Introduction to 3D Computer Animation Dr. Midori Kitagawa University of Texas at Dallas Arts and Technology Program

Table of Contents History: Pioneers of animation Principles of animation Types of 3D computer animation

1. History: Pioneers of animation J. Stuart Blackton (1875-1941) Winsor McCay (1867-1934) John Bray (1874-1978) Max Fleischer (1883-1972) Walt Disney (1901-1966)

J. Stuart Blackton (1875-1941) Father of animation In 1896 as a reporter/artist for the New York Evening World newspaper, Blackton interviewed Thomas Edison Became a "rapid-drawing cartoonist" for a series of Edison shorts.

J. Stuart Blackton (1875-1941) Combined stop motion, puppetry, and live action Enchanted Drawing, 1900 Humorous Phases of Fanny Faces, 1906

Winsor McCay (1867-1934) Father of character animation Already well known for his newspaper cartoons “Little Nemo”, 1905-1914

Winsor McCay (1867-1934) Gave believability and personality to his hand-drawn characters Gertie the Dinosaur, 1914 Sinking of Lusitania, 1916

John Randolph Bray (1874-1978) Founder of the animation industry Reporter for the Detroit Evening News, 1901- In 1914 Bray’s partner Earl Hurd patented the use of clear cels over background Hurd and Bray formed the Hurd and Bray Patent Company in 1914

John Randolph Bray (1874-1978) Turned artistic work into an assembly-line production With additional patents obtained by Bray, the company monopolized the animation process The patents expired in 1932 Much of what Bray claimed to have invented have been credited to McCay and others. Colonel Heeza Liar’s, 1913

Max Fleischer (1883-1972) Inventor of the rotoscope A cartoonist and photographer for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle  Art director for the magazine Popular Science Worked at Bray’s studio

Max Fleischer (1883-1972) Rotoscope Traces the movement of live actors, frame by frame

Max Fleischer (1883-1972) Produced the first animation with a synchronized sound track in 1924 Fleischer studio produced Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman cartoon series Affected by the Hays Code in 1934 Tantalizing Fly, 1919

Walt Disney (1901-1966) Inventor of the family entertainment Film producer, director, screen writer, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur Greatly influenced 20th century American culture

Walt Disney (1901-1966) Father of Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie (1928) was not the first Mickey Mouse cartoon produced or released Not the first sound cartoon either The first sound cartoon that achieved wide commercial success

History: Pioneers of animation “Disney’s memory belongs to the public; Max’s to those who remember him by choice.” (Heraldson, 1975)

2. Principles of animation Created by animators at the Walt Disney Studios in the early 1930’s Helped to transform animation from a novelty into an art form  Still today Guide production and creative discussions Train young animators better and faster Applicable to 2D/3D computer animation as well as traditional hand-drawn animation

Principles of animation From Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas Squash and stretch Anticipation Staging Straight ahead action and pose to pose Follow through and overlapping action Slow-in and slow-out Arcs Secondary action Timing Exaggeration Solid drawing Appeal

Principles of animation Physics Aesthetics Squash and stretch Follow through Timing Slow-in and slow-out Secondary action Arcs Exaggeration Solid drawing Overlapping action Appeal Production methods Straight ahead action and pose to pose Presentation of action Anticipation Staging

Principles of animation Physics Squash and stretch Follow through Timing Secondary action Slow in and slow out Arcs

Squash and stretch While many real world objects, e.g. a rock, have little or no flexibility most organic objects, e.g. a human body, have some flexibility in their shapes When an object moves, its movement indicates the rigidity of the object

Squash and stretch No matter how squashed or stretched out an object gets, its volume should remain constant

Follow through Termination of action Nothing stops at once When the main body of a character stops all other parts continue to catch up it, such as arms, long hair, clothing, floppy ears, and a long tail

Follow through

Timing Timing, i.e., the speed of an action, gives meaning to movement, both physical and emotional meaning Timing affects the perception of mass of an object  

Timing Timing gives meaning to movement A character looks first over the right shoulder and then over the left shoulder. Varying the number of inbetweens can imply: 0: hit by a strong force and its head almost snapped off 1: hit by something substantial, .e.g., frying pan 2: has a nervous twitch 3: dodging a flying object 4: giving a crisp order 6: sees something inviting 9: thinking about something 10: stretching a sore muscle

Timing Timing affects the perception of mass of an object The slower the object moves the heavier it looks  

