My Favorite Animation

After having taken Comm. 345, I would say that my favorite animation is still the show Futurama (Matt Groening) . The reason for this is the fact that I enjoy animation for both the animation itself and the use of humor geared toward teenagers and young to middle-aged adults. Futurama is a show that has both of my reasons and much more. For example, Futurama's humor is different than humor seen in an animated work such as Rugrats (Arlene Klasky), which is a show that I would consider to be geared more towards children. In a show like Rugrats, humor is censored more for younger viewers. If something more adult-humored does come up in a show like this, normally, it is hidden or spoken in such a way that a child would not understand it but an adult would. However, I believe that the method hiding and limiting adult-humor from children in a show like this also makes the humor less funny for older viewers, which causes older viewers to not be as interested unless, perhaps, they view animation in a scholarly manner.

One animation method that I learned through The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation book that I see in Futurama is the use of a mixture of exaggerated and realistic animation. Exaggeration is typically only seen on a few characters, but the one character in Futurama that comes to mind first is Hermes. Apparently, Hermes used to be a limbo champion, so on a few episodes he actually uses his skill of bending backwards to where his head and back are as low as his feet to accomplish impossible tasks. Many other characters on the show generally use human-like physics, for the most part, which creates a show with an unrealistic setting that mixes both exaggerated and realistic animation.

Futurama does a great job at creating humor for teenage to middle-aged adult viewers, which I do not remember being mentioned much in the class. The show does not go too over-the-top such as shows like South Park (Trey Parker and Matt Stone), which seem to be vulgar just be vulgar, but it does relate more toward an older audience than children. Humor in shows like these are created by both dialogue and actions. For example, in the episode "A Tale of Two Santas," the characters Fry and Leela go to the North Pole and find out that a greenhouse effect caused the North Pole to be warmer than usual. Two male elves that are always shown holding hands in the episode have on short shorts, which leads Fry to believe that the warm temperature was the cause. However, the elves were obviously just homosexual, which shows in the way their dialogue is said.

The animated show Futurama has been one of my favorites ever since it began. It is a shame that the Fox network seems to be planning on ruining the future of it by switching the voice actors. However, I am sure that I would still watch the show anyway unless too much about it changed. The show has plenty of humorous parts to keep me entertained. One other thing that the show definitely does not lack is the ability to create odd stories out of each episode. I would recommend that everyone check it out at least once.




" A Tale of Two Santas." Futurama. Dir. Ron Hughart. Fox. 23 Dec. 2001. Television.

Animation Blog on Class

When I first started the Comm. 345 Animation class at Shepherd University, I did not realize that I would be able to actually do work at home from my own computer. I do not have a mac computer with all the expensive software that is on the communications lab computers, and I did not realize that a program existed for free that could do good animation on all types of computers. However, the animation program known as Blender is a free and powerful program that enables users to work from any type of computer they are familiar with.

Since I am a PC user, I have had to do most of my assignments in the lab, however; Blender solves that problem for me and allows me to get the work done both at home and at the lab. The Blender animation program is great because it allows me to work on projects anytime. My time is not very flexible due to having many classes at once, and I do not always have time to be at the lab while it is open. However, this isn't the only great feature of Blender. The program is also free and works much like other well-known animation programs.

Blender is probably overlooked by many people due to it being free. To most people, a free program means that the quality is going to be bad, the program is going to be difficult to work with, or that the program may not have the capacity to do what expensive ones do. However, Blender is not like that. Although it is not the perfect program, it has the capability to do animation just as well as other programs. Also, new features are being made available for it all the time that fix problems and allow more possibilities for animation. One other thing that should be mentioned is the fact that the class is a group of students just trying to learn animation techniques. Since Blender isn't so much different than most other programs, learning animation techniques on it can benefit those who plan on purchasing other programs because it allows those people to have an idea of how to use their other program. This program is also good for students and amateurs because it has many online tutorials that are both official and non-official.

