STRAIGHT AHEAD AND POSE TO POSE ANIMATION
Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action. The lead animator will turn charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better used with this method so that the animator doesn't have to draw every drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this way and concentrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of both methods of animation.

Most animators work using the “pose to pose” method. Experimental animators, depending on the method or technique they use may tend more towards the “straight ahead” method. Some examples of this are clay, puppet, cutout, sand, and paint on glass animation. The very nature of the technique only allows for straight ahead.

Pose to pose animation allows for much more control over the action as well as the delegation of about 50% of the drawing to an assistant.

In straight ahead animation, the animator starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. With this method you can lose size, volume, and proportions, but it can produce spontaneity and freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are better when done this way.

Pose to Pose is planned out with key pose drawings showing the primary, extreme positions done at intervals throughout the scene, leaving anywhere from one to usually no more than six or so drawings between each. These are called the “inbetweens”. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action. The lead animator will time the scene out and add the timing charts to each key, indicating the specific placement of the inbetweens. Depending on the type of eccentric action required, the animator may also include breakdown drawings. These are the single, main inbetweens that describe the path of action more clearly.

The keys and breakdowns are then turned over to the inbetweener nd the animator then turns their attention to the next scene to be animated.

In some cases, again depending on the action required, both methods may be employed within a single scene.

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