Slow-in and slow-out Spacing of inbetweens at extremes Soften the action and make it more life-like   Without slow-out With slow-out

Secondary action Smaller motions that complement the main action, e.g. hair flows as a character turns its head Increases the complexity and interest in a scene  

Arcs All actions, with few exceptions (e.g., motion of a mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path Especially true of the human figure and the action of animals Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow  

Principles of animation Aesthetics Exaggeration Appeal Overlapping action

Exaggeration A caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes, and actions Makes it more realistic and entertaining Not arbitrary distortion of shapes nor making an action more violent or unrealistic

Exaggeration “If a character is sad, make him sadder; if he is bright, make him shine; worried, make him fret; wild, make him frantic.” (Lasseter, 1987)

Solid drawing Ability to draw weight, volume, and balance Aesthetic sensibility for forms, textures, lights, and motions

Appeal Animated characters must appeal to the audience. They don't need to be lovely, cute and nice, but they must be interesting, somehow attractive. Villains as well as heroes and heroines should have appeals

Appeal A live performer has charisma; an animated character has appeal

Overlapping action Starting a second action before the first action has completely finished Keeps the interest of the viewer, since there is no dead time between actions

Overlapping action "When a character knows what he is going to do he doesn't have to stop before each individual action and think to do it. He has it planned in advance in his mind." Disney

Principles of animation Presentation of action Anticipation Staging

Anticipation Preparation for an action, e.g., when a character is about to jump, he first crouches to gain momentum and the takes off Prepares the viewer for the action that will happen Longer anticipation is needed for faster actions

Staging Clear presentation of an idea, where the idea can be an action, a personality, an expression, or a mood An idea should be unmistakably clear to the viewer

Staging One idea at a time A personality should be staged so that it is recognizable

Principles of animation Production methods Straight ahead Pose to pose

Straight ahead Starts at the first drawing in a scene and then draws all of the subsequent frames until the end of the scene Creates very spontaneous and zany looking animation Used for wild, scrambling action

Pose to pose Planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene Action, size, volumes, and proportions are controlled than straight ahead The lead animator will turn keys over to his assistant

Principles of animation Another way to look at the principles Before action Beginning of action Middle of action End of action Anticipation Slow-in Slow-out Staging Follow through Squash and stretch, straight ahead, pose to pose, overlapping action, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing, appeal

Principles of animation Essential for 3D computer animation

3. Types of 3D computer animation Keyframe animation Motion capture animation Procedural animation

Feature length animation examples Keyframe animation Pixar: Cars (2011, 2006), Toy Story (2010, 1999, 1995), Up (2009), Wall-E (2008), Nemo (2003), Mosters’ Inc (2001) PDI/DreamWorks: Shrek (2010, 2007, 2004, 2001), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Kanfu-panda (2008)

Feature length animation examples Motion capture animation Fox/Weta: Avatar (2010) Sony Pictures: Beowulf (2007), Monster House (2006), Polar Express (2004)

Feature length animation examples Procedural animation There are short films that are procedurally produced. No feature length animation that is entirely procedural animation. Procedural animation is often used as effect animation for live action films and 3D computer animations.

Keyframe animation Keyframe is a drawing (image) of a key moment in an animation sequence, where the motion is at its extreme Inbetweens fill the gaps between keyframes

Keyframe animation In traditional animation, skilled animators draw keyframes; less experienced animators draw inbetweens In 3D computer animations, animators set up parameter values for keyframes; software interpolates parameter values between keyframes for inbetweens Every motion is created by animators

Keyframe animation Different interpolation methods create different timing   Linear interpolation Spline interpolation

Motion capture animation What is motion capture? Sampling and recording motion of humans, animals, and inanimate objects s 3D data Data can be applied to 3D computer models

Motion capture animation Faster to produce animation than keyframing (if an established production pipeline exists) Secondary motions and all the subtle motions are captured, providing more realism

Procedural animation Motion is generated by a procedure, a set of rules Animator specifies rules and initial conditions and runs simulation

Procedural animation Provides more realism in natural phenomena than keyframing Frees animators from generating complex objects and keyframing a large number of objects

Procedural animation Used for effect animation for traditional animation and live action films as well as for 3D computer animation

Types of animation A combination of keyframe animation, motion capture and/or procedural animation is often used to produce animations

Midori Kitagawa, Ph.D. midori@utdallas.edu