Here is my “hit list” of ANIMATION PRINCIPLES

some words of wisdom from yours truly

If you are coming out of school or looking for a job in animation (2D, 3D, Flash, Stop Motion, Vis. EFX)- this is the list of STUFF you need to know.

ANIMATION PRINCIPLES:

WEIGHT AND MASS

TIMING (SLO-OUTS/SLO-INS, SPEED, TEXTURE IN TIMING, TIMING CHARTS)

ANTICIPATION

HOLDS, CUSHIONS (OR SETTLES)

PRIMARY ACTION

SECONDARY ACTION

OVERLAPPING ACTION

COMPENSATIONS AND CHANGE OF DIRECTIONS

WAVE ACTION

LEAD AND FOLLOW ACTION

DRAG ACTION (FORCES vs. FORMS)

SUCCESSIVE BREAKING OF JOINTS

ARCS

DYNAMIC POSING (THUMBNAILS, KEY POSES, KEY FRAMES, EXTREMES)

BALANCE/ COUNTER BALANCE

the emotional sack - a really wonderful posing/acting exercise

CENTER OF GRAVITY

TORQUE

THINKING TIME

APPEAL

STAGING

MOTIVATIONAL FORCES

CHARACTER DESIGN AND STRUCTURE

BI-PED AND QUADRAPED MOVEMENTS

BODY ATTITUDES

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

SPINE REVERSALS

my atelier on a good day

I was skimming through some images on my computer and I came across this student work. These are representative of the works of some very talented folks from Layout and Character Design classes.

A wonderful example of character constructiuon in 2D from Rei Cayetano

 First with drawing, we would explore very simple basic structure with basic shapes (although we really meant forms – more of a 3D approach) and then build upon these forms. Next, a drawn model sheet was created and from that the participants had to take their characters to 3D in the form of MAQUETTES.

The goal was to see what happened when 2D was translated into 3D.

Many students put a extraordinary amount of effort into their characters. They began with a base, built a wire armature, layered the supper sculpey around and there worked on the details and smoothing - before baking it in their ovens.

Nate’s hero pirate mouse

Lindsey B.’s pirate mouse girl

An aged mouse

A sword slinging rabbit

Some of S. Hollis’ handiwork

This endeavor was an excellent exercise for them since most were headed into 3D CG animation.

At a later time, I will show some layouts and model sheets.

Keep Animated!

Well, it’s just past the half way point of the month and much to my amazement and joy, the key drawings for CROSSING THE LINE are past half way completed.

The method of using the thumbnails has worked very well. It does provides the necessary footage and also some funny animation circumstances. My favorites have included footage completed at the waiting room of an automobile service department and the local ice cream/ coffee shop. These places also provide wonderful opportunities to sketch the customers as they come and go…

…another plus, free donuts at the car dealership…

Well, onward and upward- “animation wise”

A few more sketches….

Here’s the first worm character’s head evolution

The model sheet from the pencil character/prop

a partial Henri reference walk

We never considered when the Disney Institute opened - that it would close.

In 1996 and the beginning of 1997, the Disney Institute was featured prominently on TV, in the press and in the Disney Company reports. There is even an article about the Institute in the 25^th anniversary book of Disney World.

Most of the time, it was a great place to work. There was ALWAYS something going on. You could be teaching a studio class and Roy Disney would walk in the door. We had presentations at the theater, at the Performance Center – both located on property at the Institute. Our animation guests included: Faith and Emily Hubley, John Canemaker, Bill Plympton, Ward Kimball, Marc Davis, James Earl Jones, Jim Jenkins (creator of Doug)…the list goes on and on.

The non-animation guests were just as impressive: The Alvin Ailey Dancers, Charlie Rose, Bill Walton (a night of basketball stories and his first public piano recital- the man has guts), Gladys Knight, Andy Garcia, Tricia Yearwood…it was amazing!

Amid the connection with guests and the classes, Squash McStretch was thriving. As with all Disney characters Squash even had the honor of having a conference room named after him. Our offices had moved to a back area into a huge trailer-like complex. Along with the conference room, the new office numbers were Squash McStretch figures with numbers inside. (I wish I would have gotten one of those for a keepsake).

At one point, our marketing department asked us for a special presentation for a group. The Institute was beginning to focus more on “heads in beds” than “bums in seats”. Jim Korkis came up with an animator at the desk (me) and a presenter (Jim) on stage and a live talk about what Walt Disney use to call the “Plausible Impossible”. Jim is an excellent writer, presenter, actor and historian. We created some Squash McStretch animation as a lead into part of the presentation. We worked it out so that I would make drawings of Jim as he spoke (usually he was a chicken or a sheep). I had a camera over my shoulder so the results were projected for the audience. At some point, I would draw Squash and then he would come to life with the preproduced animation. It was a crazy, wonderful kind of animation vaudeville event that only someone like Jim could create. I just went along for the ride!

