Understanding the 12 principles of animation is one of the first steps for every professional animator. Among them, the follow-through and overlapping action principle is one of the most recognizable: you can see it in any animated project, no matter how barebones it is.
This article explores best practices for this animation principle: from understanding the lingering motions after a character lands from a jump to mastering the choreography of secondary movements through layered animation techniques, we cover all the basics.
By the end, you should have a good understanding of what this principle is about and have good actionable ideas to use in your own animation projects.
What's Follow-Through
The follow-through principle refers to the continuation of motion in different elements of a character or object after the main action has stopped.
For example, when an animated character stops running suddenly, their long hair might move forward briefly before settling.
What's Overlapping Action
When a character runs, their hair or clothing moves as well. The slight delay or variation in the timing of different parts of a character or object as they move is called overlapping action.
Why This Principle Is Important
Follow-through and overlapping action communicate the weight and mass of objects or characters, giving the animation a sense of gravity and inertia.
These principles introduce natural delays and fluidity to movements, making animations less mechanical.
How a character moves reveals volumes about their emotional state, and you can also use overlap to build suspense or highlight key moments within a scene.
1. Prioritize Weight And Momentum
To accurately portray weight and momentum, the animator must first understand how different objects and characters react under gravity, inertia, and other forces.
When a character jumps, the action doesn't simply conclude when the character lands. Instead, their body parts, hair, or loose clothing will continue to move, propelled by the momentum generated during the leap. This lingering motion is a perfect opportunity for animators to emphasize the downward force exerted during the landing. It can be observed in how a character's hair bounces or how loose garments flutter and settle gradually after the movement has appeared to conclude.
2. Use Layered Animation Techniques
Layered animation involves separating different aspects of motion into distinct layers that can be individually manipulated, like primary and secondary motion, to make it easier to adjust overlaps.
Animators should start with major body movements, like those of the torso: the torso serves as the central axis of a character's body. It is often the source of primary motions, so establishing the motion of the torso first creates a solid foundation upon which all other actions can be realistically based. Once the primary motion is in place, animators can add secondary movements, including overlapping actions.
Once the main motion has been animated, attention can then shift to additional follow-through animations. By addressing these components separately, animators can ensure that each movement flows naturally and transitions smoothly from one phase to the next.
You can also add accessories like hats, necklaces, and other props to provide the animation an extra layer of depth.
3. Use Reference Footage
One effective strategy for mastering this principle is using reference footage: analyzing and breaking down live-action reference footage allows animators to grasp nuanced motion details that might be challenging to visualize through imagination alone.
Reference footage provides fine details that may be overlooked without visual aids yet significantly convey a sense of realism. For example, how a dancer’s body continues to move fluidly after a jump or how an actor’s hair follows their head’s motion provides invaluable insights into creating lifelike follow-through in animation. By observing how these movements occur in reality, animators can replicate or even exaggerate them to increase their impact.
When animating sports scenes, studying slow-motion videos of athletes in action is particularly beneficial. By dissecting these sequences frame by frame, animators can better understand how the body’s various parts contribute to a cohesive motion.
The same goes for complex facial expressions. The face has 43 muscles controlling expressions, each with overlapping actions and sometimes follow-through animations (e.g., shaking eyes aftershock).
4. Integrate Secondary Animation Early
Plan and integrate secondary actions during the initial stages of animation to maintain consistency.
By doing so, animators can prevent potential disconnects between primary and secondary actions to avoid mismatched motions that often require extensive corrections, thus reducing time spent making revisions.
For example, animators can incorporate likely follow-through and overlapping actions when proposing initial sketches or storyboards.
Consider a scene involving a group of birds taking flight. In the initial planning stages, it's vital to visualize how each bird's wings, tails, and bodies will move independently yet harmoniously as they soar into the air. Sketches might include the subtle sway of feathers lagging behind the wing movements or the natural bobbing of their bodies. Presenting these considerations early ensures the team can build on a solid foundation.
5. Optimize Timing for Narrative Impact
Effective timing controls the rhythm and conveys the appropriate energy or emotion in a scene. Similarly, you must adjust timing within follow-through and overlaps to enhance storytelling.
In a suspenseful scene where a character stealthily enters a dimly lit room, the timing of follow-through in actions such as a swinging door becomes crucial. By extending the animation of the door's swing, animators can build anticipation and create an atmosphere of tension. As the door slowly comes to a halt with a prolonged creak, the viewer senses the character's cautious entry, heightening the suspense of the follow-through of the door opening.
6. Implement Advanced Rigging Solutions
A rig is the skeletal structure or control system within a digital character model that animators use to create movement. It acts as an intermediary between the animator and the 3D model, allowing for the manipulation of the model with greater ease and precision.
A robust rig can significantly reduce the workload and complexity of animating expressive follow-through and overlapping actions, so you should design and use rigs accordingly.
Without a well-constructed rig, animators may find themselves bogged down in the minutiae of manually adjusting every component of a character's movement, leading to inefficient use of time and potential inconsistencies in animation.
For example, create a custom rig with dynamic Inverse Kinematics (IK) and Forward Kinematics (FK) switch controls to handle the fluid motion of a character's tail without constant manual adjustments:
- Define the Structure - Begin by identifying the major parts of the character's tail that will require movement and flexibility—often breaking them down into several segments or "bones" within your 3D software. Each segment should be able to move independently yet remain connected to form a cohesive whole.
- Set Up IK Controls - Implement Inverse Kinematics (IK) for the tail to allow animators to move the end of the tail, and have the rest of the segments follow accordingly. This is useful for quickly positioning the tail, especially when it interacts with other objects or needs to maintain contact with a surface.
- Configure FK Controls - Alongside IK, establish Forward Kinematics (FK) controls that give animators the ability to rotate each segment of the tail independently. This is essential for fine-tuning arcs and adding natural, flowing movements.
- Create a Switching System - Provide a seamless transition between IK and FK controls by incorporating an IK/FK switch within the rig. This switch allows animators to toggle between the two systems depending on what is needed for a particular action, combining the strengths of both techniques for optimal tail animation.
- Add Dynamic Features - Enhance the rig with dynamics or secondary motion control systems that can simulate natural physics and add an extra layer of realism to the tail movement, like auto-sway or bounce features that react to the character's primary movements.
Conclusion
Adding follow-through and overlapping actions can be complex, but the result is worth it! Make sure to follow best practices to ease your work:
- Be aware of weight and momentum
- Use layers
- Plan secondary actions
- Use reference footage
- Leverage timing for emotional impact
- Advanced rigs
Animation is not just about the story, it's also about how you tell it with subtle details: that's the huge difference between boring and great animation. Follow-through and overlapping actions are key in this regard, so don't neglect them!
