Tag: principles of animation

Blocking Plus Workflow: Arcs

Once an animation starts to feel right, it’s easy to move on. However, that’s actually the perfect time to dig in and refine. During blocking and splining, arcs might be roughed in or implied, but in the polish phase, they need to be made intentional. If something feels off in your shot—even if you can’t articulate why—chances are it has to do with a broken or inconsistent arc. In this clip from a live AnimSchool lecture, instructor Jean-Luc Delhougne demonstrates how to use arcs to take your blocking to the next level.

From the Animator’s Survival Kit

A good place to start is with the head and spine. These parts often reveal arc issues because they tend to move with subtle complexity. If the head suddenly changes direction over a few frames or shifts too quickly between poses, it can break the flow and feel visually jarring. The key is to step through the animation frame by frame and examine the head’s motion across time. Often, the fix involves selecting the head, neck, and spine controls together and nudging them to form a more continuous arc. You’re not adding frames—you’re adjusting spacing and orientation to reinforce the shape of the motion. The result is a smoother, more intentional line of action through the upper body. The head no longer pops or feels disconnected from the rest of the movement.

Add visual markers to help track the arc

Overlap also plays a role in arcs. If everything moves at once—especially in vertical actions—the motion can feel stiff. For example, if the head rises with the body too quickly during an upward movement, the arc may technically be there, but the lack of overlap makes it feel forced. Slowing the head’s rotation slightly or delaying its path just a bit can help reintroduce the feeling of follow-through and drag, which not only improves timing but also enhances the arc visually.

Sometimes an arc exists but lacks clarity due to poor spacing. One frame might be too far off the path, causing a visual pop. The solution isn’t always to add more keyframes but to redistribute what’s already there. This is where simple tools like moving controls by single pixels (using something like Alt + arrow keys) can be invaluable. These tiny shifts can help smooth out a curve without affecting the depth or creating messy curves in the graph editor. It’s a low-impact way to bring spacing and silhouette under control when things feel close but not quite there.

This is the essence of polishing animation arcs: noticing the small things that don’t quite sit right, identifying whether it’s a path, a spacing issue, or a lack of overlap, and making small, thoughtful adjustments. The arcs guide the eye, control rhythm, and anchor poses in space. During polish, refining arcs should be as important as refining timing or easing. Don’t wait until something looks broken to address them; the best results come from being proactive and observant. If something feels off, it’s often a broken arc waiting to be cleaned up.

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/

Storytelling in Staging

Staging in animation is the process of breaking down a story into the most simple and basic beats in order to provide a foundation with which to further manipulate the scene into something more unique and entertaining. It is about setting the stage for your character’s actions, ensuring the camera is in the right place, and conveying the story in the simplest, most effective way possible. In this clip from a live AnimSchool lecture, instructor Tyler Phillips breaks down an alien abduction scene from former student Jonah Sidhom.

In Sidhom’s example, the character begins sleeping and wakes up to an alien, reacts, and runs away, ultimately being sucked out into space. This sequence is a clear example of staging that conveys an entire story using only six simple beats. These beats guide the viewer through the character’s emotional and physical journey, from initial confusion to their final fate.

Staging can start with basic visual storytelling elements: simple poses and camera placements. As in the alien scenario, a character might move across the scene, push a button, and face multiple challenges. Each of these actions becomes a beat—an individual piece of the animation that, together, creates the flow of the narrative.

The key to effective staging is to capture not just the actions but the emotions behind those actions. Adding “thinking beats”—moments when the character pauses to react or assess the situation—creates depth and engagement. For example, a character might look at an alien, then pause, registering the danger, and only then react with a frantic escape.

Additionally, creating more granular acting beats can add texture and realism. In one instance, when the character slams against a wall, the small moment of bounce and holding that pose for just a couple of frames enhances the readability of the action. This small pause gives the viewer enough time to process the action before moving to the next step, ensuring the sequence is clear and believable.

One of the most important aspects of animation is variety—using quick, medium, and slow beats. A variety of pacing helps keep the audience engaged and ensures the shot feels dynamic. These contrasting rhythms add richness to the animation, making it feel more alive and less mechanical.

In professional animation, the focus is on bringing characters to life. They must be believable in their thoughts and actions, reacting to their environment. An animator’s job is to think about these moments of reaction and transition, creating a character that feels genuinely alive. Though seemingly small and perhaps even insignificant, intentionally placed acting beats are what ultimately make characters feel real and relatable.

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/