i had SO much fun working on the zoo episode of steven universe with katie. when we first got the episode we were talking a lot about how the zoo is supposed to be this kind of utopia. a good good friend of mine told me about a quote from…uh…someone…about how utopias usually have something/someone missing, or that you should look for what’s not there in these settings. with that in mind i wanted to make the zoomans (zoo humans) as varied and diverse as possible. here are some initial sketches + a few board drawings.  

Interpreting the Animation Principles-

Hand-drawn animation requires all 3 conditions- solid draftsmanship, fluid mechanics and compelling performance to enable a character to life.  

And in the pursuit of these conditions, some distinctive patterns emerged.  They were noted by the master animators from the Disney Studios back in the earlier time and written into the 12 principles of animation.

When studying animation, the 12 principles become a technical guideline and often taken at given surface values.  For example, ‘squash-and-stretch’ is necessary to keep the movement pliable, organic and not stiff-looking.  A body part must squash and stretch from a technical point-of-view.  But it really is much more than that and has much to do with how an animator senses a feel of mass in relation to force.

I feel it is very resourceful to question the principles, to fully understand how certain principle came to be from a more personal perspective.  Through this in-depth understanding, an animator can truly apply them effectively, and in turn, adding new personal revelations.