A framed Squash

Our limited edition Squash pin

During the summer of 1997, the powers that be decided the Institute needed to reduce the number of offerings from almost 40 disciplines down to about 10 or 11. Fewer offerings meant layoffs Animation, Culinary, and Gardening stayed intact- our attendance numbers were good.

Animation wasn’t touched until the three round of layoffs . I had to attend Disney HR classes so that I could learn the fine art of how to let folks go. I also had to give input into who to keep. I did not sleep for weeks! I even volunteered myself as a potential “layoff” candidate.

By 1998, the changes kept coming. The best distraction we had, besides our normal pargo races on the golf course trails…well, mostly on the trails, was the upcoming animation event based on the Orlando studio produced animated film, MULAN. By then, we were into our third series of Squash McStretch cells. A special Squash Mulan was created especially for the event. We kept trying to expand our offerings of Squash products but by then we were on the radar of Disney Merchandising who politely asked us to stop or else.

Two Mulan events were held on consecutive weekends in September. They were the first and the best (in my opinion). I was able host a friend, June Foray, for the second weekend. June was voice of Grandma Fau. The Institute animation staff worked their butts off - from 6:00 am in the morning until 2:00 am. We had such a great time with the guests no one wanted to go to bed. Afterward, we were told that Michael Eisner received dozens of letters about the event - all of them congratulatory.

A front page from a MULAN book

On October 28^th, I was lead into a room where a press release was given to me that stated, “Larry Lauria was leaving the Disney Company to pursue other interests” So that was it, my stint with Disney was over. The Company did treat me really well – with my own little golden parachute. Later, from the grapevine, I heard the MULAN event had been so successful – it probably bought me another month.

After I left Disney, Squash faded quickly from the stable of Disney characters. We had our fun. There is still Squash merchandise out there. The pins, cells and maquettes still pop-up from time to time on EBay or collector’s sites- so in a way Squash still lives.

My Institute Animation jacket

Close up of our animation jackets (100,000 stitches in each jacket)

The Disney Institute hung on in various forms for a while longer – closing quietly on February 8^th 2002. The beautiful new Disney Saratoga Springs resort is now located on the Institute site. The computer animation studio is now a guest laundry. The 2D animation studio is now an Art Center for guests. When I visited last June, I left them with the image of a bulbous nosed Irish-American cartoon character drawn on an easel.

Since then, I have taught 3 or 4 students (now animators) whose first exposure to animation was at the Disney Institute.

I really enjoy working on location.

To that end, here are few pieces from my travels the last few months.

They include images from our time in Laguna beach, the Calif. Coast, San Francisco, China and across the USA.

These works have different approaches…but all had their genesis ON LOCATION without sketches - just ink or paint to paper or canvas.

I am just now getting to oils and thats really exciting for me.

Even when I paint, I am….

ALWAYS ANIMATED!

Chinese Girl sketch

Ty B. Bear as a Pirate

Shrimpers At Lazaretto Creek

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Six Pence Pub

Tybee IsIand Lighthouse

Zhangjiakou, China

Thats enough for now!!!

When any character is standing – an imaginary line runs vertically through to the feet. (fig. 1)

FIG-1a.jpg

Because they are standing with their weight

equally on their two feet, the character is

centered or balanced on those two feet.

The CENTER OF GRAVITY is that point that is also the center of the character’s weight. Most of the time the hips (or pelvis area ) usually carries the greatest amount of weight. (fig. 2)

FIG-2a.jpg

Obviously, that CENTER point can be located either higher or lower in the character- depending on the body type. (fig. 3)

FIG-3a.jpg

Notice above the differing center points on the body types.

Proportion is another element to take into consideration. (fig. 4)

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Long legs and torsos, as well as short legs and torsos – or any combination will effect the position of the characters’ center.

As long as the center point is positioned over the legs the character is centered.

Even more extreme poses should be centered.

(fig. 5)

FIG-5a.jpg

Now, a character should be centered even on poses where one foot touches the ground.

Here the idea is to have the weight centered over one foot.
(Fig. 6)

FIG-6a.jpg

Once the weight is centered – the pose can be VERY extreme.
(fig. 7)

FIG-7a.jpg

But, if the weight is centered away from the foot – the character can do only one thing… (fig.

FIG-8a.jpg

Fall…because the character is off balance…
(fig. 9 and 10)

FIG-9a.jpg

FIG-10a.jpg

If you want the character to fall- then okay…but, if a character’s center of gravity is too far back- it can never go forward.

During parts of some movements the character will be off balance…such as a walk.

