Timing for Animation, 2nd Edition

Timing an Oscillating Movement

A fast vibrating movement, such as a spring twanging can be done as shown in Fig. A. The movement between the extremes is so fast that no in-between drawings are necessary. It is only necessary to show the extreme positions of the spring getting gradually closer to the rest position. The vibration of a larger and heavier object, such as a springboard just after a diver has left it, is timed more slowly, taking perhaps four frames to go from the bottom of the movement to the top. In any action in which the direction of movement reverses at an extreme, it tends to come out of the extreme more slowly than going into it. This gives more ‘snap’ to the movement. Cycles of less than six frames may look mechanical and it ...