I have found that the online tutorials for Blender can steer an animator in the right direction. As long as the directions are followed closely and the animation is saved frequently, no huge problems normally occur. It is also good to mess around some too. If the animation is saved, their is really nothing to lose by messing around with what the instructions are saying and experimenting. It is just good to be sure that if the animation is previously saved and messing around got bad results, that the bad results are not saved over the old results. Blender has many official tutorials online too in their own website, which happens to have an online version of their book in it. These tutorials and the book are also helpful to beginners.

Blender is a great animation program, especially since it is free and still powerful enough to do most of what other animation programs do. The program is also growing rapidly, so it may not be long before it can do what all the other programs can do. My favorite feature of the program is its ability to work with any type of computer. This allows me to have the time to get my projects done. Blender is also user-friendly due to the many official tutorials on the Blender website.

Economics

In the following list, I will be explaining the nine economical ways of building emotion through animation in the imagination of the viewers. I will also explain an additional five points of what to remember when animating emotions. For each item on the lists, I will use an example from the Rocko's Modern Life (Joe Murray) episode "Wimp on the Barbie."

Nine economical ways animation can be done to build emotion through the imagination of the audience:

• Rear View- The rear view shot seems to have two ways of being economical. First, detail does not have to go into body parts at the front of the body such as the face. Second, a rear view shot can be used to make characters look off in the distance together, while they are dreaming about the future. In this case, more animation isn't needed because it is best to allow the imagination of the audience see what the characters may see.

Ex. This technique seems to be used on "Wimp on the Barbie" when Rocko is staring at the picture of his enemy Dingo. A behind view is shown for a while and a time lapse occurs between day and night. Rocko later rips a chunk out of the picture's face and eats it, which explains that he had been angry and thinking about revenge during the rear view shot.

• Shadows- Shadows are economical because using them saves time in drawing characters. The reason for them saving time is the fact that a character no longer needs great detail when they are a shadow.

Ex. During the scene when Rocko is staring at his enemy's picture, a quick shot is shown of just Rocko's shadow. This shot was effective in letting the viewers know that Rocko was still there. It also effectively eliminated a small amount of animation.

• Shadows used over the character- Shadows being used over a character can convey what they are seeing. In this case, the character's emotional expression and the shadows combine to create strong emotion toward an action.

Ex. This did not seem to be used in the Rocko episode. Instead, all action and emotion seemed to be shown in a straight-forward manner. Straight-forward methods are not quite as economical, but, in the case of the episode, I do not believe that such a shot would have been of much benefit.

• Overlays- Overlays are pieces of background and foreground that may exist around a character. For example, if a character is in a forest, branches and weeds may be overlays on the rest of his body. This means that they cover part of the character.

Ex. An overlay is used when Mr. Bighead yells at Rocko for Rocko's dog being in his yard. Instead of drawing out Mr. Bighead's complete character, a fence is between him and Rocko. Only the top part of Mr. Bighead's body is visible.

• Dramatic Layout- A dramatic layout can be economical in a situation when a character is depressed and walking away. In this situation, the character can be seen as small, and the surroundings could be seen as darker and less detailed.

Ex. This method is not used in the episode I have been using as an example. For the most part, the episode is straight-forward with the background. Character emotions are shown through the actions of the characters.

• Pictorial Shot- This deals with a background containing a mood being used to convey emotion. It can save having to animate a character to create a mood.

Ex. I did not encounter this technique in the episode. The emotion in the episode seems to be shown purely through the actions of the characters. No background changes achieve a mood shift.

• Effects Animation- Objects such as falling leaves, rain, or fire can be under this category. They are more economical because they save animating complex and detailed characters.

Ex. This did not occur in the Rocko episode. Nothing was shown falling. Characters were animated in a normal manner.

• Held Drawing With Camera Moves- In this case, a character sits still and the camera does the work instead of complex animation. The camera can convey a mood by zooming in on part of the character such as the eyes. If the eyes are somewhat sad, the camera helps achieve the mood being sad by making it so it cannot be missed.

Ex. This technique is used during the scene when Rocko is told that Dingo is coming to see him. A shot shows only Rocko's horrified face. Rocko then proceeds to running closer to the camera and then running around the house screaming.

