Logo Animation
Reading
In Chapter 9 of "Animated Storytelling," Liz Blazer discusses how technique can make or break an animation. In the beginning of the chapter, she goes over how finding the perfect technique can match the story being told. A few tips she provides are considering the format of the animation and translating the story with the right use of 2D and 3D techniques. When considering the format of the animation, it's important to think about the size of the screen the animation will be viewed on so that viewers don't miss important details in the story.
Blazer then goes over some animation/motion graphic techniques including hand drawings, stop motion, 2D CGI and 3D CGI. When I first read this section, something that immediately popped in my head was how hand-drawn animations are being taken over by CGI. The animation industry is experiencing a paradigm shift in which CGI is preferred in children's cartoons and movies over hand-drawn animation. This is something for incoming animators to consider.
An interesting example Blazer points out in the chapter is how Sony PlayStation's God of War III combined 2D and 3D animation to give the video game a different feel than most games. The combination created "animation and transitions that are startlingly elegant and classic but also modern and immediate."
One big takeaway I took from reading chapter 9 is animation has endless possibilities and animators can create spectacular projects with a combination of creativity, good judgement and resourcefulness.
Research
Before creating my logo animation, I started by researching a few examples that demonstrate some of the 12 principles of animation. The 12 principles of animation are squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, exaggeration, straight-ahead action and pose-to-pose, follow-through and overlapping action, slow in and slow out, secondary action, timing, arc, solid drawing and appeal.
Ratatouille - Exaggeration
In this scene of "Ratatouille," the characters' expressions are a great example of exaggeration, especially at 0:46. At 02:47, there is also a good example of follow-through as the ghost of the chef floats around.
Minions - Anticipation and Staging
In this scene of "Minions," there are strong examples of anticipation and scene setting. At 0:29, we see the dinosaur shaking on the rock on the edge of the cliff, where it eventually gets pushed off by a minion. However, the timing of the animation is what sells the anticipation for the audience. This scene also has strong staging, as we are not confused about what to focus on, as the pacing of the characters' actions are timely.
Tom and Jerry - Follow Through and Arc
Throughout this animation in "Tom and Jerry," we can see constant follow-through in the movements of the characters, especially at 03:04. This adds an extra sense of realism to the scene. There is also a great sense of exaggeration in the characters' movements and expressions as well as the use of the arc, especially at 00:49.
Shrek - Slow In and Slow Out
In this scene of "Shrek," the movements of the characters, especially the donkey trotting throughout the scene, show good use of the slow in and slow out technique.
The Lion King - Squash and Stretch
Throughout this scene of "The Lion King," squash and stretch are used for nearly all of the movements of the main characters.
Create!
To create my first logo animation, I used Adobe Illustrator and After Effects. I started by creating the logo in Illustrator, then copying and pasting the logo elements into After Effects. From there, I animated each logo element by using keyframes and masks. After the visuals were complete, I added royalty-free music and sound effects to bring the animation to life!