Expressive Head Turn

For this assignment, you will animate your character in a head turn and expression shift. Your animation must demonstrate anticipation, overshoot, and easing (slow-in/ slow-out). Final animations should be at least 2 seconds (48 frames) long, but will likely need more. Start with your storytelling frames and sketches to establish the timing and spacing, then work on clean-up, coloring and shading. The movement and expression are most important; if you can't finish coloring for the deadline you can do it for the final portfolio. Figuring out how to communicate your character's emotional states through movement and timing are what this assignment is about.

Decide what the character's emotional state is at the beginning, and what it transitions to. Many animators recommend drawing a simple emoji representing the emotional states - it needs to be clear in your mind. Incorporate exaggeration if appropriate.

Add - maintain sense of space - if it's a bust shot, extend the figure down to the edge of frame.

Follow the order we have established:

Make the core drawings first (keyframes, then breakdown(s). Use the breakdown to plan any squash & stretch.

Make the timing chart(s).

Fill in with in-betweens.

Add anticipation & overshoot

There are two Work In Progress assignments for this project:

A reference video of yourself acting out the motion and expression change. You can film on your phone, the quality doesn't have to be perfect, but try to get the timing right and the expression exaggerated. This is about getting inside the movement. (Feel free to look at other media for inspiration, but I am asking you to act the movement out for the reference video this time.)

Key pose drawings. Animated or still.