• Offstage Sounds- A shot can be taken outside of a building and use sound effects to describe the inside. In this case, no animation is required because the building generally does not move. This method can set a mood depending on the sounds used.

Ex. This technique is not used in the episode. All of the characters are shown and the sound effects are matched with them. When characters go indoors, the camera also goes indoors.


Points of Animating Emotions:

• The emotional state of the character must be clearly defined- The character's current emotions should be obvious to the audience so that they can better understand the situation and connect to the character.

Ex. This point is achieved early in the episode, when Rocko's dog Spunky is on Mr. Bigheads lawn. Spunky is spewing out hearts because he loves Mr. Bighead. However, Mr. Bighead then yells at Rocko and makes him keep Spunky in his own yard.

• A characters thought process must reveal feeling- Characters should appear to think on their own much like humans. During their thinking, emotional signs should be present to show they feel such as facial expressions or gestures.

Ex. When Rocko is staring at the picture of his enemy, he remains motionless for a while and is in deep focus. This focus then turns into Rocko tearing a piece out of the picture's face. The change between Rocko's focused state and his angry state, when he tears out and eats a piece of the picture, clearly define his emotions and thought-process.

• Cutting and camera can be used to focus in on emotion- A camera zoom or a cut of the shot that shows a sad facial expression or sad eyes can help define the character's emotional state by drawing attention to the signs.

Ex. As mentioned above, a cut is used showing Rocko's horrified face when he finds out Dingo is coming. The face is centered and completely noticeable. Then Rocko moves closer to the camera, which gives a quick and even more detailed view.

• Ask yourself: What am I trying to say? What do I want to show? How do I want the audience to react- Asking these questions can help animators create exactly what they want. If an animator lost focus on these questions, they may convey something in a strange way that does not appear correct. For example, if a situation is met to be bad and the character is supposed to be sad along with the audience, happier music or facial expressions will not work.

Ex. This episode seems to be about violence not solving anything and the fact that people can change. Rocko's old enemy Dingo actually came to apologize to Rocko. All of the training Rocko had from his friends was useless because he did not actually have to defend himself.

• Use the element of time wisely- Timing must be used so that an audience can experience how the character feels. Too short of timing can ruin the experience, but too long of an experience can do the same and become boring.

Ex. This episode does not become boring because of too much time being used on one shot. It also does not become fast-paced and non-emotional due to many fast shots. The episode falls in between both, which makes it interesting enough to follow. If the timing was misused in either way, many people probably would have changed the channel.





All of the points and economical ways of animating emotion came from:

Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.

Blog 7 Comm. 445 More Principles

Fred Moore was an important asset to Disney due to his adept ability to draw and animate. He also used his ability of drawing and animating to create characters that could be easily related to because of his focus on pleasing images and acting instead of over-the-top animating. Moore created 14 points of animation.

• Appeal in drawing- Drawings should be pleasing to look at. For example, in Moore's own work "Pluto's Judgment Day," Pluto's facial expression changes are appealing and match the character's thought process while being scorned. He seemed to be proud, surprised, angry, ashamed, and understanding all back to back.
  

• Staging- This point deals with character positioning, acting, and the way an animated scene is presented. In "Pluto's Judgment Day," Mickey is angry because Pluto was chasing a cat. Mickey holds the cat while scorning Pluto from one position of the shot, while Pluto took the punishment and eventually laid down at the other position of the shot. Both character's acted accordingly; Pluto was mostly ashamed and disappointed, while Mickey was angry with him.
  

• Most interesting way?- The animated scene should be interesting to an audience of many people. The scene of "Pluto's Judgment Day" when Mickey is scolding Pluto is done in a straight-forward but interesting way. Most of the interest for me occurred in response to Pluto's facial expressions and realistic thought process.
  

• Is it the most entertaining way?- This point seems to deal with the animation and acting in a scene and whether or not it will hold the attention of the audience. "Pluto's Judgment Day" is entertaining when Mickey scolds Pluto because it is realistic for a cartoon and able to be related to. Dogs often to things they should not do and they are normally scolded for it until they learn, and this scene shows part of Pluto's learning process.
  

