Seven Goals Of Drawing For Animation

I do not know how wide-spread the seven goals of animation are, but they're teaching it to us at DigiPen and it makes a lot of sense. The seven goals, in order of importance (and without sub-categories) are:

1. Emotion
2. Relational Accuracy
3. Speed
4. Control Viewer's Eye Movmement
5. Make it 3D
6. Selective Detail
7. Consistant Quality

Keep these in mind when you're drawing. Notice that "consistant quality" is the last item on the list. Most people focus on that too soon. In your animation, think of these often (memorize them!) and try to fit them into what you're doing.

ALWAYS begin with emotion, and ALWAYS try to fit some emotion in there. The way you make your marks, the way you arrange the composition, the values and colors you use or don't use, the exaggeration or emphasis, the timing of the animation -- all that and everything else you could think of are all emotion-centric. Is the worm fleeing in fear? Is he joining his friends for a bomb-warming party? They would be drawn totally differently.

Unfinished