The Drawings They are a Changin`:

Yesterday I went into a big old snit about simple animation techniques that animation students are not getting taught. Okay it was more than a snit it was a full bore fit about the Rule of 3s not being taught to some of my students before they get to my class. I even went so far as to say that if a teacher couldn`t teach this simple concept then they should not be teaching animation. (See Below)

Today I am continuing the theme of simple animation techniques that are not getting taught, but I will try not to get so hot under the collar. We will look at one of the oldest animation techniques, morph. Emile Cohl uses morph in his 1908 Fantasmagorie. What I like to call the first true animation. (Blackton used animation techniques as early as 1906 but they were tricks used in trick films that were all about the artist not about the characters in the animation.)

Speaking of first animations. My son`s first animation Once Up On a Time, which he start when he was 9 and filmed when he was 11 years old, is filled with the most marvelous morphs. Morph is an easy process that he was able to pick up on his own without any outside training. It is even easier if you know this simple mechanical process.

You start with 2 drawings, your first pose and your last pose. Peg them on a light-box. Put a sheet over the 2 drawings.

Draw lines between all of the target points on the 2 drawings that are going to morph (EXAMPLE: nose of the man to nose of the werewolf he is going to cahnge into or tip of the ear of the man to the tip of the ear of the werewolf) The reference line should start from the target point on the first drawing and end at the same target point on the last drawing.

Divide the reference line into the number of inbetween drawing that you want. (The more divisions the more inbetweens the smoother the morph) You can even number each division point with the drawing number. Then just connect the dots. It is that easy. Film it and play it back. You can slow in or slow out the drawings even stager the drawing during filming to have even more fun with your morph.

Here is an example of a morph between a table and a dinosaur: table dino morph