Basics of Animation with Tom Bancroft

If you have been a student or fan of animation, you have certainly heard about the Principles of Animation that were introduced by Frank and Ollie in their book the Illusion of Life. After decades of studying and teaching animation, Tom Bancroft has some new ideas about how we should be looking at those animation principles.  In fact, when it comes to animating – to moving characters – there are two principles that are more important than all the rest. The other principles are very important, but these two principles are the key.  In this course, Tom Bancroft explains the basics of animation and these foundational principles that are key to animation.

This is a great opportunity to learn from a professional animator with decades of industry experience. During 11 years at Disney, Tom Bancroft had the opportunity to contribute to some classic films including, “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King,” “Aladdin”, “Mulan”, and “Brother Bear”. He was also a character designer and director for Big Idea Entertainment, makers of the family-friendly “Veggietales” video series.  The experience at Disney, writing art instruction books and teaching at a university and online has given Tom  a unique perspective on teaching the principles of animation.  In this class, Tom will impart some of that knowledge to you!

In this Basics of Animation video course, Tom Bancroft, teaches the basic concepts to get you started in animation.  In these video lessons, Tom will take a different look at the twelve principles of animation, beginning concepts and what in takes to create movement.  By focusing on principles that create the illusion of movement, Tom helps you to get the basics down before you move onto more advanced principles.

Video 1: Introduction

Video 2: Background & Animation Concepts

Lesson 2:  Spacing & Timing Part 1
In the video lesson, Tom shows how to use spacing and timing to move objects in animation. Other Topics include slow-ins, slow-outs and frames.

Lesson 3:  Spacing & Timing Part 2
In this video lesson, Tom walks through the process of animation using a rolling ball. He then increases the complexity and has the ball moving on a roller coaster.