This illusion of life video has been making the rounds on the internet the last few days and it’s wonderful. It’s my favourite demonstration of Disney’s animation principles I’ve seen yet! There’s also a companion set of gifs breaking down each point separately.
If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it now. It will make your day:
The illusion of life from cento lodigiani on Vimeo.
Both the video and the gifs so elegantly demonstrate how persuasive and effective the core principles of animation can be. It’s a video of a cube and some lines, but they way they move makes them captivating.
As web designers we can learn so much from the long-standing craft of animation. We may never be animating characters, but we are trying to convey emotion and personality in our animation work. (Actually, even if we’re actively not trying to, we still are.)
Studying the principles of animation, or even title animations, can only make us better animators. And they’re a great source of inspiration too!
Here are a few of my other favourites if you’re looking for more:
Timing for Animation
The timing of an animation can convey emotion, weight, mood and power. This is an entire book just on that.
The Title Design of Saul Bass (Video)
A video collection of some of Saul Bass’ best title work that was put together to celebrate the Saul Bass: A Life In Film & Design book. (The book is also wonderful!)
Art Of The Title
An inspiring collection of titles from film and TV complete with interviews and breakdowns of the processes and concepts. I love this site! Sometimes I feel like UI animation is closer to title animation and this site is the best resource to learn about the art of gorgeous titles.
