Timing!!

Timing is a very big part in animation, it makes or breaks the whole animation!

In my past projects i dont think my timing was very good. Especially in my alien one. In photoshop it looked fine but once it was put onto a quicktime it went really fast. I definily think this is a good video to look at for when thinking about timing. He jumps too quickly. If i was to remake this animation i would place the key frames farther apart to slow the jump down. Or to slow down certains parts of the jump as when people jump in the air it goes quick. I would make the bend down and the landing a little slower than when the alien is actually mid jump.

I actually have a book from the main reading list on Timing but i havent read it yet. I'm not very good at motivating myself to read books, maybe that can be my goal for the summer...READ THE BOOKS I HAVE!!!!

Placing key frames is important as if they are placed too closely together it makes the character move quicker and if they are placed farther apart it slows them down.

My E4 Ident is a good example as we had a soundtrack to put the animation to. I had to play the music in the background as i played the animation at the same time to try and figure out what the movements should be at certain beats. I think putting an animation to sound is a bit easier than adding sound to an animation.

Key frames are great when you have already placed one in, it is capturing that particular stance or movement. This means that when you go to make a new movement and mess up, its fine because that first stance is saved and you dont have to start from the beginning. Or if you have made the movement and added a second keyframe but dont like it, you can delete it and again the first stance is still in place.

For the current project we are working on, 3D character, i will have to update you on the key frames when i finish it. I have played around with the arms though and actually sat moving my arm as if i would if i was walking to get how it works. The arms move at the same time as the legs so i just have to keep that in mind. I will also be people watching, i do this anyways as i find it funny picking up on little things that most people dont see or pay attention to. I tend to over exaggerate it as well if its people i know. Its funnier noticing their reactions to things like if they tripped up on the road or something. Anyways, going off in a tangent - Will go into more detail on the timing of this animation when its done.