In the passing position the character is generally balanced. (fig. 11)

FIG-11a.jpg

…but from there forward to the contact position the character if off center (with their weight and balance forward) and technically falling forward. (fig. 12)

FIG-12a.jpg

The next lesson will cover center of gravity during actions and movements.

TO RECAP

· THE CENTER OF GRAVITY of a character is based on the weight of the character balanced or centered over the feet.

· THE CENTER OF GRAVITY’s location can vary according to body type and proportions.

· Even when the character is on one foot, THE CENTER OF GRAVITY (determined by the weight of the character) is over that one foot

· If THE CENTER OF GRAVITY and weight are not centered the character will be off balance- this can impede the character’s ability to move.

Just working away on my film Crossing the Line, utilizing the large thumbnails to scope out my key drawings.

Here are a couple of samples straight from my yellow pad….raw footage so to speak…

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I am still trying to learn the image upload- so please be patient…

The ideas behind these thumbnails are to be ruff (so I am not too invested in my drawings at this point). Next… to be spontaneous with tons of energy and then, to have clear silhouettes that tell the story.

Thumbnail.jpg

I just received this by email today.

This the new music site of Michelle Armstrong Lauria aka MI, a singer/ songwriter with unlimited possibilities. Michelle is our daughter-in-law, she and our son Matt were married in Laguna Beach this summer (2006).

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What an event! Forget that MTV reality TV show - the wedding was beautiful and we had a blast the entire week. Daily parties, beach volleyball and body surfing…and art, were the order of the day.

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MI is an amazing singer/songwriter and a wonderful person!

Could there be an animated music video in the future….we’re talking possibilities!

ENJOY!

This is it!

It is February and I set a goal to be finished the keys (key drawings) for my film, CROSSING THE LINE, by the end of the month.

Why did I pick the short month anyhow? Should have gone for March during a “leap” year.

I usually work away in my studio…and sometimes, I start to drive me, my wife and the birds outside crazy with my energy. So then… its off to a local cafe with pads of paper and pencils and pens to animate “on location”. That’s exactly what I did a couple of days ago.
How do I animate “on location”?

Easy. I do tons and tons of thumbnails. The other day it was pouring rain and my blank white paper was in the back of my CRV…so, I improvised. I took my yellow legal paper and went to it.

Lately instead of the really, really small thumbnails- I do larger one- close to the size of the final drawings….but, really, really ruff. Then, I take them home and tape them to animation bond and use my web cam and FLIPBOOK software for a quick pencil test. Maybe, it is a bit of the immediate gratification thing…and, it works!

When drawing the keys, I try to be really, really ruff and really, really exaggerated. I begin with the torso and “push” the spine, then I anchor the leg or legs and continue from there.

I love it when you are “in the zone’ and just slashing and burning through the drawings. The MOST important element is to not be too invested in any one drawing. Most of the time I just draw axis lines around the head to indicate a certain direction or head tilt that I want. The “body attitude” - the graphic of the whole body should tell the story and communicate the emotion I want.

I don’t worry too much about proportions or any of the normal stuff- I want ACTION drawings and the spontaneous creativity that seems to flow from my pencil.

I will put up some of these raw sketches from my yellow pad later- as soon as I learn to make the images larger.

By the way, my little stint in the cafe yielded almost 50 keys in a little under 3 hours. I was in THE ZONE!!!!

Until then, here is an article from the local newspaper, The Savannah Morning News. They are doing a focus on jobs and I was interviewed as an animator.

The cool thing is that the online article includes some selected clips from my last film, OUR WORLD

http://savannahnow.com/node/215785

Still Animated!

This the story of the creation of Squash McStretch, the Disney Institute’s signature animated character.

The creation of a Disney animated character can be a daunting task.- If not a bit of a sticky wicket… especially, if the character is not created at Walt Disney Feature Animation or Walt Disney Consumer Products. But, it happened!

The genesis of the character evolved not from the creation of the Disney Institute. In actuality, like the other 54 million plus Irish Americans, we must go back to the Emerald Isle to discover the roots of this somewhat normal character with the somewhat bulbous nose.

In the fall of 1994, while coordinator and third year animation instructor at Senior College Ballyfermot in Dublin, I was beginning my fifth year in Europe, my fourth year at Senior College. During my tenure, Senior College had developed into one of the top animation schools in the world - that was according folks to Disney, Warner Brothers, Don Bluth Ireland and others.

At the time, I knew this would be my last year in Ireland. My dad had just passed away, my children had one year to go before high school and I was talking to a major studio in the U.S. about working for them in the training and recruiting areas - that studio was… Warner Brothers Feature Animation. But, Warner folks weren’t talking about a job in the States - they wanted me to train and recruit in Europe - for a studio set up in Ireland or the United Kingdom.

