Visual Language - Form Flow and Force, Dancing Animations

Dancing animations are a great example of form flow and force in  animations as it is required so that the animations dance appears fluid and natural. Glen Keane and Ryan Woodward are two examples of animators who have created famous and beautiful dance animations.

Glen Keanes 'Nephtali' is a dance which shows the body shifting back and forth forcing the dancer to shift her wait around to follow the wind or fight against it. The body takes form and shape as pressure is applied in the legs and body giving the character real life and form. The movements of the dancer is so light and elegant that it gives off more and more life through the fluid motions.

In comparison Ryan Woodwards thought of you used more artistic freedom, having the bodies shift their weight and become other forms such as mist and light. This emphasised the effects of the characters and what exactly was happening to them. It told a story with out them actually speaking but purely through the motion of the characters.

Even Though both animations are different they both started from the same core point, observational drawings of dancers. They did life drawings of the dancers as they performed creating sketches and designs quickly to gather the essence of the dancer. For another module i will be making a dance animation and id like to do more as they are great way to practice other aspects of animation such as timing as well as presenting the form of the dancer.