#Cartoon expressions how to#

Only by stepping through the frames you would see the S&S. The idea being, you feel the S&S when the animation plays back at 24fps, but can’t really see it. Be careful not to overdo it so your character looks broken/off-model or starts losing believability.Ī common saying for a lot of animation studios is to treat S&S with a ‘feel it, but don’t see it’ guideline. It’s a fun toy in the box, so everyone wants to play with it and show off. Overdoing S&S is probably one of the biggest errors of a beginning animator. It’s not just added as a pass or layer later. Almost every unit or shape on the character can have S&S applied, so it’s something animators think about constantly as they pose. The mouth closes and disappears, then stretches into a smile again. Note that even without the overall head S&S, the principle has been applied within the poses to increase contrast and flexibility. Here’s rough blocking of a head turn using roughly 3 poses, with S&S applied to the overall head shape. S&S on multiple body parts-cheeks, mouth, eyes, head, ears, even the nose-to give life and believability to the chewing action. As seen here in this analysis by Disney Animator Walt Stanchfield, the shape of Tigger’s butt in these two poses uses S&S. Squash and Stretch does not necessarily have to be applied to the whole pose or object though. The latter is particularly useful when making rigid objects come to life, like the classic Disney Flour Sack, which is a beginning traditional animator’s test case.ĭisney Four Sack Model Sheet, Note: Squash and Stretch Poses S&S can be applied to a single body part, say an eyeball, or the entire character’s pose.

Squash and Stretch can make characters and inanimate objects have a feeling of life by introducing a flexible quality. Why do animators need Squash and Stretch? The application of S&S can be quite detailed when done with nuance and not just applied with a thick brush. A rubber ball, would naturally have more S&S. In the bouncing ball case, very little S&S will indicate a firmer material, like a ping-pong ball or a bowling ball. Squash and Stretch gives life and flexibility but not only that! It can help convey what the material that something is made of. It no longer feels like a cardboard cutout or rock hard ball. In the clip below, the S&S is not extreme, but we can see how even a subtle amount can make a difference by giving a touch of elasticity to the material. The classic bouncing ball with and without Squash and Stretch. There is a Squash pose on the drawing where the ball is in contact with the ground, and Stretch poses just before and after it to provide the necessary contrast. Here the principle of S&S is boiled down to it’s essence on the classic Bouncing Ball. The transition between a proper Squash pose to a Stretch pose, or the other way around, breaks the perfect solidity that CG animation in particular inherently gives to everything. The absence of squash and stretch gives a rigidity or stiffness to the motion. Squash and Stretch (S&S for short) is the principle of applying a contrasting change of shape-from a squash pose to a stretch pose or vice versa-to give a feeling of fleshiness, flexibility, and life in animation.

#Cartoon expressions how to#

Learn what it means, why you need to know it, what it looks like, and how to use it to become the best animator you can be. We’re covering the 12 Basic Principles of Animation one principle at a time! Let’s start at the beginning with Squash and Stretch.