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12 Principles of Animation - Solid Drawing #Tutorials





It's no secret that the 12 Principles of Animation are the fundamental building blocks for any animator. Get the hang of these basic techniques and you'll be on your way to understanding the language of animation.

First introduced in The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, these 12 principles have remained the quintessential roadmap for aspiring and experienced animators alike. Our animators are no exception! In fact, they have created their very own series of animation tutorials to explain the 12 Principles of Animation, using what you ask? Why, a brown bag, of course!

Last month we demonstrated the Exaggeration principle, so now with no further adieu, let's continue our series with the eleventh principle: Solid Drawing

In 2d animation Solid Drawing refers to the use of the basic principles of drawing form, weight and volume to create the illusion of a 3d object. In 3d animation you need to think about how to pose your 3d character rig to help create a balance and weight in the pose.

In our example animation above, we apply Solid Drawing to the brown bag, instead of facing the bag straight on, we have placed it at an angle that gives it a 3d weight and provides a more interesting view as you can see from the image below:

Hope you've enjoyed our interpretation of the eleventh principle, tune in next month for the final principle, number 12: Appeal and in case you missed it check out our version of the tenth principle here: Exaggeration!


Anahita Tabarsi

Anahita is Brown Bag Films' Marketing Director, Digital & Social and drinks more than five coffees a day...

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