If dropped on the floor, it will squash out to its fullest shape, and if picked up by the corners, it will stretch out to its longest shape. The best advice for keeping the distended drawings from looking bloated or bulbous and the stretched position from appearing stringy or withered was to consider that the shape or volume was like a half-filled flour sack. No matter how squashed or stretched, the total mass remains the same. Volume consistency must also be maintained. Stretches unfold more slowly to sell the elasticity and momentum. The “anticipation” build-up leading into the squash contributes to this effect. Squash compression occurs over just a few frames to communicate abrupt impacts. The stretched position always shows the same form in a very extended condition. The squashed position can depict the flattened out by great pressure or bunched up and pushed together. The same rule is applied when you add the z-axis to the equation.
Used together, squash and stretch create the illusion of weight and flexibility. “Stretch” refers to elongating or enlarging a form, like a ball stretching vertically on the rebound. “Squash” means flattening or compressing along a certain axis, like a ball squashing vertically when bouncing.
It will highly impact your understanding of any topic related to animation. A book by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. I highly recommend that you read Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. The figure crouched is obviously contracted into itself, in contrast to the figure in an extreme stretch or leap. Anything composed of living flesh, no matter how bony, will show considerable movement within its shape in progressing through and action.Ī good example of this is the bent arm with swelling biceps straightened out so that only the long sinews are apparent. In real life, this occurs only with the most rigid shapes, such as chairs, dishes and pans. When a fixed shape is moved about on the paper from one drawing to the next, the movement emphasizes a marked rigidity. Though it was first introduced as one of the 12 Principles of animation as a 2D technique, the same rules and steps are applied to 3D animations as well. Together, these manipulate an object’s volume and proportions over time. Stretches elongate forms, exaggerating rebounds and elasticity. Squash techniques reduce important dimensions, abruptly flattening objects against forces. Squash and stretch involve deforming an object or character along certain axes to exaggerate motion and impacts. By far the most important discovery was squash and stretch.