Traditional animation is something that always caught my attention but I saw it as something only for professionals, people who dedicated their whole lives to a trade that does not know their own names. It is increasingly difficult to find something made in this laborious technique, quickly leaving room for computer animation, something that pushes the art in very different directions than we had been accustomed to for almost a century.
Written by Preston Blair, Cartoon Animation was published in 1994, this book is the definitive guide to traditional animation. The author defines animation as an American art form, the process of drawing and photographing - a person, an animal, or an inanimate object - in successive positions to create movements that simulate real life.
Animators must be able to dramatize and caricature life as they compose and plan the actions and reactions of their characters.
I find the discovery of this book an exceptional opportunity, I hope you enjoy this series of tutorials that includes trips to the emotional memory of our childhoods.
Preston says that the basic design of the character should already give us a sense of movement that suggests to the audience the actions that this character will take. One way to achieve this is to use the "line of action" which will be the basis for rhythm, simplicity and pertinence.
It's an imaginary line that extends through the main action performed by the character. It's necessary to plan the figure and its details to accentuate this line. Doing this reinforces the dramatic effect. That's why the first thing to do is draw the line of action.
The fun part is when you put it together in a gif.
That's enough for today, on the next part we'll start animating with more detailed characters while we analyze in detail the difference between walking and running.
