#tomlaw

Pictures taken on the “Change of Expression” Section of the Animator’s Survival Kit

This section of this incredibly useful, famed book I’ve been reading for the past few weeks documents ways to create believable animated changes in expression. “Look for contrast”(shown in the second image), states that the best thing to do is to change the character’s expression before a move instead of during a move. 

The second image is actually not as effective as it could be, as the page after details, as when a character drawn is startled by something, he does not immediately swing his head around to get a glance at what it was, he looks up so we can see his frightened expression first, before moving, instead of during the movement where the audience cannot see it - animation must always be laid out with the audience in mind (just like a movie), clear shots, clear expression and clear movement means an engaging experience for the viewer.

“Gestures are stronger than words”

“Body language is the root and fortunately it is universal” - Ken Anderson. Unlike spoken language, BODY language is the same almost anywhere in the world, we can recognize fundamental expressions and the meanings of certain gestures without even thinking about it. Body language is also very powerful, able to give strong impressions of somebody’s character without even knowing them personally, which is what makes interviews so daunting! 

As stated before - the eyes are one of the most important elements of the human form in relation to expression, as they are the “soul” of a person (see the last image).  We often tell stories with our eyes alone, animating the shape of the eyeball, the size of the pupils and the directions of eyebrows to communicate powerful expression. I found that this is most simply demonstrated in the classic “eyes in the dark” animation cliche:

“Monsters in the dark” - Sesame Street, Episode 871

“Eyes” - original animation by Tom Law

Tom Law is one of my favourite animators on YouTube. This animation is particularly effective, as it shows how more or less the eyes alone, with very little sound and no changes in shot, can tell an entire short story that is both funny and features a great transition in emotion.

References:

Williams, R. (2001) The Animator’s survival kit: A manual of methods, principles, and formulas for classical, computer, games, stop motion, and Internet Animators. Expanded Edition edn. London: Faber and Faber.

https://vimeo.com/tomlaw

https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/ken-anderson/

http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs294-7/sp04/sp_04_presentations/Facial_Expressions.pdf