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CPSC 533CPSC 533c Fall 2005c Fall 2005

Ying ZhangYing Zhang

Agenda

• Animation: can it facilitate? (Barbara Tversky)

• Principles of Tranditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation (John Lasseter)

Animation: can it facilitate?

• What is good about graphics used in teaching complex systems?

If used properly, static graphics enables comprehension, learning, memory, communication and inference of complex process and structures.

What is good about animated graphics?Animated graphics should be even

better and more effective.

Animation: can it facilitate?

• What is bad about animated graphics?• Animation conveys more information or

involve interactivity that overloads audience’s visual systems.

• So , animation may be ineffective because they are often too complex or too fast to be accurately viewed.

Judging Animation based on two Principles• The Congruence Principle:

– The structure and content of the external representation should correspond to the desired structure and content of the internal representation.

– So animation may apparently be compelling and convey concepts of change and expressing complex process

but check out the following:

Animation: can it facilitate?

Due to several animated processes going on at the same time, animation interfering with the information that was supposed to be conveyed to the audience.

Animation: can it facilitate?

• http://www.keveney.com/Vstirling.html

• http://www.interactivephysics.com/simulations.html

• http://www.keveney.com/Stirling.html

Animation: can it facilitate?

• A good animated graphics must be comparable to informationally equivalent static graphics.e.g. In Physics: http://physics.nad.ru/Physics/English/mech.htm

Animation: can it facilitate?

• Compared with static graphics in some cases, animation allows interactivity while the static condition does not, so the apparent benefit of using animation is due to interactivity rather than animation itself.

• E.g. http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/cern/tools/accelerate.html

Animation: can it facilitate?

• Animations are often interactive: interactivity is known to facilitate performance.

• While animation alone is usually distracting and is not effective as a teaching tool.

• So what is actually facilitate learning performance is not animation but interactivity.

Animation: can it facilitate?

• Apprehension Principle:– The structure and content of the external

representation should be readily and accurately perceived and comprehended

– So when used in teaching complex systems, animated graphics are usually hard to view, and should convey discrete information rather than continuous , and provide interactivity.

Animation: can it facilitate?

• E.g. horse movement: http://www.funnysnaps.com/igait.html

Animation: can it facilitate?

• In conclusion, what appeared to be the successes of using animation are not successes.

• According to the principles , animation should be slow and clear enough for observers to understanding the underlying information.

• Accompanied with interactivity, the drawbacks of animation may be overcome and its advantages might even be enhanced.

• However, whether animations are more effective than static graphics for demonstrating complex operations is still unknown.

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation– John Lasseter

• The key to make good 3D animation is the application of traditional hand drawing technique and principles to 3D computer animation.

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Squash and stretch• Timing• Anticipation• Staging• Following through

and overlapping action

• Straight ahead action and pose-to-pose action

• Slow in and out • Arcs• Exaggeration• Secondary action• Appeal• Personality

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Principles of Traditional Animation:

– Squash and Stretch• Defining the rigidity and mass of an object by

distorting its shape during an action. Such as an object squash flat and stretch out

drastically, it conveys the sense of softness.

e.g. http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/01b/bball.shtml

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Timing

– Spacing actions to define the weight and size of objects and the personality of characters. It gives meaning to movement.

e.g. Luxo’s Jr: http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~yingzhan/cs533c/present/animated-bw-luxo.gif

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation

• Anticipation : preparation for the action.– Purpose:

• Anatomical provision for an action• Catch audience’s eyes• Emphasize heavy weight• E.g.

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~yingzhan/cs533c/present/batter.gif

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Staging: present an idea unmistakably

clear

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation

• Following through and overlapping action– termination of an action and

establishing its relationship to the next action

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Straight ahead action

– Animator works straight from his first drawing in the scene.

• Pose-to-pose action– animator makes separate drawing focusing

from pose to pose, and then draws the inbetweens.

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Slow in and out:

– The spacing of the inbetween frames to achieve subtlety of timing and movement

e.g. bouncing ball:

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation

• Arcs:– The visual path of action for natural

movement.

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Exaggeration

– Emphasizes the essence of an idea via the design and the action.

– It works with any other principles, it has to be used carefully; otherwise, it will also make a character look unrealistic.

e.g. Andre and Wally B

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation

• Secondary action:– an action that results directly from

another action.

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation• Appeal:

– Anything that a person wants to see such as a quality of charm, pleasing design, simplicity, communication, or magnetism.

e.g. Luxo Jr.

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation

• Personality:– the character must have a desired

personality to become alive and attractive to the audience.

– E.g. Tin Toy:– E.g. Geri’s game

Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D

Computer Animation

• The essence of making appealing animation is about mixing traditional artistic sense into animation drawing with the help of hardware and software.

Movie?