• Are you in character?- The characters depend on the animator to have personality and a life of their own so the animator must think like they would in order to properly animate them. It seems as though Moore used this concept on "Pluto's Judgment Day" because at first it seems as though Pluto does not understand why he is being scorned. Pluto also chases a cat in this animated work much like many real dogs do.
  

• Are you advancing the character?- The character should adapt throughout the animated work and learn from past events just as humans would. Pluto adapts in the scene when he is scorned by Mickey on "Pluto's Judgment Day." He eventually listens and lays down instead of going after the cat more.
  

• Is this the simplest statement of the main idea of the scene?- A simple statement of the main idea makes it so that an audience can relate more and so they can understand what is happening. The idea in "Pluto's Judgment Day" seems to be that he should not be chasing cats. Mickey Mouse scorning Pluto for chasing the cat reinforces this fact.
  

• Is the story point clear?- A clear story point is important because normally confusion causes people to not enjoy a work quite as much. The story point goes along with the main idea in "Pluto's Judgment Day." It involves the fact that Pluto should not be chasing cats and he gets in trouble for chasing them.
  

• Are the secondary actions working with the main action?- Secondary actions such as blinking or small movements give life to the character, but the secondary actions should not be more eye-catching than a primary action. In "Pluto's Judgment Day," his secondary actions such as hand movements and blinking go along with his primary actions and do not overpower them. Secondary actions in this case are truly secondary and used correctly.
  

• Is the presentation best for the medium?- Many methods of communication exist so it is important that the presentation matches the medium. In this case, we are dealing with animation and the presentation works well. "Pluto's Judgment Day" would not work as well without visible animation, however, because of the characters bringing the animation to life.
  

• Does it have 2 dimensional clarity?- The original drawings on the flat surface should be clear, appealing, and easy to visually process. The drawings for "Pluto's Judgment Day" are easy to understand and clear. For example, Pluto's facial expressions are not too difficult to figure out and it is easy to see that Mickey is angry.
  

• Does it have 3 dimensional solidity?- The drawings should work well animated in a three dimensional environment. In the animation itself of "Pluto's Judgment Day," emotions are easy to figure out and entertaining. The images are clear and work in a three dimensional element.
  

• Does it have 4 dimensional drawing?- Every part of the drawing should be perfect and accounted for. The drawing should work from about every angle and animate well. From what I have seen of "Pluto's Judgment Day," the angles all work fine and, as I mentioned, the images are clear and easy to understand.
  

• Are you trying to do something that shouldn't be attempted?- In The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, it is mentioned that an animator asked Moore how to draw Mickey Mouse from a view looking down on his head. Moore believed that it is useless to do so because it took away from the character's appeal (Thomas and Johnston 127) In Moore's work "Pluto's Judgment Day," the characters are often shown from the best angles and not from odd views such as over their heads.

Bill Tytla, much like Fred Moore, was also an important member of Disney's animation crew. He was the last of four supervising animators that worked with Snow White (Thomas and Johnston 130). One of Tytla's main focuses was on the inner emotions of characters. Tytla used 12 main points of animation.

• Inner feelings and emotion- Focus on characters having emotions bottled up inside and the strategic release of the emotions at particular times. For example, in Snow White, Tytla's character Grumpy storms away in an angry manner after being kissed good-bye from Snow White. However, his angry attitude soon turns to happiness and love, which slowly makes its way out and causes his anger to disappear.
  

• Acting with clear and definite action- This point seems to focus on the fact that if acting is unclear then it is more difficult for viewers to relate to or understand the character. After being kissed good-bye by Snow White, Grumpy storms off with his usual attitude, but his attitude slowly changes to happiness. The action is clear in this scene. This scene also shows how dynamic of a character Grumpy could be.
  

• Character and personality- Each character should have a unique personality, just as people do, that effects its way of acting or showing emotion. All of the dwarfs have their own
  characteristics and personality in Snow White. For example, Grumpy is almost always angry and grumpy just as his name applies.

