Tradigital Maya

Chapter 2

Anticipation – Building the Action

People in the audience watching an animated scene will not be able to understand the events on the screen unless there is a planned sequence of actions that leads them clearly from one activity to the next… This is achieved by preceding each major action with a specific move that anticipates for the audience what is about to happen.

The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation – Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston

Anticipation in animation is critical in both creating natural motion and building audience expectation. As such, it can be considered both an animation principle and a theatrical device. For example: ...