Squash and stretch

Ok everyone this is as well one of my favorites, just because it gets back to the basics of animation and what we all learned or are currently learning. There are so many examples and ways that you can portray squash and stretch, it can be in the face, it can be in the body, it can be in the arms and legs, pretty much wherever you want, the possiblitlies are endless. I love this subject because it is one of the first realisations that man came up with to make cartoons and drawings look even more life like. So on that note, i would like to start off with the classic bouncing ball, there are so many different examples out there that i cant even count, but i thought that i would post another for all of the newbies, so guys this one goes out to you, but advanced people please still try to keep up.



I know that it is hard not to look at the guys above and below the ball but try not to. First off, i would like you to notice that when it is at the top of its arc, the ball becomes as it was when you first threw it at the ground, but in its travels to splat on the ground, it stretches out as the speed picks up, then just as it hits the ground, it squashes, and then leaves the ground and the process is in reverse from the ground up. Going down(normal, stretch, squash). Going up(squash, stretch, normal). But wait, there is more with this exciting little ball. As it goes to meet the ground (in your animation). It touches first, then as it goes to leave, you will not draw it touching the ground, but draw it slightly higher from when it touched. If you dont, it will seem as if the ball had a brain, as if it were some kind of animal that met the ground and then jumped off. See, that was awesome, and it gets even more exiting.

When you are drawing your character doing all of these wonderful illusions of life, it can get quite complicated, but we will tackle it right now. Just as the ball did, when the man goes to meet the ground, he is going to stretch out, then as he hits, he is going to squash, what is the difference you ask, well, if you notice, the human body isnt going to squash down as if it were a giant peice of rubber (unless you are going for a more cartoony look), the knees are going to bend and the body is going to lean forward towards the ground, then it will lift off and do just as the ball did, but this time you will show them touching the ground on impact and touching it when leaving it. 

Now, as far as the face goes, i think that this example explanes itself. If your character is making any dramatic facial changes, there will most definatly be a squash and stretch in there somewhere. Like this for example. Johny here is looking at something and gets surprised, only to get angry at the end, at whoever scared him. He starts out normal, then as he is suprised, he goes into a stretch, his eyes and head extend into a stretch, as well as his eyebrows raising, and then his shoulders will lower to give even more effect, then as he gets angry his face scrunches, his eyebrows creese and his nose rinkles, you need to also notice his neck and shoulders, his neck goes down as his shoulders raise.

Remember, in any dramatic movement in the face or wherever else, there will most likely be a squash and stretch of some kind. Oh and dont be affraid to add a little emfacise on all parts of the body when squashing or stretching things out, the more exagerated it is, the more character there is to put in the character.Just as the guy is doing below the ball in the first picture, the audience loves it. 

Here is a fishboy doing a take, it may be hard to see, but try and spot the squash and stretch that he is doing when he goes into his smile.