Timing and Spacing

Some weeks ago, a close friend (Concept Artist)
asked me about some Principles of Animation,
especially about Timing & Spacing.
I told him what I have learned so far.

Imagine you have four seconds (96 frames -
one second in film: 24f), thats your Timing.
The overall Time from one action to another, from point A to B.
Immediately he asked: Gotcha, and what about spacing?
That's the space inbetween point A and point B.
So just imagine, you start very fast at point A and slow down at
point B, it would look natural to the audience, like hitting a ball.
So with the same timing, but different action and spacing inbetween the timeset,
you can set varying accents and have various results.



Thats were a lot of beginners are struggling, when their animation
looks mechanical, "even" and just "moving", without respecting physics.
For the most beginners or students, it is more like Timing Versus Spacing.

If you're planning a new shot, shoot your reference and during the record,
try to think already about Timing and Spacing, it will help you a lot.
Try to figure out how long the action takes - Timing.
Then look at the spacing, play, perform and experiment with it until you have
what you are aiming for.

So trough Time and Space you create the illusion of motion.
And the deeper you're digging and understanding those principles,
the more you will learn and improve your skills as an animator.

Trough Timing and Spacing you can define a Character.
Slow and drowsy movement, while running a marathon combined
with weight and the fight against gravity, just imagine this for a second.
It could be pure fun, and you could show it with every step.
To give varity you can let him accelerate and decelarate.
Play with those Ideas and you will see that Timing and Spacing
are very strong fundamentals.
Learn them, master them.

Grandmaster Richard Williams on Spacing and Timing,
you should also buy and read his book:
The Animator's Survival Kit.