For this week’s class, I read the Timeline chapter from the ‘Animators Survival Kit’. Back in the 1930s, animators like Grim Natwick realised that smooth motion was not magic—it’s math. By drawing only the start and end “extreme” poses of an action and then placing a carefully chosen “breakdown” drawing exactly halfway, they created a mini ruler (the famous 1-3-5 spacing) that instructed assistants on how many frames to draw and where. Williams’s walk-through of that discovery (Williams, The Animator’s Survival Kit, 2009, pp. 47-57) shows the trick: bunch extra frames near the ends and you get the classic slow-in/slow-out “cushion,” slide the middle pose a hair off and the whole shot wobbles. Those pencil-era timing charts are still the silent heartbeat underneath every modern timeline, guiding software tweens just like they once guided ink on paper.
This week’s class dove into the essential building blocks of believable animation. We explored how time charts serve as roadmaps for animators, mapping out the timing and spacing between keyframes to create natural movement. The distinction between timing (the speed of action) and spacing (the distribution of frames) became clear through practical examples. A primary focus was on conveying weight – whether animating creatures, balls, or objects – by understanding how characters redistribute their centre of gravity when interacting with items of different masses.
The feedback I received on the Golden Poses was positive; however, I overthought it and overanalysed the scene. As for the pose, it was okay, but too symmetrical due to my reference choice.
For our practical assignment, we’ll animate empty versus full juice cartons falling to demonstrate how weight affects motion.
In addition, we’ll continue studying Golden Poses, analysing another scene of our choice and creating another pose. In my case, I chose a clip from Lilo and Stitch and rigged a sitting pose.