Digital Production Arts
DPA 8070 3D Modeling and Animation with Jim Sidletsky
By: Benjamin B. Warner
Exercise 11: Principles of Animation - Into the Spiderverse
Date: October 19th, 2020
Watch the official trailer to see some of these examples!
Objective:
Find at least 3 examples of the “Principles of Animation” within your selected movie.
Solution:
I chose to analyze “Spiderman - Into the Spiderverse”, a beautifully animated movie that can be shown to employ every principle of animation very frequently and masterfully.
Squash and Stretch, Exaggeration:
This scene shows a perfect example of squashing and stretching in Spider Pig’s movement, and then shows significant exaggeration in the movement and distortion of the hammer. Throughout this movie, Spider Pig continues to show many examples of these 2 principles of animation.
Overlap + Follow-Through, Arcs:
In this scee, Miles Morales is hit by a car and quickly reacts with an extraordinary leap. Throughout this sequence, his animations overlap and distinct follow-through can be seen during his landing sequence.
The arc of his trajectory clearly demonstrates the principles of Arcs, making his motion seem more realistic. In addition to his trajectory, arcing can be seen in the motion of his arms upon landing.
Appeal:
The stylized animation in this movie mimics the apperance of a comic book, adding bold lines in all characters’ movements and expressions. This is most effective in emphasizing some facial expressions during close-ups. Enlarged eyes and other facial features further increases appeal. Lastly, each Spider Person is given unique characteristics to set them appart from each other for a more interesting dynamic.
Secondary Action, Moving Hold:
The main action in this scene is the movement of the train, whereas the secondary action is in the subtle movements of the fabrics on Miles Morales. The hoodie strings exhibit the most noticeable secondary movement.
Additionally, the subtle fabric movements display the principle of “moving hold”, where Miles is standing still and the little bit of motion prevents him from seeming lifeless.
Timing:
The timing of the 2 characters falling in this scene conveys a difference in mass and makes the physics of the scene more apparent. With Miles falling faster than the Hobgoblin, it makes it clear that Miles has less mass and obtains a higher resulting velocity from the same applied force.
Staging:
Throughout the entire film, the viewer’s attention is often drawn with comicbook-style elements. The most iconic and effective use of this can be seen in the “Spider Sense” animation that occurs frequently. Even more frequently, the use of onomatopoeias (such as “BOOM!”) draw attention to certain points of action sequences.
