The technique of squash and stretch is one of the most fundamental principles in animation. It involves distorting a character or object to create the illusion of weight, mass, and flexibility. The history of squash and stretch in animation dates back to the early days of animation. In the 1920s, when animation was still in its infancy, artists were experimenting with ways to make their drawings more expressive and dynamic. One of the pioneers of this technique was Max Fleischer, who developed the "rubber hose" style of animation. This involved using simple, fluid lines to create characters that could be easily stretched and squashed, giving them a sense of elasticity and energy.
adham-elarabawy
A great case study and live example of this that I'm sure most of us are familiar with is the PIXAR intro animation!
SeanW0823
How are squash and stretched defined? From the images displayed here, I'm assuming that squash is the extent to which the object is compressed vertically and stretch is how much the object is extended horizontally.
sZwX74
@SeanW0823 I don't think squash and stretch have to be particularly horizontal or vertical, but rather in the direction of their motion. For example, in the left illustration, the ball is "stretched"/extended in the direction of its motion when falling and rising, and "squashed"/shrunk in the direction of its motion when it makes contact with the surface. In this case they happen to be vertically and horizontally, respectively, but in the case that the ball was bouncing off of a vertical wall, then the directions would be flipped to achieve the same effect.
The technique of squash and stretch is one of the most fundamental principles in animation. It involves distorting a character or object to create the illusion of weight, mass, and flexibility. The history of squash and stretch in animation dates back to the early days of animation. In the 1920s, when animation was still in its infancy, artists were experimenting with ways to make their drawings more expressive and dynamic. One of the pioneers of this technique was Max Fleischer, who developed the "rubber hose" style of animation. This involved using simple, fluid lines to create characters that could be easily stretched and squashed, giving them a sense of elasticity and energy.
A great case study and live example of this that I'm sure most of us are familiar with is the PIXAR intro animation!
How are squash and stretched defined? From the images displayed here, I'm assuming that squash is the extent to which the object is compressed vertically and stretch is how much the object is extended horizontally.
@SeanW0823 I don't think squash and stretch have to be particularly horizontal or vertical, but rather in the direction of their motion. For example, in the left illustration, the ball is "stretched"/extended in the direction of its motion when falling and rising, and "squashed"/shrunk in the direction of its motion when it makes contact with the surface. In this case they happen to be vertically and horizontally, respectively, but in the case that the ball was bouncing off of a vertical wall, then the directions would be flipped to achieve the same effect.