In this course I will teach you the basics of 2D frame-by-frame animation and apply them to easy to follow exercises.

We will start by getting to know the 12 principles of animation:

Squash and Stretch
Slow-In and Slow-Out
Timing (and Spacing)
Anticipation
Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose
Follow Through and Overlapping Action
Arcs
Staging
Secondary Actions
Exaggeration
Solid Drawing
Appeal

In each corresponding lesson the discussed principles will be applied to an exercise like the bouncing ball or a flour sack. These exercises will partially build upon each other, so that previous animation exercises can be used in later lessons. Upon that we will also talk about how to approach an animation, which steps to take first and how to think when animating in general.

The final class project will be to animate a flour sack and show it change through 3 to 5 emotions, bringing the previously learned principles to use in a fun and individual way.

This class is aimed at beginners, no previous knowledge is needed. The exercises and the class project focus on the taught subjects without requiring high drawing skills.

I will be teaching this course mainly from the perspective of digital 2D animation, although all the principles apply to any animation technique - be it drawn on paper, 3D or Stop Motion.
This is why I recommend an animation software and a graphics tablet as materials for this class. I will be using Krita and TVPaint Animation as well as my Wacom Mobile Studio - although any animation software and graphics tablet will do.
If you are uncertain which program to use I recommend looking into Krita. It is an open-source and completely free software that will have everything you need for these lessons. I will include a short quick-start guide on how to set up Krita for animation, so that we can all start on the same page.

Here is my outline of the course:

The exercises will include: (shown are old exercises from me as placeholders that will be done anew for the course)

A Beginner's Guide to Frame-By-Frame Animation - image 1 - student project
a bouncing ball on the spot (exercise for Squash & Stretch, Slow In & Slow Outs)

A Beginner's Guide to Frame-By-Frame Animation - image 2 - student project

a bouncing ball across the screen (exercise for Straight Ahead/Pose to Pose, Arcs, Timing and Spacing)

A Beginner's Guide to Frame-By-Frame Animation - image 3 - student project
the same bouncing ball with added anticipation

A Beginner's Guide to Frame-By-Frame Animation - image 4 - student project

and added element (a flag or tail - exercise for Follow Through and Overlapping Action)

and the class project could look like this:

A Beginner's Guide to Frame-By-Frame Animation - image 5 - student project

I'm really looking forward to creating this class and will update this project as I progress.

A Beginner's Guide to Frame-By-Frame Animation - image 6 - student project

Christin Ruttka

2D animator

15

10

Company

Community

Teaching

Mobile

Company

Community

Teaching