Today's tutorial is from Toniko Pantoja's The StringBing Workshop, translated by Magic Stone Xianmu and proofread by Ma Xiaoguo. (There is a full video at the end of the article, don't miss it)
Who is Toniko Pantoja?
A Los Angeles animator who graduated from the prestigious California College of the Arts, he has worked for many well-known companies in the industry, such as DreamWorks and CARTOON NETWORK, and the independent production of "Ode to the Wolf" as a student shows his mastery of two-dimensional animation. In addition to creating two-dimensional animations, Toniko Pantoja often does some animation tutorials, and he has done animation tutorials on the Internet. Here are some of his original animations:
Today, he will introduce us to the art of the middle sheet, the ruler.
Several animation proper nouns:
Ruler (track) Timing Chart
Key Sheet Key
Extreme Zhang (original) Extreme
Breakdown Of the sheet (small original painting).
Middle Zhang (middle cut) Inbetween
In traditional animation, the middle sheet is commonplace. So what exactly is the middle sheet, and what role does the middle sheet play?
There is no middle sheet, only the key sheet and the small original painting
There is a middle sheet with a new accent
There are no intermediate sheets, only key sheet animations
There is a middle sheet, with new ups and downs
Drawing the middle sheet is the process of adding a painting sheet between the key sheet and the subdivision sheet (small original painting). Its main role is to make the animation smoother and add more subtle visual information when playing.
While making animation look like a higher level of production, it is also the key to creating good animation that is engaging, believable, and clear. Since there are more graphs to fill the gaps, this is a manual work, but physical work does not mean that you will not mess up.
That being said, there are still many ways to do the middle, and there are also common languages that animators use to communicate with each other.
In a freehand animation, you'll notice that there's a small scale or grid somewhere in the painting. These are called rulers (track indications).
There are many different types of rulers
There are simple and complex rulers
Animation is made according to the ruler, and the overall effect is rich and delicate
Every animator does this differently, but the scales work similarly. When an animator finishes the original and small originals, give them to a draftsman, or a midsector who fills in the gaps. The person who is assigned to make the middle sheet will be indicated by the ruler given by the animator.
The ruler will indicate how many figures are needed to make the middle sheet, how big the interval between each sheet is, whether there is partial cut, and whether the movement is gradually entering or fading out.
For those who don't do digital hand-drawn, the ruler is a particularly important guide. Because they need to arrange the animation movement in advance, they can finally see the playback result from the computer. And it is also very important to learn the middle sheet through the ruler.
Let's talk about the basic structure of the ruler.
Since every animator draws a ruler differently, I want to show you how I draw a ruler. And how you can familiarize yourself with similar rulers. Usually you'll read down from top, which is the order of motion on the timeline. Since we haven't used frames yet, I'll just use the letters A and B to represent my frames.
Some animators have different preferences and modify the order, but usually read from top to bottom.
I added a picture between A and B and named it C.
When animators circle a picture or a frame number, they are saying that this one is the "key sheet." Basically, the key sheet is when the painting is at its most extreme. Some animators also base their shots on contrasts, variations, or differences in story and performance. Others call them "key narrative sheets."
I also think of Drawing B as a key sheet.
Some animators add double underlines to frames to mark key sheets, but we use circles because circles are better understood.
A single underline means you turn a picture or frame into a small original. For me, a small original painting is another extreme sheet that links the key sheets together. Strictly speaking, it is not an intermediate sheet, but depending on the context, it can also be used as an intermediate sheet.
But if you see 2 curves connected like this – the curves meet at the position of the small original painting in the middle, it means that C is half the equal between A and B. These two curves represent the average halves. Thus the lines in the C frame must be equally spaced from A and B.
I drew another picture between A and C, and now I draw these two curves, which means that D is equally spaced between A and C. The question I'm asking you is, can you draw D before you draw A and C?
The answer is no. Since D is divided equally between A and C, we need to finish the painting beforehand. Because these two pictures have the information we need to draw D.
I do the same for the following half.
Now this ruler means that we divide the animations evenly, averaging the numbers, averaging the curves, and the intervals between each sheet are also evenly spaced. This means that the animation moves at a uniform speed.
Now if we do this, we will add more sheet information to the top. Notice how the frames get bigger and bigger from top to bottom. This is called "creeping out". The animation starts slowly and then gradually accelerates.
If we do this at the other end, the ruler chart is called "fade-in." Contrary to before, the animation starts quickly and then slows down slowly.
In addition to the bipartite curve, there is also a three-point curve. There are three confluence points, and this curve means that C does not split equally between A and B. In fact, it will be biased towards a certain key sheet. You will see that one point of the curve converges with C and the other point does not have a frame. It's up to imagination. This emphasizes that C is more biased towards A than B.
Since C is closer to A, the interval between C and A will be smaller.
You can also make C more biased towards B. I only use a three-segmented curve when doing long, slow scenes, or when the environment is special.
Turning to particularity, let's turn to the last example , partial cuts.
