Animation Tutorial: The Wave Principle

this tutorial demonstrates the wave principle as described by Preston Blair in his book cartoon animation the wave principle simply means that certain actions move in the shape of a wave the curve of a wave flows smoothly from one side to the other very few things in nature move in a rigid or mechanical manner almost nothing moves in a perfectly straight line objects Bend and sway the motion of things that Bend or fold have a natural wave-like rhythm to them using a wave-like motion helps prevent stiff movement when animating limbs tails or any swinging thing that moves in the shape of an arc the wave principle as applied to animation helps keep movement fluid let's look at some examples of the wave principle and action we can use the simple cycle of a wave as the foundation to create this flying ghost next time you see a cat pay attention to its tail as the top of the tail swings in toward the cat the base of the tail pushes in the opposite direction the bottom of the tail flows into the top like the letter S flowing into the opposite shape of the letter Z a dog's tail is more stiff than a cats but even the quick wag of a dog's tail uses the wave principle although to a slightly lesser extent than in cats you with all this talking about waves now would be a good time to animate a simple wave as seen in the water a wave has a high point and a low point the high point here marked with an X just moves into the next I point for a smooth cycle in between each high and low point with even spacing until the wave loops into itself the wave principle doesn't just apply to animating tails or water it gives flexibility to the bending nature of arms legs the torso clothing hair and just about anything that animates in a curve or an arc for more realistic movements you'll want to tone down the wave principle for really cartoony animation exaggerating the wave principle can make for some very fluid looking movement alright guys that'll do it for the wave principle if you enjoyed this tutorial you can subscribe to keep up with future videos and if you found this tutorial helpful and would like to support my work you can click on the patreon logo on your screen or visit my website at my cubes and comm slash support in the next tutorial I'll be talking about key poses so thanks a lot for watching and I'll see you in the next video

Channel: Micah Buzan ANIMATION

Views: 298,318

Keywords: animation tutorial, how to animate, how to animate for beginners, how to animate a picture, how to animate a cartoon, animation tutorial after effects, animation tutorial flash, animation tutorial photoshop, animation techniques, how to draw, 2d animation tutorial, easy way to animate for beginners, easy way to animate, digital animation, digital animation tutorial, digital animation process, digital animation for beginners, digital animation 2d, tvpaint animation, tvpaint

Id: kLPqW3g9yPs

Length: 3min 7sec (187 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 05 2016