• Thought process through expression change- Expressions can show viewers how a character is internally feeling without just coming straight out and saying it. Tytla's dwarf Grumpy from Snow White normally has an angry or frustrated expression. However, when kissed good-bye by Snow White, his expression changes from an angry look to a smile. This change shows that he is happy and cares for Snow White.
  

• Ability to analyze- A scene must have a structure that is able to be examined by viewers.However, as he continues away his emotion changes to happiness. In this example, the structure focuses on mood. Grumpy's mood progresses from angry to happy.
  For example, Grumpy's emotions have a structure when kissed good-bye by Snow White. At first, he is unaffected and continues as usual. He storms off and looks angry.

• Clear staging- A scene must be presented clearly with good character positioning and acting. The staging in Snow White when Grumpy is kissed good-bye is clear. It is easily understood that Grumpy is keeping his happiness from the kiss bottled up until finally it surfaces and takes away his anger.
  

• Good composition- Scenes should be set up in a visually interesting and understandable way as far as character placement, background, and included objects goes. For example, when Grumpy is kissed by Snow White, he storms off and the camera follows him. He stays centered in the camera and the background moves as he moves. The background helps the overall composition so that he is not just standing in emptiness. Therefore, the background and focus on Grumpy improves the composition.
  

• Timing- Actions must take place at the right time and in the right situation. Some actions even take more time than others. Grumpy originally struggles against Snow Whites kiss and then storms off angry. However, as time goes by, his bottled up happiness begins to surface.
  

• Solidity in drawing- Drawings should be clear and easily understandable. The drawings of grumpy storming off after being kissed are perfectly clear. They are also well made because they slowly show his emotional conversion.
  

• Power in drawing- A drawing should have detailed movement and should be clear. The scene involving Grumpy's kiss in Snow White has power in drawing. When Grumpy storms off he really does look angry with his stomping motion and swinging arms. However, he straightens up, moves slower, and stops doing so much motion with his arms after a while. Then he appears to be happy.
  

• Strength in movement- Every movement should be clear and have a reason. Grumpy's movement after his kiss has strength because of how detailed his fake storm-off ended up being. The stomping motion and powerful arm swings add to the idea of anger, along with his angry facial expression.
  

• Imagination- This refers to the ability to draw things or convey messages that an artist or animator has never or rarely dealt with. Imagination allows the existence of animated works such as Snow White. Without imagination, such stories and animated works would probably not exist. Even if they did somehow exist, it would be difficult to create characters and convey emotions in such a way as the work does because that emotion or an image would always have to be present to help with the creative process.

Fred Moore and Bill Tytla were both amazing Disney animators. Moore's main focus seemed to be more on the appeal of the drawing and acting, while Tytla's main focus seemed to be on the use of inner feelings and emotions. Both animators helped push Disney along to the large business that it is today. Their points of animation seem to still be in use even today by newer Disney animators.




Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.

Pop & Art

The lowest common denominator of mass appeal can be viewed as either a "dumbing down" of the mind or a "warming up" of the heart. A "dumbing down" of the mind could occur if less action was used to show a situation either animated or not animated. However, the situation of using less action but also showing emotional expressions and great attention to acting could be considered a "warming up" of the heart. If the acting is improved by eliminating excess movement, this should never be considered a "dumbing down" of content. In fact, overly exaggerating emotions within a scene can make the scene less realistic and cause less mass appeal due to viewers not being able to connect to the character as well. A "warming up" of the heart should be the expression used for the lowest common denominator of Disney animation.

For example, if character gets angry in an animated work, overly-animated actions such as an explosion of the head or any other technical animation is not always necessary. Although the action of an exploding head goes along with the phrase "exploding with anger," it may be difficult for viewers to connect to something as unrealistic as that. The principle of acting often triumphed over exaggerated animation. In The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, it is mentioned that Walt always brought important visitors to Fred Moore's room and that those visitors liked drawings that could be flipped and show an expression change (Thomas, Johnston 125). Because of the viewers enjoying the expressions and acting, it could be said that the mass appeal of Disney viewers revolved more around slightly exaggerated realism with careful attention to acting than completely exaggerated animation.