Although there is no curve, it is clear that C is basically almost similar to A, note that in the example C is basically the same as A, its own influence is very limited, B hangs below. Of course, this is just an example of my exaggerated partial cut. I usually use a partial cut in a small section, or when moving fast, which can bring a refreshing energy to the animation.
congratulations! Now that you understand the basic structure of the ruler, your reward is to apply it to the actual frame number!
That's one-for-two!
Let's memorize the commonly used rulers.
From left to right, halves, halves slow in, halves slow out, all evens in halves, three divisions, and favoring.
I added small red dots to preview each frame and see how the red dots move between frames in these rulers. This is how the animation moves, and the reference to the marks in the middle sheet.
Let's take some roles as examples. The character I used was Bee, provided by my friend, former classmate Tahn Dang. He is a carefree bee with pink and yellow markings. The round, bubble-like design made him look friendly.
I drew three original pictures of the bees, the beginning sheet, the small original picture, and the end picture. I'll use the same three images in the next example.
I drew the original and middle sheets for the bees to illustrate the first type of ruler in the list, dichotomy (also called a slow in in even halves). Please observe that he starts quickly and ends up slowing down. I achieved this effect by adding a lot of paintings between the small original painting and the ending picture. There is no middle sheet between the beginning and the Ohara painting.
This ruler is best suited for slowly decelerating after strenuous exercise. Very well represents movement from slow deceleration to stationary. Ending the shot in the shot leaves the strongest visual impression.
In contrast, the second ruler, a slow out in even halves. Start slowly, and the closer you get to the end, the more zhang looks like it suddenly flies. There is no middle sheet between the small original painting and the ending sheet. We had more middle sheets in the first half. This gives us the feeling of increasing the speed of movement – starting to accelerate the movement.
I usually use this ruler when the character is inhaling, or when the character jumps up and then lands on the ground. In this example, the bee seems to have thought of something smiling.
Our third example is a completely equal cut at a uniform speed. The interval between each sheet is equal. Included between the first three figures. Add one more image between each one, and then make more maps to split evenly. I also showed the ruler so that you could see how the figures were split equally from the previous one to the next.
Unlike the previous two examples, which stretch the spacing to contract or expand, this ruler is suitable for things that move at a uniform speed. For example, running, walking, swimming, sometimes dancing, perhaps specific transitions. In it, there is no single figure that makes the impression, because everything moves at an average ratio.
Our final example is to merge the two rulers together. In this example, I used fade-out and fade-in. Slow at first, then accelerate faster, then slow down.
Some say this is the most natural type of motion, as objects gradually accelerate and then slow down to rest. This is very effective for startled responses, emotional responses, A-to-B posture transitions, in and out. When you think about combinations or execute rulers, the more open your mind is, the more choices you have.
Now, the point of using the ruler is coming! The same picture, the same key sheet, the same small original painting, and most importantly, the same length, but each has a different feeling. Because these diagrams have different rulers. The ruler affects how the midsheet is added. Because of this, they achieve different effects.
What effect do you feel from each ruler?
We'll look at the remaining rulers, and I'll demonstrate them with another character. The character Jake is also provided by Tahn Dang, a sci-fi-themed cowboy. His design looks like it came from some action-adventure TV show, and it makes me feel very much like the eighties. From his sense of fashion, to the style reminiscent of Akira Toriyama's early designs in Dragon Ball, there's also a bit of a Saturday morning cartoon feel. Animating such a character looks like fun!
This is my animation that I mainly do with one beat three and one beat four. Fast motion also uses a little bit of one beat two. I chose to keep each graph for a certain amount of time to better see that three segments were used. Looking at the ruler and comparing it to the animation, this is a classic fade-in and fade-out movement, but notice how closely each one fits in.
When he reached down to get the gun, there were more sheets leaning toward the previous frame. When he locks on to the target, he has already assumed the posture of locking on the target, but slowly adjusts to this posture. In this case, it is better to use three divisions because it makes the movement more refreshing, and it also makes the picture give the impression of lasting longer and longer.
For the last example, I had to draw something new. Because things like partiality require a special content. In this picture, cowboy shoots and then closes. Notice that there is only a short time on the gunfire, but when he quickly raises the gun upwards, there is a long waiting time. Why?
It was the deflection that worked the moment he fired. It's almost the same pose as the first one, except that there's a shooting action in the situation.
Like in a partial cut, you have to think about the situation in the picture, or which key sheet is going to make an impression. Despite the rapid playback, the audience can still feel the subtle changes in the drawings. They can't see it, but they can feel it. This is the role of the middle sheet in the animation.
Today, we learned about the middle sheet, learned about the ruler, several types of rulers, and learned how to interpret the ruler and how to apply it to the middle sheet. After that, we'll talk about the technology and equipment used in the middle sheet, what should and shouldn't be done, and maybe a full demonstration. More exciting, stay tuned!
This article was first published from the WeChat public account [Animation Academic Body], please do not reprint without permission. Animation Academia is the most influential in-depth media and enthusiast community in the field of animation in China.