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Basics Animation 03: Drawing for Animation

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Animation is a powerful tool for storytelling and entertainment. It allows us to create characters and worlds that would be impossible to capture with live action. But before you can animate, you need to be able to draw. In this lesson, we'll cover the basics of drawing for animation, including character design, motion, and expression.

Basics Animation 03: Drawing for Animation

by Paul Wells

4.2 out of 5

Language	:	English
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Character Design

The first step in drawing for animation is to design your character. This includes creating a unique look and personality for your character, as well as developing their backstory and motivations. When designing your character, keep in mind their role in the story and how they will interact with other characters.

There are many different ways to approach character design. Some animators start by sketching out a rough idea of their character, while others prefer to work digitally. Once you have a basic sketch, you can start to refine your character's design by adding details, clothing, and accessories.

Here are some tips for character design:

Start with a strong silhouette. A good silhouette is essential for making your character recognizable and easy to read.
Use simple shapes. Complex shapes can be difficult to animate, so it's best to keep your character's design simple.
Add personality. Your character's design should reflect their personality and motivations.
Think about how your character will move. When designing your character, consider how they will move and interact with the world around them.

Motion

Once you have designed your character, you need to start thinking about how they will move. Animation is all about creating the illusion of movement, so it's important to understand the principles of motion before you start animating.

The twelve principles of animation are a set of guidelines that animators use to create realistic and believable movement. These principles include:

Squash and stretch. Squash and stretch is used to create a sense of weight and elasticity in your animation.
Anticipation. Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for a character's movement.
Staging. Staging is used to control the flow and pacing of your animation.
Straight ahead action and pose to pose. Straight ahead action and pose to pose are two different ways to animate. Straight ahead action is when you animate one frame at a time, while pose to pose is when you animate the key poses of your animation and then fill in the in-betweens.
Follow through and overlapping action. Follow through and overlapping action are used to create a sense of realism in your animation. Follow through is when an object continues to move after the force that caused it to move has stopped, and overlapping action is when different parts of an object move at different speeds.

Expression

Expression is an important part of animation. It allows you to convey your character's thoughts and feelings without using words. There are many different ways to create expression in your animation, including:

Facial expressions. Facial expressions are one of the most important ways to convey emotion in animation.
Body language. Body language can also be used to convey emotion and personality.
Sound effects. Sound effects can be used to enhance the emotional impact of your animation.

Drawing for animation is a challenging but rewarding skill. By following the tips in this lesson, you can learn the basics of character design, motion, and expression. With practice, you can create dynamic and engaging animated visuals that will bring your stories to life.

Basics Animation 03: Drawing for Animation

by Paul Wells

4.2 out of 5