Dick Lundy's work, shown on pages 122 and 123, was apparently admired by Fred Moore (Thomas, Johnston). In this animation, Donald Duck is shown being angry about something or at an unseen character off the page. The animation makes Donald look as though he is getting ready for a fight because of his fists being out, his stomping feet, and his angry facial expression. This selection supports my thesis because it does seem to focus more on acting than exaggeration. The only exaggerated part seems to be the hat popping off his head and landing back on it. No over-the-top animation with completely red face and exploding head exists in this animation. It is also easy to see Donald's angry face with wide open mouth and bad attitude. An audience could relate to this kind of temper tantrum more easily than one involving too much exaggeration, therefore, this animation has more heart.

A difference exists between "dumbing down" of content so people understand it and a "warming up" of the heart of the audience. My above example of Donald Duck could have been animated in a much different way. For example, instead of Donald throwing a fit with fists raised, stomping motions, and an angry expression, he could have stood in one spot getting more and more tense and turned red until he exploded. The problem is that even though that kind of animation would be entertaining, the audience would have trouble realistically relating to it. Instead of just using effects such as the temper explosion that I mentioned, focusing on acting to make the character seem realistic makes the character easier to relate to by an audience. When a character is easier for an audience to relate to, it could be considered a "warming up" of the heart. This "warming up" of the heart must be effective since Disney is still around and successful even today, and they often use the same method.




Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.

Disney On Mood

Chapter five of The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation starts with a quote by Walt Disney that says: "In most instances, the driving force behind the action is the mood, the personality, the attitude of the character--or else all three. Therefore the mind is the pilot. We think of things before the body does them" (93). I believe that this quote refers to the fact that Disney artists had to use their minds to decide how a character's mood, personality, and/or attitude would affect the actions of that character. The artists also had to treat the characters as humans and make it so that the characters seem to think before performing an action.

The quote at the beginning of the chapter seems to say that most actions also reflect the mood, personality, and attitude of the character. For example, a character playing baseball and about to be struck out by the pitcher may become angry about the situation depending on their personality, attitude, or mood. During their final swing (which either hits or misses) they may swing full force with an angry looking reddish tinted face, if they are easily angered under pressure. If they miss, they may walk away in shame or yell in an angry tone. However, if they hit a home run they may celebrate or be in shock at the situation. All of these possibilities depend on the character's mood, personality, and/or attitude.

In the Playful Pluto animation by Norman Ferguson on pages 100 and 101, Pluto sits on a sheet of flypaper and it gets stuck to him. He continuously tries to get it off of him and the situation seems to just get worse. The first part of Pluto's reaction is shock, which is shown by his body turning stiff and his ears standing up. After that, he looks pitiful and helpless and a tear even seems to show up on his face. This leads to anger and irritation, which is shown by him showing his teeth and then trying to tear off the fly paper. After a while of being irritated because of not being able to get the flypaper off, he manages to get the flypaper stuck to his face too. Pluto begins to spin in a circle to get the flypaper off and the last two shots show him as a whirlwind. In the whirlwind ones, the speed at which he is going to cause the whirlwind shows that he is desperate.

Mood, personality, and attitude affect the way that a character reacts to any given situation. In the Pluto example at the top, if Pluto were not so irritated and desperate to get the flypaper off, he may have just walked around without even minding the flypaper stuck to him. However, in his mind, he knew that he had to get it off because it may stay stuck to him forever. Disney artists worked hard on making characters with their own personalities to show actions in many ways. No one way exists to animate a character with their own personality, which means that many different results occur depending on different animators and characters.




Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.

Animation: Cycle, Repeat Action, and Cross-Over

During the early days of animation, the audience enjoyed seeing repetition of actions (Thomas and Johnston 42). Since repetition in animation also cut studio spending, three popular methods of repetition were developed (Thomas and Johnston 42). These methods are known as the cycle, repeat action, and the cross-over.