As always, I had a full slate of projects to occupy my time. Our North/South ANIMAGIC project had just gotten under way. I had some freelance animation work. And a friend of mine who was head of the Computer Animation program, Steve Macken, and I wanted to develop an interactive CD ROM for teaching animation.

Our brilliant idea was to make the CD… character based. The character I created and developed for that task was none other than SQUASH McSTRETCH. The reason for the name was obvious (or at least it was to us). The animation principles of SQUASH and STRETCH are some of the initial elements learned during the first animation lesson for ALL animators - the Bouncing Rubber Ball. SQUASH has to do with contact and weight. STRETCH has to do with exaggeration and speed. The “Mc” part was in homage to Ireland.

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So, SQUASH McSTRETCH was born - the first time! (See the original SQUASH drawing.)

Notice SQUASH sports a baseball cap, a letter jacket and tennis shoes much as he appeared at the Disney Institute - almost a year later. Even the somewhat huge nose is as plain as the…well, you know. Ironically enough, years later, we even had green letter jackets with cream sleeves made for the animation staff and others at the Disney Institute.

Steve and I continued to play with the concept for the CD ROM, but with both our busy schedules we never made it past the “drawing board” stage. For me and my wife, Tricia, The ANIMAGIC project was in full swing - which meant weekend trips up to Belfast every two or three weeks. Between the project and the school and the courting by Warners - my slate was very full.

At some point in the negotiations with WB it seemed we were at an impasse. So one day, I called up a friend at Disney Feature Animation in Orlando and asked the question, “Does Disney need anyone?” (Meaning me). The reply stunned me – “Where do you want to work…in L.A., Orlando or Paris?” After I regained my composure - I thought quickly…um… L.A. = bad schools… Paris is great but the kids needed to complete high school in the U.S. - that left Orlando! After a moment, I was informed that Disney was putting together a brand new concept called the Disney Institute and they wanted someone with my skills (who could animate and teach and manage) to head up the animation programs.

The phone call set in motion a series of events, which resulted in my being flown over to Orlando (a 12 hour flight counting the plane switch at Heathrow in London). Then, for the next three days, I faced a battery of interviews and by the time I left Orlando to return to Dublin - I all but had the job! In June of 1995, I became an employee of the Walt Disney Company and Managing Instructor of Animation at the Disney Institute.

The DISNEY INSTITUTE was slated to open on February 9^th, 1996. Animation programs (we didn’t do classes- we did programs) were to begin live testing in November 1995 – five months away.

My job at Disney was a piece of cake - I had six months to hire a staff, write programs, oversee the build out and decoration of four animation studios (which at the moment, were just studded walls), buy equipment, furniture, materials, props - be careful when you wish upon a star - your dreams may just come true!

Amazingly enough, the staff and studios and program came together in the allotted time. We began testing programs in November 1995 and even had a few days of testing with the Disney executive branch. No pressure, right?

In working with the classes there was always the need for class materials. We found it much more “convenient” to develop our own materials. The first character we used at the Institute was a RABBIT, which I designed. We put him on cels for guests to paint in one of the classes. But the marketing folks made comments about the use of a rabbit. Seems some folks thought a rabbit was inappropriate species since another studio has a main character that is a rabbit. Holy Ozwald!

It was one of those times when inspiration grabs hold. We did want to have a character whose disposition was toward “learning” – that’s what the Institute was all about. At the time there was no Disney character that was geared toward education. Then, the idea of using Squash came. After all, Squash was created as a “learning” character. He was perfect for the Disney Institute and it purpose. A design of Squash McSTRETCH was passed along to Legal – it was approved and the Institute’s character was born. I still have the official email proclaiming Squash a Disney character.

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I list Squash’s birthday as September 5th, 1996 - which coincides with his debut at the Disneyana Convention. He is a young adult who loves to learn and tries his best to get it right - and things do go right for him - though, at times, the results do not follow the path he planned.

The first application of Squash was on the animation cels for guests to paint. Over the next couple of years, Squash went through a series of three cels.

Our ideas about marketing Squash were very grassroots. Next, we had some money left over from the year’s budget so we had Squash pins created and offered for sale at the Institute’s store. The pins sold really well - we offered discounts for the Squash pins to participants in the animation classes.

We made up jackets for our animation crew.

We were allowed to draw the Disney characters for guests and Squash was among them. Once in a while, I would draw Mickey and Squash together - they were ALWAYS the best of pals.

Based on the success of the pins, we contracted a local company to sculpt and cast 24 Squash McStretch maquettes. (See picture of a maquette) These miniature likenesses were each hand signed by yours truly and numbered. It was the first time an artist name had appeared on merchandise. The idea was to make a 250 limited edition Squashes. We never made more than 24.

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The clouds of change were on the horizon.

(….to be continued)