Texture and contrast in Animation

I wanted to write this down for some time now and what better way to do it on a blog! :P Anyhoo, something that I think is really important in animation is texture and contrast in animation. Something that you will notice in student animations is that everything seems to flow in a very monotonous way. It usually feels like the timing and phrasing are on distinct even beats. Think of it as one of those heart monitor thingys that go beep, beep beep beep....etc. It's very boring to watch and even more boring in animation. What makes watching that monitor beep interesting is when we wait for it to go beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep and flatline. In animation we look for that change, that texture and contrast in everything about animation. You want to break up moves so that you have fast moves and slow moves weaved together. By doing this, you add a nice interesting texture to the scene. Ever watch a scary movie and the girl goes into the quiet house "hello??............." and you wait for something to jump out and get her? It's that dramatic contrast that make it fun to watch. I mean it's part of the suspense that makes you enjoy it but it's also the contrast between the silence then the unexpected "BOO!" You want to give these moments in your animation. You don't want everything to feel flat and boring. Contrast your timings, your arcs in your poses, your characters emotions if possible. Add texture to your phrasing. Make your animation feel like it flows nicely together like a piece of good music. Make sure everything is done for a reason. Texture and contrast and all of that good stuff about animation should be PLANNED out before you animate. Know your character and know why he is doing the things that he does. Take advantage of the medium and remember that our audience doesn't care that it's animation and is hard to do. All they care about is if they are entertained. Key note : Remember your audience! Don't forget who is going to watch your shot. A problem that young animators have is that they concentrate on the details first and forget about the overall performance. I must admit, I did this for a long time. Remember, just because you spent 2 days on the overlap of the pinky toe, the audience probably didn't even notice it. This isn't to say that you shouldn't put it in, It's just that you should add that special touch after the shot is working. It's like a painting, block out the overall picture then work your way down to the details. No one said that animation is easy :) Practice, practice practice! Happy animating!

-Ray