The cycle used a series of drawings that created a particular action and the last drawing worked back into the first (Thomas and Johnston 42). For example, a character could be drawn up and then animated throwing balls quickly and repeatedly as if the character is a pitching machine using the cycle method. This method was usually used for walks, dances, and a characters scrambling actions while trying to get away from some kind of danger (Thomas and Johnston 42). However, this method could be suitable for other repeated action too such as my above example depending on how it is used.

Repeat action is much like a cycle but it also involves at least a slight variation at the beginning or end of the action. With this method, animators can take drawings from earlier on in the scene and reuse them with a different variation but the same action (Thomas and Johnston 42). The action being reused in this method can be used in a variety of different situations. For example, if the action involved a character sliding to avoid hitting its head off a pipe while running, the same slide could be reused in another scene involving baseball and getting to base in time. This method is exactly what it says because only the action is repeated.

The cross-over involves multiple characters doing the same action. In this method, one drawing is traced on the same cel but in different locations (Thomas and Johnston 42). This repetition method would be useful in many situations including, for example, if the animator wanted a group of marching characters marching the same way by only actually drawing one. The cross-over method could also be combined with the cycle method and create a group of people doing the exact same thing repeatedly.

The cycle, repeat action, and cross-over methods of animation were useful in the early days of animation to help save money as well as to please the viewers. The same methods can be and more than likely are still used occasionally today, but it takes more than that to please the viewer now. However, if it were not for these methods the animation business in the early days may not have been as successful and may have lost much more money than earned.


Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.

Principles of Communications

Jamie Turner
Comm. 345

Principles of Communication

Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior (Merriam-Webster). In its basic form, communication involves a source who sends a message to a receiver and the receiver interpreting it and providing feedback, which I learned from a previous communications class. However, communication is often more complex and can include speaking face to face to a single person or even creating a movie to be viewed by a large audience in order to convey a message. The complexity also continues when other elements such as "noise" or the listeners own opinions are added that have an affect on what is received by the target of the communication. However, communication is a tool that can provide useful knowledge or entertainment to viewers, and it also allows viewers to connect to animated works.

Chapter one of the book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation states that conveying a particular emotion or feeling is the most important element of communication in any form of art (Thomas and Johnston 15). This is true because emotions allow us to connect to the characters in the case of animation, which, in my opinion, is necessary to completely enjoy an animated work. It is difficult to connect to a character that never shows emotion and lacks personality because real people have emotions and personalities. The emotion and personality of a character also often show in their actions. For example, an ill-mannered character that becomes angry during a game of baseball could possibly be shown swinging the bat with exaggerated strength and hitting the ball so hard that it explodes. This same action would not go with a character that had no personality, in fact, if any action at all happened it would probably be slow, boring, or lifeless.

The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation also states that the animator of a work is actually the actor because they make use of understood symbols of communication to make animated characters express emotions (Thomas and Johnston 18). If the animator did not make use of understood symbols of communication, then my example above involving the angry baseball player would not work. The animator must have an idea of what being angry is like along with actions associated with anger to be able to successfully create my example. Since anger for many people often involves aggression, the exaggerated strength I mentioned giving to the baseball player would actually be a symbol of anger.

Before Disney began creating characters with emotions, animated works were much shorter than they normally are now and the audience usually did not connect to the characters as much as they just enjoyed the situation the character was in. According to The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, the goal of Disney animation was not just to create an entertaining situation but instead to create characters that the audience could emotionally relate to (Thomas and Johnston 22). The creation of such characters happened some before Disney, but it wasn't until Disney used their own techniques to eventually perfect emotional characters that it became successful.

Communication in the art world, as well as in reality, is an important process. The main principle of communication in the art world is the ability to accurately convey emotions or feelings to the viewers (Thomas and Johnston 15). This is also true for the art of animation. Without the ability to communicate emotions, it is difficult to fully connect to or enjoy animation. Because of this understanding of communication, great animated works and other works of art exist today, and they can continue to be created and exist with greater popularity than animation or art that do not allow an emotional connection.

Works Cited

"Communication." 2009. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication (accessed September 10, 2009).

Thomas, Frank and Ollie Johnston. 1995. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. New York: Disney Editions.