For this assignment the student is to draw a character’s arm (of their own design). The arm should be in a relaxed hanging down position.
They are to animate the arm lifting up and then pointing at something using successive breaking of joints; moving at the shoulder first, then the elbow and then the wrist.
Purpose and Principles Involved
This assignment is the first of the “character” assignments where the student will be working with either a human or animal character. Although the character’s body does not move you can tell a lot about the character’s attitude and personality through their body posture, facial expression and for the purposes of this exercise, the way in which they do the point.
The student decides on the character’s attitude in this assignment. Are they assertive, indecisive, agressive, hesitant, shy or angry? They pick an attitude and decide how the character’s arm will move.
The student needs to think of timing, phrasing, the forces involved and the weight of the character’s arm.
• Inbetweening
- Halves
- Thirds
- Favors
• Key Posing
• Roughs
• Slo-in and slo-out
• Spatial Relationships
• Accuracy in Drawing
• Reading and Following a Timing Chart
• Maintaining Volume and Proportions
• Flipping Drawings
• Overlapping Action
• The Effect of Gravity
• Realistic Timing
• Use of Arcs
• Anticipation
• Action
• Reaction
• Force
• Wave Action
• Exaggeration
• Use of ‘S’ and ‘C’ curves
• Fluidity
• Animating on One’s or Two’s
• Secondary Action / Drag
• Successive Breaking of Joints
• Tension
• Phrasing