refers to loose parts of an object or character that continue moving even after the action.
Hammer animation
Here is an example of follow through in action. As the hammer leads the primary action, the spring follows. When the hammer falls down and contacts the ground the spring emphasizes how they are made of different materials, which means different volumes in weight. The way the spring comes to a hold quickly shows it is made out of a none stretchy light material. Overall adding follow through and overlapping action adds a termination to the anticipation. the only critique would have been to add a bend handle this would add squash and stretch and add some more fluidity to the scene.
Here is the same animation but in a sequence this represents overlapping action and how one object can follow a leading object in a sequence.
Cape animation
This animation executes the use of follow through in the form of cloth on a cape. The motion shows forces of locomotion as the air resistance and weight effect the motion of the fabric. When the ball flies off the diving board the cape appears as though the wind picks up and the ball blows away. The only thing to change would be study cloth follow through more carefully to get a more accurate effect.
Here is an example of animation principles that have been recorded. This boy is anticipating to jump down from this log. Notice the way he tries to keep his body balanced as he walks along the log, tilting side to side with an excited spring in his step. This also shows psychological anticipation because you get a feeling of his personality and the stunt he is about to pull. The way he stops before he jumps shows the preparation for the action. As he gets near the end he builds up momentum to jump. The way he kicks his leg when he is in the air shows a playful and slightly cheeky mannerism that defines his age and his character,
This video will also be useful reference for animating a child character.
Anticipation is the art of telling audience what is happening. This principle goes back theaters and is about telling a story by preparing for each action. Anticipation is also very important for cartoons.
Big and small anticipation
Here is the difference between a big anticipation and a small anticipation. Notice how the ball first coils into itself as prepares itself to jump into the air. In order to look believable the size of the anticipation almost always must fit the size of the action, or else it looks unnatural and unappealing. This could also confuse the audience. The overall outcome allowed allot more understanding of the graph editor. Learning how to get full control over tangents allowed more efficiency.
Ball performing a cannonball splash
This is an example of using anticipation to show energy and weight. The ball first rolls back squashing, this shows physical anticipation but also psychological. This is because the way the ball tilts slightly shows weight and makes the ball feel alive and showing personality. as he rolls forward he builds up momentum because of the exaggeration of the anticipation. Overall this animation was a great introduction to acting and bringing inanimate objects to life.
Here is a representation of a light object and a heavy object contacting with a set of stairs. The two graphs represent the different volume and inertia of an object. This also represents the slow in and slow out.
Heavy
heavy requires a more subtle bounce when contacting with a surface the object will spend less time in the air after it contacts the ground. This is all represented as a graph that shows the stages of the heavy ball falling down a flight of steps. Heavy objects require more inertia which means more momentum. As the object gradually speeds up the ball becomes harder to stop when it reaches the bottom. As the ball hits the surface the ball holds for one frame before it bounces up also representing weight.
Light
Unlike the heavy object, light objects bounce higher and remain in the air for longer. As the ball bounces down the stairs it remains the same height of the bounce until it hits bottom once, It then decreases height as the inertia pulls it down.
Here is an example of slow in and slow out notice how when the ball reaches the top you get a feeling of inertia, as it swings down hitting the balls in a rhythmic pattern. Using the Graph editor you can create slow in and out using splines
Notice how on this example the slow out is a steep sloping ramp that accelerates down to the hold position. The end of the curve has a straighter line that represents the weight. Overall the only critique for this would be that providing some cushioning could add more weight to the impact. This would mean adding an extra frame as the ball contacts the surface.
This animation focuses on squash and stretch from two perspectives. The bouncing ball is a much softer material while the figure on the right is more hard and rigid. Similar to a swing lamp the birds body conceives in words when squashing and outwards when stretching. Notice the use of overlapping action on the head. Also the use of anticipation as the head goes down then shoots back up. along with the rest of the body.
This experiment shows that squash and stretch can be used on rigid objects or characters. For example robots or a wooden puppet.
Squash and stretch is very important for exaggeration however good timing is crucial.
overall the balls elongation could be more exaggerated however the bird came out nicely you can feel the life when the character lands rest there feet then takes off. The use of timing is also well applied the body contacts with the ground for a fair amount of time.
