INTRO
Today, we will be taking a look at a small cutscene from Rayman 3 (released in 2003 for most consoles and PC) and see how the cutscene implements or does not implement the 12 principles of animation.
The reason for why I chose this scene is because of my nostalgia for the game it came from, as well as the incredible and expressive implementation of animation in this game, especially for the time of release.
(Note, because of how I got this video, I am not completely sure of the frame rate, even if I can assume that the animations are being performed at 30fps, so instead of using individual frames to discuss elements, I will be using pictures and seconds as reference)
Squash and Stretch
As can be seen in the first 3 or so seconds of the animation, squash and stretch, as well as exaggeration and anticipation help "sell" the event of the floor crumbling underway and give the audience time to process the event, as well as help convey motion. While harder to see with Rayman as he has no limbs, it can be better seen in Globox to the right. (pictured for example)
This is very impressive for a game of this time, as even many games today do not employ this technique even if it would be a better animation for it.
Anticipation
In game design, anticipation in animations is normally seen as a "controversial" topic, as wind up for inputs the player makes can make the game seen unresponsive or clunky (seen best in newer Rockstar games or Dark Souls) but is generally welcomed in NPC or enemy interactions (allowing us to see attacks before they happen, giving smart players a chance to dodge or react) However, in a cutscene, anticipation works under normal animation rules and can help prepare watchers for an event to happen or create comedy. Such as the the first three seconds in the cutscene we're looking at. As the ground crumbles, Rayman and Globox hang in the air for a split second, giving the scene a comedic bent, and allowing us to see both characters reactions.
Staging
The staging of an animation applies to the "direction" of a scene, such as placement of characters, position of camera and the background and foreground elements. In video games, without proper blocking and staging, players would get immensely frustrated as they wouldn't know what to do or why they need to do it, this being a major reason (besides story) that cutscenes exist at all.
I would argue that blocking of the scene is quite good, conveying to the player that the floor has given way, that Globox has been captured and is too high for us to get him, and that another monster has broken through a wall, looking for us.
Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose
Straight ahead or pose to pose generally refers to how an animation is made. With straight ahead animation referring to someone drawing out each frame, while pose to pose referring to creating several key "poses" in an animation and then filling in the gaps later on.
Like most video games, I would assume that Rayman 3 generally uses pose to pose animation as due to the time constraints and constant reiteration of games and its animation, straight ahead (or frame by frame) animation may seem time costly for the amount of work needed for any animator at Ubisoft and would not seem to have much benefit.
Follow through and Overlapping action
Follow through and Overlapping actions are two separate but closely related ideas that different parts of the body will move at different speeds when performing an action, or recovering from an action
This can be best seen with Rayman hitting ground at second 4, his feet hitting the ground first, with his chest and arms soon to follow, helping sell the impact. While seemingly quick and barely noticeable, bad animations are bad normally because of no follow through or overlapping action, making it look unnatural.
Slow in and Slow out
Slow in and slow out is the act of animating more frames around keyframes or poses. This helps give the animation momentum and is employed throughout the cutscene, with special note to the start of the scene. As Rayman and Globox fall they get faster and slow down more at the end, helping with the impact (this can be seen better with Rayman then Globox in this case)
Arcs
Our bodies are almost made to use arcs in motion. This is commonly seen in arm movement when walking and running, and for video games can be clearly seen in most movement animations. This cutscene does not seem to have any obvious arc movement, but I make a case that in the first second of the animation that Globox and Rayman both create an arc with body language while finding that the ground below has fallen.
Secondary Action
Secondary action normally refers to other smaller parts of an animation that help sell the larger parts of it. Such as facial expressions or hair and clothing movement.
While in this animation, Rayman and Globox do not seem to have any facial expression, even if it would help the animation (due to time constraints most likely) Raymans hair and jacket collar seems to move while falling (maybe due to a reused gameplay falling animation or physics animation tied to hair and the collar) and there does seem to be added details to help sell the story, such as Rayman shaking his head after landing, or Globox writhing and struggling with his arms as he is captured that help add to characters and the story itself.
Timing
Timing is a critical aspect of animation, and can be hard to do in a real time scenario such as games, especially on the PC, as different hardware can result in different voice lines being played at different times, or animations being cut off, dampening the effect of a work (this mostly happened for old games as they would tie events to frame rate, which with PC's can be wildly variable.)
While the voice lines do seem to be slightly "ahead" of the animation (this might also be due to the game being originally voiced in French and then redubbed for other languages later) the timing of the actual animation helps sell the comedic anticipation of the floor giving way, the fall itself, and the impact for both Roblox and Rayman. (this can be seen in the first 6 seconds of the video)
While for impact I would argue that Rayman and Globox should fall faster. The slower speed or "timing" help the audience better understand their next gameplay challenge and the environment they are in.
Exaggeration
Animation is not about capturing realism, but about capturing the hyper real using exaggeration. The level of exaggeration is different depending on the genre but every kind of animation uses it to some extent, and Rayman 3, as a cartoon like game, definitely employs a more untethered version of this.
Up to the squash and squish of the first 3 seconds, to the fall of the characters (such as Globox comically swaying after being caught by the monster, second 5) even down to poses they move into (such as the monster reaching out his hand after breaking the wall, second 15) The cutscene clearly employs exaggeration, and is a better more appealing work because of it.
Solid Drawing
In 3D animation Solid Drawing refers to the weight and balance of the pose of a character to make it seem more realistic and dynamic (ie: so instead of having hands on both sides, making it look flat and boring, have one hand on the hip, and one to the side, making the pose dynamic)
This can be seen clearly in second 7, where Globox has been caught by the monster, where the monster is using one arm to grab Globox, with another arm, bent to the opposite side, which, in a sense, stabilizes the pose.
Appeal
Appeal should be the goal when bringing a character to life and is the difference between a meh character, or a character that everyone loves (The Sonics games greatest strength is the titular characters appeal, beyond even gameplay)
Rayman 3 has incredibly appealing characters which I would put to simple designs, with distinct elements using colors that stand out from each other and the background (the monsters are green, Globox is blue, Rayman has a purple hoodie and red hair, letting him stand out against most player spaces) as well as the general animation prowess using all 12 of the animation principles as needed, as well as making the models act like they look (ie: Small characters acting small, big characters having more weight, animation revealing character traits.) It would be unfair to label appeal as solely a animation principle, as I believe appeal is achieved by an in sync animation and character design team.
(Video used for analysis by Sanctuary of Rayman, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJI4kbdcbWA accessed 16/2/2022)
(Game video came from is Rayman 3, released 2003)
Comments