How to understand and control loop of rhythm in short animal animation by Xiao Wu

Nowadays, action design plays a significant role in the whole of animation. Of course, the developments of story, the character and scene design or emotional expression are also the important factors in animation.

In the Disney animation “Tangled”, the action of the horse is really vivid- the audience has empathy the horse because of its actions and facial expression. Inspired by this animation, I decided to make a short animation about an animal in my project.

Although the action is a complicated area in animation, it also includes some different elements, such as the rhythm. But the actions of animals are different from the actions of people, especially the loop of rhythm, like jumping, running. If the rhythm can’t be controlled well, the animal would look strange through the whole story.

In order to make sure the animated animal moves in a natural way, we need to analyze the difference between the actions of animal and the actions of people.

My research questions for this project are:

· How can I understand the rhythm of the action?

· How can I control the loop of a repeated action (like running)?

· How can I use the colour contrast better to show the animal standing out from background?

· How can I combine rhythm, loop and colour to produce an overall natural effect?

Therefore, I must have the rhythm respect to do a deeper research in animation. Through analyzing the characteristics and functions of rhythm and color expression in some outstanding animations, I hope to be able to answer my research questions in the future.

See Miely's blog here