In this method of animation first we decide what are the important drawings, the story telling poses and put them in. Then we decide what are the next most important positions that have to be in the scene, these are the extremes and we put them in. Then we work out how to go from one pose to another finding the nicest transition between two poses, these are the breakdowns or passing positions, then we can work out on slow in's and slow outs and other finishing touches.
To illustrate how effective the pose to pose method is, the brilliant Disney art director-designer Ken Anderson said that when he was making layout drawings of characters for animators working on "snow white and seven dwarfs", he drew a lot and lot of key poses of Grumpy animators, Ken found out later that the guy just put charts on the drawings, handed them to his assistants and went for lunch and took off credit, for what in effect, was Ken's fine animation.
Advantages of Pose to Pose Animation
- We get clarity
- The point of the scene is nice and clear
- Its in order, the right things happen in right time, in right place in overall time allotted
- The director loves us
- Its easy to assist
- Producers have to deliver projects on time and on budget, so brilliance is not rewarded as much as reliability
Disadvantages of Pose to Pose Animation
- We miss the flow
- The action can be a bit choppy a bit unnatural
- It can be too literal, a bit cold-blooded. no surprise
