Tag: animation poses

Handling Hands in Animation

Animating a new shot can be an incredibly daunting task. Not only do you have to figure out your staging, your poses, and your story, but in order to have a truly successful shot, you need to find your rhythm. What does rhythm have to do with animation?

Rhythm is how an animator can find drama and excitement in the smallest of actions. It is how emotion and movement can create tension or stillness. By using contrasting beats and a variation of rhythm to guide your character, the viewer is able to follow your characters seamlessly through their story. But how? There is no one way to show rhythm in animation but a great place to look is in body language and in the movement of the hands.

In this lecture, Animschool Instructor Brendan Kirschbaum uses feature film animation to demonstrate the successful use of rhythm to animate the smallest details of the hands. In his frame-by-frame analysis of The Incredibles, he dives past the scene audiences know and love to the complex and detailed rhythmic animation underneath.

The use of hands and body language helps build character identity and bring moments to life. In a particular scene from The Incredibles, Bob is shown entering the scene very casually and relaxed before being surprised by his wife and snapping into a surprised, ninja-like pose. His hands are used to support his poses and punctuate the scene to reveal aspects of his mindset. A seemingly simple gesture, like the way a hand rests or moves, can reveal a lot about how a character is feeling—whether relaxed, intense, or sarcastic.

Later on in the same scene, Helen makes a point to pick something small up from Bob’s clothing. The placement of her fingers in specific poses is deliberately designed to not only draw the viewer’s attention, but also create visually appealing shapes, making the character’s gestures feel more intentional and expressive. Small changes—such as separating a finger or slightly bending a hand—can drastically improve the appeal of a pose and make the gesture more believable.

As Bob and Helen continue to converse, Bob employs a subtle finger spread on the word “fire” to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. Albeit short, taking place over the course of just three to four frames, it accentuates the moment. Similar hand gestures are used throughout to highlight key points and convey nuanced emotions without overwhelming the overall scene – the balance here is crucial, as the overuse of hand gestures can create an unnatural feeling.

Ultimately, hands in animation are not just tools for communication—they are extensions of the character themselves. Whether used to express sarcasm, highlight a dramatic moment, or reveal a character’s inner world, the hands add complexity to animated performances, making them one of the most important elements in conveying story and emotion.

Watch the full clip from an AnimSchool lecture here: 

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros. Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

What Makes an Appealing Pose?

When your shot begins, you have an extremely limited amount of time to introduce your character to the viewer. The first time your viewer sees a character in front of them, they will immediately start to pick up small nuanced details that not only describe your character, but also how they fit into the story. Are they nervous, excited, scared, or calm? It only takes one clear and defined pose to place a character in your story. In this lecture, AnimSchool instructor Brendan Kirschbaum demonstrates how clear posing through Line of Action can be used to silhouette and place a character in a scene. By having a clean and strong line of action you not only show where your character is going, but where they have been. The ability to provide as much information as possible in a single moment not only allows your animations to look good, but also establishes your character in a story and allows the viewer to step into the moment and immerse themselves in a new world.

Before you start posing your character, consider some questions that will help you determine their motivation within the scene and inform your decisions:

  • Who is your character?
  • What are they thinking in this moment?
  • What is the context?
  • Is the subtext of the scene clear?

A crucial principle is the Line of Action, or the flow of energy in a pose. It serves as a guide for the viewer’s eye, directing their attention to the most important part of the image and creating clarity. A well-established line of action ensures that the character’s movement or intention is easily understood even without motion.

Consider these two poses of Tom. In the first, the pose is chaotic and confusing. The angles of his limbs are disjointed, and there’s no clear direction for the viewer’s eye to follow. In contrast, the second pose has a smooth, flowing line of action starting from his toe, moving up his leg, through his body, and to the tip of his newspaper. This clear line makes it easy for the viewer to anticipate what Tom is about to do, adding excitement and direction to the shot.

The Line of Action gives information about direction of force. Subtle cues within the pose allow the audience to understand the physical dynamics at play, even without additional animation or motion. A character’s posture, the orientation of their body, and the direction of their gaze all inform the viewer about the action, giving them a sense of movement and anticipation.

In The Incredibles, we can tell that Mr. Incredible is exerting force on a machine because his pose is fully extended, and the line of action clearly communicates the direction of that force. Similarly, in another scene from The Incredibles 2, Violet is pushed up against a wall, and we can see the direction of the force applied to her, as indicated by her body’s response and the motion of her hair.

The Line of Action can also tell us a lot about the relationship between characters and the emotions at play.

In the scene from Coraline, the mother’s posture dominates the frame, towering over Coraline with a threatening, predatory air. The mother’s higher position makes her seem more in control, while the sharp angle of her arm encroaching on Coraline reinforces her menacing nature. Coraline, on the other hand, is hunched in the corner of the frame, feeling small and vulnerable in contrast to the looming presence of her mother.

This interaction is not only expressed through the characters’ physical placement but through the subtext of their poses. The mother’s spider-like form creates an unsettling feeling, emphasizing her sinister role in the story. The way each character is positioned in relation to the other speaks volumes about their emotional states and the power dynamics between them.

Posing in animation is a powerful storytelling tool. Through line of action, animators can convey force, emotion, and character relationships in a single frame, making it a crucial element in bringing a story to life.

Watch the full clip from an AnimSchool lecture here: 

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros. Learn more at https://animschool.edu/

Acting Through Anticipation

In animation, anticipation is what will sell your character’s action and intention. Animschool Instructor, Gwilym Morris steps through the importance of anticipation in animation. Anticipation doesn’t just add drama and believability to an action, but, by anticipating an action or a thought, you are preparing the audience for what is about to come. Successful anticipation can drive a character forward in space but also a plot forward in energy. By taking a few extra frames to build believable and interesting animation through anticipation, your piece will feel faster, better-paced, and more interesting.

 Animators use anticipation to prepare the audience for an upcoming event. For instance, when a character is about to move forward, they will move backwards first to help build up the momentum of the forward propulsion. By the same token, this prepares the audience for the motion of the character. A “surprise gag” is when the anticipation pose is left out altogether to create a feeling of surprise in the audience when the movement takes place.

Anticipation, in addition to preparing the audience, adds texture and movement to the animation by helping it become more believable. Consider a runner getting ready to spring into action and leap into the air; before the main action, they will stoop down and “compress” in order to prepare to spring up and move against the forces of nature and have a greater buildup of momentum.

Anticipation can also be used to direct the audience’s attention somewhere. If a character is reacting to something happening off-screen, the audience may see this as a cue to prepare themselves to watch and wait for the main action. Depending on the nature of the reacting character, the audience can infer and anticipate what sort of action is about to occur. However, using anticipation in this way can also be a tool to mislead the audience. The audience may perceive something as a heavy object due to the character reacting a certain way, when it is actually very light.

Watch the full clip from an AnimSchool lecture here: 

At AnimSchool, we teach students who want to make 3D characters move and act. Our instructors are professionals at film and game animation studios like Dreamworks, Pixar, Sony Pictures, Blizzard & Disney. ⁠Get LIVE feedback on your Animation from the pros. 
Learn more at https://animschool.edu/