FIVE MOTION METHODS
A Method to the Madness
You may have heard about the 12 Principles of Animation, but beyond that, there are even more techniques that you
can develop. In the last lesson, Sander shared with you five of his most important techniques that he uses when he animates.
Keep this guide close by when you’re animating so you can check your work against these very helpful animation techniques.
1. Balance Between Elements
2. Elements In (or Out) of Sync
3. Structure a Concept
4. Red Thread
5. Motivation of Movement
1. Balance Between Elements
Motion Design is a combination of a lot of different elements, including visuals and sound.
Typically one of these is leading the piece, whether it’s a part of the graphics or the script and voice over.
Even though one of these elements is leading, you want to give your other elements time to shine as well.
For example, if your VO is the driving force behind the animation use moments of pause in that VO to give your visual
elements a moment in the spotlight.
Check out the pieces below and keep an eye out for this Animation Method in practice:
GOOGLE MATERIAL DESIGN BLEND MANIFESTO
FIVE ANIMATION METHODS
2. Elements In (or Out) of Sync
You can combine all of the different elements in a Motion Design piece to give greater impact to the story and simplify the
message you’re trying to convey to the audience. For example, if the voice over is leading, have a visual element that moves in
synch with it. This can also create a predictable pattern for the viewer to follow for an easy viewing experience.
Combining elements to create this sense of predictability also allows you to add in contrast by creating moments of surprise
when you purposefully offset them. Creating these unexpected moments helps pull the viewer’s attention back into the piece by
breaking up the pattern.
Remember, you’re the choreographer of your animation. It’s up to you to make sure that the elements in your animation work
together in sync, or purposely out of sync, and have time to shine on their own.
3. Structure a Concept
Structure can mean a lot of things, but in this case, we’re talking about the arrangement of your scenes in your animation and the
relationship between them. One way that we can talk about this is using ratios, like the Golden Ratio, which is arguably the one
that most artists are familiar with.
USE OF GOLDEN RATIO IN COMPANY LOGOS
FIVE MOTION METHODS
So how does this relate to animation? Using ratios like this you can take the length of a piece and continuously divide it to create
different points for important moments in your animation to happen, and chapters for specific events to take place.
Like scene changes:
GOLDEN RATIO OVER TIME - COCA COLA SUGAR FACTORY
GOLDEN RATIO OVER TIME - PAUSEFEST
FIVE MOTION METHODS
COCA-COLA - HAPPINESS PAUSEFEST
Of course, you can also match the ratio over time with the graphics on the screen, like in Sander’s example where everything is
built around a square that takes up half of the screen.
ESKMO ALBUM COVER VIDEO - SANDER VAN DIJK
Don’t worry about trying to apply this method to everything.
Trust your gut and your animator’s eye on when and where to apply ratios to the structure of your animation.
FIVE MOTION METHODS
4. Red Thread
We’ve all had that moment where we feel that there are a million things distracting us and pulling at our attention. Instantly you
become frustrated and start looking for a way to escape that feeling.
In animation, this can happen when there’s simply too much going on. It’s like two people talking to you at once, or too many
app notifications firing off on your phone. As an animator, part of your job is to make sure there is visual direction, and that you’re
guiding your viewer through the animation.
By leading the viewer’s eye, you can also use clever moments to transition objects on and off without them being distracting.
Check out the pieces below while you think about how this Method was used:
GOOGLE MATERIAL DESIGN BUCK LOGO ANIMATION
5. Motivation for Movement
When you’re animating, always ask yourself “What makes it move this way?”
There are a lot of different answers to that question; it could be wind or a reaction to something, but there should always be a
clear reason why something is moving on the screen. When things move with a purpose they mimic nature, adding a quality of
realism to your work.
A good way to refine your eye for this method is to study how things move in the real world. Pay attention to the details of
movement around you and then use this in your work. You can even exaggerate realistic motion when you animate to add
more impact and interest.
Take another look at the Buck logo animation above and see how Motivation for Movement was applied to that piece.