Fred Moore's 14 Points of Animation

"If a drawing looks clumsy, or lacks appeal, or no longer looks like the model, perhaps the animator is trying to show something that should not be shown.  

When Fred (Moore) was giving a talk on drawing Mickey, he was asked,  "How do you draw him looking right down on top of his head?"  Fred responded, "Why would you?"  If the appeal in the design was based on the balance of the ears to the nose and the relationship of the cheeks to the eyes and the head shape, Fred wondered why would you deliberately throw all that away?  

Why would you show a view that did not have much going for it as possible?  

- Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, The Illusion of Life   -  


"What happens is FACT.  TRUTH is what we think about. Write the truth."  - Robert McKee



People often like to cite the 12 Points of Animation as described in the Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. In this very same tome is their once senior animator, Fred Moore's 14 Points of Animation. 

Each has its own value and speaks for itself. But perhaps #6, 11-14 are the ones I'd like to point out when it comes to drawing.

 Fred Moore's 14 Points of Animation

1. Appeal in drawing

2.  Staging

3. Most interesting way?  (Why would anyone other than your mother like to see it?)

4. Is it the most entertaining way?

6. Are you advancing the character?

7.  is this the simplest statement of the main idea of the scene?

8.  is the story point clear?

9. Are the secondary actions working with the main action?

10. Is the presentation best for the medium?

11.  Does it have 2 dimensional clarity?

12.  Does it have 3 dimensional solidity?

13.  Does it have 4 dimensional drawing?  (Drag and follow through)

14.  Are you trying to do something that shouldn't be attempted?  (Like trying to show the top of Mickey's head)

There is another anecdote where the legendary Milt Kahl commented on dealing with "difficult drawings", "Why would you even draw it that way in the first place??" 

In the search of drawing what rings true about a subject....it's not about drawing what is literal about it, but rather, what is "true" about the subject.   "Truth", perhaps to be specific, "emotional truth"  is sometimes better served subjectively. 

Feeling!

"What is the character thinking and why does he feel that way?"

- Ollie Johnston

"キャラクターは何を考え、なぜそう感じているのか?"

- オリー・ジョンストン

You might be asking, what's wrong with my drawing?  Why isn't there anything happening?  The anatomy is correct, I've rendered it completely, I have used perspective but why isn't alive?  The answer might be in the question above.

こんな疑問を持ったことがあるのではないでしょうか。自分のドローイングはどこが悪いんだろう?  どうもピンと来ないのはなぜだろう?  アナトミーは正しいし、陰影もしっかりつけたし、パースもちゃんとしている。それなのに、生き生きとしていない。

その答えは、オリーの言葉の中に見つけることができるはずです。

"A drawing that doesn't convey an emotion or a state of mind isn't a good drawing."  

"感情あるいは心の持ちようを表していないドローイングは、良いドローイングとは言えない"  

Make judgments about what you are putting down on paper.  Just don't copy.  We have cameras and digital photography for that. Your job as an artist is to convey a character.  Tell a story.  Your audience is paying you (with either money or time)  to show them what you, see. 

Don't be afraid to put what you feel in the drawing and even exaggerate what the character is doing. you can always "scale back" if you need to.

紙面に何を描くかを判断しましょう。写し取ろうとすることを止めましょう。映すのは、カメラやデジタル写真の仕事です。アーティストとして皆さんができることは、キャラクターを表現することです。ストーリーを語りましょう。観客は、皆さんの目を通したものを観るためにお金、あるいは時間を費やすのです。

思い切ってドローイングに自分自身の感情を込めましょう。そして、キャラクターの動作を誇張しましょう。そのほうが良いと思ったら、「縮小する」ことはいつでも可能です。

I have used scribbles and stick figures for clarity and simplicity. 

A.  Shows a person running, yes....but how does it compare to the attitude and feelings of B. and C.?

私は、明確化および単純化のためにスクリブル（落書きのようなライン）と棒人間を使っています。 

Aは走っている人です。それでは、BあるいはCの人と姿勢や感情をどう描き分ければ良いでしょうか？

Use abstract lines to capture the movement and push the feeling.  Think abstract.  Not literal!   

抽象的なラインで、動きをとらえ、感情をしっかりと表現しましょう。そしてそれを紙に描きとめるときには抽象化します。詳しい説明はしません。

Your Friend: The Rice Bag (or Flour Sack )

The model of the flour sack, or the rice bag is nothing new at all in the west, but I thought it deserves some review for our friends in Japan.

The torso which makes up two of the largest masses of the body, determines the weight of the body.

There are many models to help simplify these masses in drawing:  the bean, the box forms and in animation, “the flour sack” or the “rice bag.” 

The rice bag functions just as well as the box form or the bean shape to simplify the torso as a 3-dimentional form but it also:

1)   Makes weight clear

2)   Shows forces acting on the body

3)   Shows Emotion!!

Master the Rice Bag and use it as a model to show feelings.  Where energy is  heavy, the form will squash.   Where energy is pulling the form will stretch.

To help yourself visualize:  How would you show emotion if you didn’t have any arms or legs??