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Posing For Animation

Posing is crucial in animation as it forms the foundation for all movement and enhances the overall quality of the animation. The document outlines a checklist of key elements for effective posing, including line of action, silhouette value, weight and balance, and exaggeration, among others. It emphasizes the importance of strong poses that convey character and gesture, while also providing resources for further improvement in posing skills.

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53 views25 pages

Posing For Animation

Posing is crucial in animation as it forms the foundation for all movement and enhances the overall quality of the animation. The document outlines a checklist of key elements for effective posing, including line of action, silhouette value, weight and balance, and exaggeration, among others. It emphasizes the importance of strong poses that convey character and gesture, while also providing resources for further improvement in posing skills.

Uploaded by

jeremytgolden13
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Posing for

Animation
A quick checklist
Why is posing important?
Posing is our foundation
Posing is the heart & core of any
animation and the foundation that
all movement is built upon.

Good posing can make almost any


animation better and in general we
should aim to make every single
pose as strong as possible.

Without solid posing, all the


animation principles and polish you
add in won’t make a difference.
@GenevieveTsai
But what makes good poses?
PrattBros Posing Checklist for Animation

1. Line of Action 10.Visual Anchors


2. Silhouette Value 11.Exaggeration
3. Straight vs Curve 12.Gesture & Character
4. Weight & Balance
5. Asymmetry
6. Simplified Shapes
7. Contrapposto & Twist
8. Sympathetic Action
9. Avoiding Tangents
Line of Action
Also known as the Line of Force,
this is the foundation of a good
pose.

A clear line of action will help to


make the pose easy to read and
lead the audience’s eye. It also
shows the force of the action.

Changes and reversals in the line


of action will help to make the
animation more dynamic.

In general we simplify the line of


action to Straights, Cs, Reverse
Cs, and Ss.
Line of Action
Once you have your line of action,
you can push the rest of the pose
to work with it, creating more
dynamic posing.

This also helps to avoid “Star


Fishing” in a pose, which is when
the lines of the pose point in
different, non-related directions.
Silhouette Value
The silhouette is the image of a
person, animal, object or scene
represented as a solid shape of a
single colour.

In animation a clear silhouette


will allow the audience to easily
understand who the character is,
and what they are doing.

The negative space (the empty


area around or within the
silhouette) can also help to make
poses more interesting if used
correctly.
Silhouette Value
A common mistake is to think that
a good silhouette must have all
the important elements of a pose
(head, hands, arms, legs) visible
to the audience at all times.

A good silhouette works as long


as the character and intent is
clear.

There is also another element


that helps to create more
dynamic silhouettes...
Silhouette Value
Value (Color, Saturation,
Intensity)

Even though the face, hands, and


ukulele are “hidden” within the
silhouette of the character, they
still read clearly because they
stand out against the values of
clothes.
Straight vs Curves
Also called “Simple vs Complex”
or “Squash & Stretch” (similar but
not the same as the animation
principle).

Applying straights vs curves to a


pose helps to create a visual flow
that is typically more appealing
and helps to lead the audience's
eyes across the pose.

It can be built into the individual


parts of the pose and in the entire
pose itself.
Straight vs Curves
Weight & Balance
Another term for this is “Center of
Gravity” and means making sure
your character’s pose is in or out
of balance for what they are
doing. For example:

A character standing still would


be balanced over their feet.

If they are holding something


heavy, the balance would shift to
support the weight.

If the character is moving, the


weight would shift their weight
into the move.

animkitty.tumblr.com
Asymmetry
When elements of a pose start to
mirror each other, it causes the
pose to lose visual interest and
starts to feel “flat”.

In animation terms when things


start to become too symmetrical,
we typically call this “Twinning”.

By offsetting elements of the


pose, even if it’s just slightly, we
can create a more dynamic
asymmetrical pose.
Simplified Shapes
By thinking of your pose in terms
of a simpler form or shape, it
helps to keep the pose from
becoming overly complex.

Using these shapes you can also


get more visual contrast in your
animation by having poses
change from one shape to
another through the shot.

grizandnorm.tumblr.com
Contrapposto & Twist
Contrapposto is adding
contrasting angles to the hips and
shoulders of a character, though
this can also be applied to the
face.

It helps to create a more dynamic


feeling of weight and helps to add
Asymmetry to a pose.

It also tends to be more visually


interesting.

grizandnorm.tumblr.com
Contrapposto & Twist
Similar to Contrapposto, Twist will
help to add even more motion to
a pose.

When added together,


Contrapposto and Twist can help
make poses far more dynamic.

grizandnorm.tumblr.com
Sympathetic Action
The body doesn’t move as a
series of independant parts.
Everything is connected and a
motion from one part of the body
will affect those around it.

For example raising your arm


affect your shoulders, clavicle,
chest, and upper back. Each of
those in term will affect they
things they are connected to.

anatomy360.info
Avoiding Tangents
A tangent is when two or more
lines interact in a way that
insinuates a relationship between
them that the artist did not
intend.

For example if 2 lines bump up


against each other like in the top
image, it creates the feeling that
the objects are right next to each
other instead of one in front of
the other.

This can remove the depth of a


pose, create odd focus points, or
create distracting optical illusions.

schweizercomics.tumblr.com
Visual Anchors
Also called “Construction Lines”,
visual anchors are lines that help
visualise the angle and shape of
an object. They help to
accentuate the feeling of volume
and give poses more depth.

These are often created with


clothing although anything that
helps show form counts.

In CG animation, we tend to get


this naturally however it is always
good to watch out for ways we
can improve or exaggerate it.

grizandnorm.tumblr.com
Exaggeration
While technically already an
animation principle, when you’re
posing for animation,
exaggeration is worth mentioning
twice.

You should always be pushing


your poses to be more dynamic,
clearer, and more interesting,
especially compared to your
reference.

grizandnorm.tumblr.com
Gesture & Character
In many ways this is one of the
most important elements on this
list.

Gesture (not to be confused with


gesture drawing) is the goal of
the pose. Does the pose make a
strong statement to the viewer?
Is the idea of the pose clear?

Character means making sure the


pose works for the character you
are posing. Would this character
do this? What would or can they
do that is unique to them?
PrattBros Posing Checklist Recap

1. Line of Action 7. Contrapposto & Twist


2. Silhouette Value 8. Sympathetic Action
3. Straight vs Curve 9. Avoiding Tangents
4. Weight & Balance 10.Visual Anchors
5. Asymmetry 11.Exaggeration
6. Simplified Shapes 12.Gesture & Character
How can I improve my posing?

Master Studies

Gesture Drawing

Learn Anatomy

Pose Tests

Seek inspiration

Practice
Posing Resources
http://www.floobynooby.com/ICAN3211/11Soliddrawing.html

https://floobynooby.blogspot.com/2011/01/lines-of-action-mickeys-christmas-carol.html

https://www.animationmentor.com/blog/solid-drawing-the-12-basic-principles-of-animation/

http://cartoonsnap.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-draw-lively-poses-spongebob-tip.html

https://schweizercomics.tumblr.com/post/11966164633/the-schweizer-guide-to-spotting-tangents

https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/

https://quickposes.com/en/gestures/timed

https://grizandnorm.tumblr.com/

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