Writer: Po-Hsun, Yuan | Editor: Ming-feng,Chiang

The SCAD freshman workshop on the Principles of Animation was structured into two parts. The first half of the class was taught by Professor Davonne Dupart, a visiting faculty member from SCAD, who introduced students to the Twelve Principles of Animation. In the second half of the session, students practiced key animation and in-betweening, applying the basic principles through practical exercises to gain a deeper understanding of how motion works in animation.

The first part emphasized the intent behind the movement and how the audience perceives it. Through examples, Professor Dupart explained how exaggeration, composition, and continuity affect a character’s readability. She stressed that these principles are not rigid rules, but rather ways of thinking about motion—how to make a character’s movement feel natural and well-paced, while clearly conveying their emotions. Following up on the principles, she explained that key frames define the fundamental path of movements, while in-betweens connect those movements, creating rhythm and flow.

In the second half, students practiced in-betweening using original frames from Dumbo. The instructor demonstrated how to observe and connect the body’s structure—hands, head, and torso—across different frames, and how to read motion arcs. Students then filled in the missing in-betweens based on the key frames, gradually completing the sequence and experiencing firsthand how animated motion is formed.

Throughout the exercise, Professor Dupart reminded students to pay attention to the range of movement, body proportions, and silhouettes. She emphasized starting with loose gesture lines to establish motion before refining the drawing. She also said that the essence of animation drawing lies in the rhythm of movement and the clarity of intent, rather than in the refinement of individual frames.

At the end of the workshop, Professor Dupart summarized: “The value of animation lies not only in how movement is depicted, but in how the intention behind it is understood.” Every choice of pose, deformation, and curve reflects the animator’s observation and thought. This workshop helped students realize that animation is not merely the accumulation of sequential images—it is the art of capturing the relationships between time and space.