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ANIMATION ARCHIVES
Richard Williams Animation Master Class NotesTaken by Dave
Bailey
DISCLAIMER: The posting of these notes is in no way meant to
undermineRichard Williams or his class. They are instead provided
to share informationas well as generate interest in this class. We
have the utmost respect for Mr.Williams and anyone interested in
attending Richard Williams' class is highlyencouraged to do so. Did
we say highly? We meant to say, GO TO HISCLASS! From every source
we've ever heard from, it is clear that any notes onthe subject,
such as the ones below, barely scratch the surface of theexperience
of actually attending the classes.
While these notes fall in the category of public domain, we are
doing our best tocontact Mr. Williams for his
endorsement/approval.
The Richard Williams Animation Master Class was an incredible
experience.Mr. Williams is a very personable, entertaining and
competent teacher. Thethree days were crammed full of theories,
examples and entertaining stories.This gray haired balding
gentleman would race across the stage, jump about orcrawl on all
fours in the effort of getting the concepts across. I made over
40pages of notes and sketches. Although the class is geared toward
traditionalcell animation most of what is discussed is applicable
to CG.
Just a small disclaimer, most of these notes are my
interpretation of what Mr.Williams said. Also most of my notes are
in the form of crude quickly drawnexamples. Without the sketches
some of what is noted below is not as easilyunderstood. If there is
something that is not clear or you just don't agree with letme know
and I will try to clarify as best I can. [email protected]
Note: any reference to timing is based on 24 fps
"Sophisticated Use of the Basics" -- Animation Master Class by
RichardWilliams
What is animation?
l Change is the basis of all animationl There are two types of
animation Morphing and the type that gives the
illusion of life.
l Animation is all in the timing and spacing
l You must show where the weight is, where it is coming from and
where the
weight is going to.
KEY FRAMES - are the story telling frames (The story board
drawings)Frames where the character makes contact (heel strike
pose, touching anobject, etc.)
HE
M
"RisdG
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EXTREMES - are the where there is a change of direction. They
are NOT KeyFrames.
BREAKDOWNS are the middle or passing position.On breakdowns
always add an extra bit of movement -- almost anything
willwork.Don't go from A to B. Go from A to Z to B
Methods of Working:
l 1) Straight-Ahead - Just start and see what happens. (Creative
but lackscontrol)
l 2) Pose to Pose - (Lots of control but restricts
creativity)
l 3) The "Best" Method - A combination of "Pose to Pose" and
"Straight
Ahead".
Steps to take before animating:
l 1) Before working turn off all other stimulus --"UNPLUG"
l 2) Write down what you want to do
l 3) Act it out
l 4) Work out the timing
l 5) Then animate
The "Best" animating method
l Step 1 - Do the KEY frames (the story telling poses)
l Step 2 - Do the frames that have to be there (the contact
frames)
l Step 3 - Do the breakdown poses (passing/middle poses) Don't
forget to add
that extra bit of action.
l Step 4 - Do Straight Ahead Runs of different parts in
hierarchical order
Testing along the way.(Hips first followed by legs then arms
then head. Drapery is always last)
GENERAL GUIDES & TIPS
The human eye can not see (comprehend) an action done in less
then 5frames, for an action to be readable it must be done in 5 or
more frames.
The way I under stood this to mean was that the 5 frames could
include theanticipation of the movement. For example a character
could be held in a 5frame anticipation and be off the screen in the
6th. The use of ease-in or ease-out would also be included in those
5 frames.
Mr. Williams also stressed that all the things he was teaching
were generalguidelines and theories and one should always have the
courage to break therules. Experiment and test often, the only
thing that matters is if the finalanimation works!
Never exit the frame in less than 5 frames.
On in-betweens don't animate in a straight-line use curved
paths
For fast/hard impacts, skip the actual impact frame. Go
immediately from actionto reaction.
A character should never take off or land on both feet at the
same time.
Blinks frequently happen on a passing pose.There are generally
two frames between the open and closed positions of aneye during a
blink.
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3D ARK : Richard Williams Animation Master Class Notes Page 3 of
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WALKS & RUNS
On a walk only one foot leaves the ground at a timeOn a run both
feet leave the ground for at least 1 frame and the character
isalways down on the passing pose.
Always create your heel strike poses first.
A normal walk is on march-time - a heel strikes the ground every
12 framesA Hollywood cartoon walk heel-strike is every 8 framesA
stroll heel-strike is every 16 framesA normal run heel-strike is
every 8 framesHeel-strikes on the fastest run possible occurs every
4 frames (this only worksfor small characters)
OVERLAPPING ACTIONOverlapping action is action that does not
happen all at once.
I changed the word "breaking" to "bending" in the line below
while taking mynotes. It helped me differentiate between "A
successive breaking of joints" -(breaking up the movement of an
articulated object) and "breaking a joint" -(unnatural bending)
Both concepts are used for the same purpose of getting
smooth curvaceous movement. The whole idea of the broken joint
is that it isunnoticeable to the eye, so, yes it can be used for
realistic animation.
A successive bending of joints limber up movement -- It's an
unfolding action. Iftwinning is happening, think about what parts
can be delayed.
Another example of overlapping action is delaying the movement
of loose fattytissue (Jowls) behind the quicker moving muscle and
bone (skull).
COUNTER ACTIONA counter action is where one part moves in the
opposite direction to counterthe weight and thrust of another
part.
BREAKING JOINTS
The unnatural bending of joints to obtain curvaceous movement
with straightline segments.
If the successive frames with broken joints are less than five
and less then thenumber of frames with non-broken joints the
distortion will not be noticed.
To really add SNAP to a movement put one "crazy" position the
frame beforethe extreme position.
The word "crazy" was Mr. Williams' but I think it's a bit
misleading. It is not anextreme. It is a slightly out of joint
position a frame before the Extreme. Afterthe extreme you would
ease into a held position.
He gave the following example: (Please pardon my crude
diagrams)
The example he gave was an arm making a pointing motion.
Starting with thearm bent at the elbow (V), hand pointing up. On
the end frame 7 the arm isstraight out (---), hand pointing
forward. On frame 6 the hand is close to its finalposition but the
elbow is broken in a reverse bend upward about 20 degrees (^-). I
would not really call frame 6 an extreme more like a semi out of
place in-between.
DIALOGUE
l Consonants must have 2 frames to read - steal from the
preceding sound ifneeded.
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3D ARK : Richard Williams Animation Master Class Notes Page 4 of
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l Hit the mouth accent on the vowel.
l Vowels need 2 poses an accent pose and a cushion pose.
l Pop the mouth open on vowels with an accent pose and
immediately ease
into a cushion pose
l "Boil it down" - Keep the mouth movement simple.
l Form the words (watch singers)
l Lift the head 3-4 frames in advance of the modulation.
l Upper teeth are anchored to the skull.
l Women usually show upper teeth only.
l Men (50/50) show upper or lower teeth only a rare few show
both.
l The tongue is hooked at the back of the lower jaw, not stuck
in the throat
l Never in-between the tongue, always snap it from one position
to the next.
l When giving dialogue a character should be progressing (or
regressing)somewhere.
l Get the body action right then add the mouth.
Break up the action and the dialog - do one thing at a time! For
example talkthen point or point then talk
Animate dialogue on level sync, then in post, test delaying the
voice audio byapproximately 2 frames to see what works best.
Would you like to add, share, or correct some information? 3D
ARK welcomes yourcontributions. Send mail to:
[email protected]
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