What is Character Animation?

Character animation is defined, in general, as a specialized area of animation which involves bringing a drawn character into motion. That means making a character move in 2D or 3D context.

As a first real character animation is being considered Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor McCay. However, many people associate Walt Disney with the beginning of character animation, because he was the one who started focusing on character animation as a most important area of animation in his studios. His concept artists started creating character sheets and mood boards with a character depicted in different poses, showing different emotions. It helps animators to understand characters in the animation they are making, to be able to relate to them, their traits and feelings, which make the character more relatable to the audience. Disney´s core animator, called Nine Old Men, who were creators of the most famous Disney films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, all became masters in approach to animation. Especially Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston were considered mentors and taught that thoughts and emotions behind a character are primary to the creation of every scene. They also wrote a book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, where they shared their knowledge and skills. This book is being considered as “the bible for animators” and it introduces 12 principles of animation. These principles deal with adhering laws of physics in animation and abstract issues like emotional timing or character appeal to the audience.

The principles are 1. Squash and Stretch, 2. Anticipation, 3. Staging, 4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose, 5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action, 6. Ease in and Ease out 7. Arc, 8. Secondary Action, 9. Timing, 10. Exaggeration, 11. Solid Drawing, 12. Appeal.

When it comes to differences between 3D character animation in live action films and cartoons, the main difference is the use of the principles of animation. In live action films, CG characters need to adhere to realistic laws of physics, without any exaggerations. Their movements need to be as natural as possible to fit into the real world and match the movements of real people and animals. On the other hand, cartoon characters are usually exaggerated with their proportions and movements, to enhance their personalities and traits. It makes the character more appealing and relatable to the audience.

When I compare a dragon character in live action TV series Game of Thrones and an animated film How to Train Your Dragon, all the differences are clearly visible. The Dragon in Game of Thrones is made to look like a real animal, with animal behaviour and emotions, even though dragons are more intelligent as other animals, which is also shown within his movements and eyes. The dragon in How to Train Your Dragon behaves more like a human combined with a dog, than a reptile. It makes him more likeable to people because his emotions are more relatable, and he communicates without words, using only his non-verbal language. People understand human non-verbal language and dog´s emotions shown in his movements, so they can easily understand everything that the dragons want to say without the ability to speak.

Bibliography

Techopedia.com. (2018). What is Character Animation? - Definition from Techopedia. [online] Available at: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/100/character-animation [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].

Thomas, F., Johnston, O. and Thomas, F. (n.d.). Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life.

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). 12 basic principles of animation. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Animation:_The_Illusion_of_Life [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Disney's Nine Old Men. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney%27s_Nine_Old_Men [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Character animation. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_animation [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].