John K Stuff: Asymmetry

Showing posts with label Asymmetry. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Posing: Static VS Dynamic

Here is a scene with characters in dynamic poses. They look alive.

Here are some characters in static poses.

1) evenly spaced apart

2) Standing straight up and down

This is obviously a publicity shot - and those are usually kind of bland and generic for some reason.

Here is another static evenly spaced group of characters from a comic.

Compare to a more lively couple of poses.

Fred and Barney's poses have strong lines of action and they have different degrees of action - they aren't in the same poses. Barnet's pose is stronger-he is leaning back on a diagonal line of action. Fred is on an arc that leans to the right at his head. the space between them is creating a V shape that leans to the right.

Again to drive this home...here is a static line up of characters who have no poses. They are all vertical and evenly spaced.

Here is Wilma in a pose. She isn't standing straight up and down. Her pose tells us her attitude and what's happening in the story.

Here is Ranger Smith in a static pose next to a cook in a subtly dynamic pose. Dynamic poses don't have to be extreme in every case. The pose should be appropriate to the scene, character and story.

Here is a nice frame that shows Yogi in a very subtle pose, his body very slightly leaning back and his head cocked subtly away from the man. The other character has a stronger more definite pose leaning forward; they aren't mirror images of each other.

ACTION AND REACTION:

This is a good technique for scenes when 2 characters are talking to each other. Usually, when one character is doing the talking, his pose is more dynamic that the other's.

But also, the character doing the listening is REACTING to the one talking. Boo Boo's pose is leaning back in a less extreme arc than Yogi is leaning forward. Yogi is the cause, Boo Boo is the effect. Yogi's forward pose is pushing Boo Boo backwards.

Dynamic poses are much more entertaining than static poses and when used in context, they tell the story better. The last thing you want in animation is to have characters just stand there reading dialogue.

Next: more action and reaction.

Monday, November 09, 2009

L.O. 7: Asymmetrical but Structural and with Style - keeping it alive

How do you take a scribble like this and make it look solid, while retaining the expression and style?

Well first, analyze it emotionally.
Kaspar is proud in a satisfied sort of way. He has completed a dastardly mission of tearing socks and has gotten away with it. His expression is confident as he gingerly puts back a destroyed sock.

Then analyze physically how that expression and pose is visualized in the rough:

His body pose is somewhat squarish, with the body leaning slightly back to the right.

His arm is in a soft kind of almost S curve.
His eyes are asymmetrical but have to fit into his facial structure.
His smile is off to one side. It pulls his nose and upper muzzle with it.
It pushes the cheek up with it.

His arm on the left (and shoulder) is raised - the other arm is lowered and at ease. That hand points to the drawer of misdeeds.

Are there mistakes that can be corrected? - the nose should be pulled along with the muzzle instead of being in its normal middle position.

All the wiggly hairs have to be ignored while drawing the construction.

OK, now you're ready to draw the structure of all this:

Here's a great article about how unnatural symmetry is:

http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/Parity/FaceStudy/FaceStudy.html

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Preston Blair Lessons

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Mel Crawford's Uncle Wiggly

You're probably sick of my hierarchy posts, so here're some great paintings by Mel Crawford (which incidentally are full of hierarchical thinking)

Check out the clever texture of the tree. All the lines are asymmetrical-no parallels - but they all flow along the shape of the tree. Note also, the spacing of the bark lines: They aren't evenly spaced; some are close together in groups and separated from other groups.

The construction and sub-forms of this tree house are wonderful!

Thanks to Barbie and her great site:
http://goldengems.blogspot.com/2009/02/uncle-wiggily.html

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Disney Principles 3 - "Twins" - a bad thing

In the "Solid Drawings" chapter of "The Illusion Of Life", Thomas warns us about using "twins" in our poses. It's a good point, but I'm not sure what it has to do with solid drawing. That's why I didn't include it in yesterday's post. It's more about keeping our characters from looking monotonous, wooden or dead.

Avoiding "twins" is merely one aspect of asymmetry which I have covered in other posts. I recommend for all aspects of your drawings: the design, the pose, the proportions - to not be exact mirror images of their opposite sides. You won't find anything in life to be perfectly symmetrical - except maybe for robots. Symmetry looks unnatural and dead.

This drawing from the "twins" model sheet has a very symmetric robotic face. The page warns against "twinning" in the pose, but not in the design or expression.

Compare to this looser more natural Freddy Moore face. Nothing on the left side of his face matches exactly the shape and size of its counterpart on the right. ***ALSO**** and this is very important - nothing on TOP of a shape is the same as the BOTTOM of the shape. The eyes are not only different from each other...each eye itself is a different shape on the left and right ...AND on the top and bottom. They are asymmetrical in every dimension - just like your own face and mine.

The heads in the drawings from "Illusion of Life" that warn us against "twins" in the posing of Micky, don't follow the same theory on the design. Mickey's head is a perfect circle and his eyes are perfect ovals.

Here is a pose that is asymmetric and each part of the design is asymmetrical - very natural without being "realistic". It's still a cartoon mouse, but one that seems alive.

It's important to note that even with all this natural unevenness, all the features still wrap around the bigger shapes in the right dimensions - organic and constructed mixed together.

It's hard to avoid "twins" in your poses every time. Even Freddie Moore does it sometimes. But you don't notice it, because every part of the design itself is fluid, uneven and natural ..."Organic".

These Moore models from "The Little Whirlwind" show just about every fundamental Disney principle working at the same time - all in balance. To balance so many different skills all at the same time is not easy. To Moore, it came naturally. He was lucky - gifted from the 12,000 Gods above (choose the ones you believe in) .

http://fredmoore.blogspot.com/

For most of us, we have to learn each principle one at a time and then put them together slowly as we start to understand them. Eventually, they all become instinctive and we stop thinking about them. At that point, our drawings finally stop looking stiff and come to life. It's a lot of study and work - and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

Once you have "solid drawing" working for you, you can start on "appeal" and "organic", but without the solid drawings, everything will be uncontrolled and mushy.

All these poses were not created to be a model sheet. The models were made after the fact, from Moore's animation in the cartoon. They are key poses: the poses that tell the story in continuity.

Creating model sheets out of your head with no story context or continuity to draw from is a futile and stodgy exercise. The best models are done like this.

When you have a story to work from and are drawing poses straight ahead with a purpose to them, the poses are much more natural. Because each one has a real meaning, rather than an abstracted pose made up by an official model-sheet designer who may or may not even be an animator.

I know from direct experience that the poses I draw when I am storyboarding, drawing layouts or animating are much more natural and lively than when I just try to design a character and make up a random pose for him (or her).

http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1357

Twins and symmetry were avoided like the plague in the best cartoons of the Golden Age of cartoons.

Not to worry though, you can still find twins and perfect symmetry however in the more sophisticated prime time cartoons at night.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Bullwinkle Shows Good Design Principles: 1 Asymmetrical Construction

How about if I use this drawing to do a few posts, each one pointing out a separate aspect of good cartoon drawing?

ASYMMETRY IN THE LARGEST CONSTRUCTED FORMS

These characters have good construction, BUT notice that the forms that make them up are not perfect ovals or circles. They are ORGANIC shapes, asymmetrical.

Not mirror images left and right, or top and bottom.

This is a hard technique do right. First you have to understand basic construction. Then you have to be free enough that you can draw shapes that are not mathematical, but still look convincingly solid.

The asymmetry has to be subtle, not wild and wonky, without any form at all.
Real things in nature have form, yet hey are not perfectly symmetrical, and a god cartoonist applies this concept to his drawings to make them feel natural. Warm and not clinical.