How a Pixar PRO Animates an Action Shot

This shot from Incredibles 2 by Andrew Gonzalez is a masterclass on how to animate an action shot.

There are 3 elements in particular that we can take from it and that will make ANY scene more impactful and dynamic: 

• Line of Thrust (a.k.a. the line of action) 

It’s an imaginary line that runs through the main axis of the character and that summarizes the intent and the direction of a pose. Having a clear, strong line of action is crucial in an action shot, and in this scene we have some great examples of this, especially in the running poses.

• Squash and Stretch

Having a good contrast between the antics and the push poses in an action shot makes everything more dynamic

And even if when you stop at one frame, poses might look a bit “too pushed”…  it’s the final result and the overall feeling that matters!

• Organic Arcs

Especially when shots get complex like in this case, with multiple characters, “organizing” your action through arcs and organic paths becomes crucial. It makes the choreography so much cleaner and more appealing. 

These are the elements that we should all keep in mind when animating action scenes, and if you want to know more, watch our first animation breakdown by clicking here! 

To break this shot down, we used FrameSide with all its features, of course!

FrameSide is the only review tool co-created with the help of over 100 animators. They packed into it everything students, mentors, freelancers, and studios may need day-to-day.

We will launch it in just a couple of weeks, and to celebrate, we’re hosting a WEEK-LONG LIVE event on the Animworks YouTube channel!

Every single day from the 23rd of November to the 27th, we will invite a pro animator to break down some of their professional work, but also to give you FREE feedback!

If you want to reserve your spot early and have your reel or a shot you are working on reviewed by an industry veteran, just click the button below! ↓

P.S. And don’t forget to subscribe to our channel to avoid missing future events, tutorials and animation breakdowns!

PLUS! Two new rigs are now available on Animworks, and as always, we’ve carefully selected the best to allow you to animate incredible shots!

Here they are! 👇

A NEW simple and versatile character for your body mechanics shots!

Make your reel stand out with this production-quality Maya rig by Emilio Serrano, based on the popular Playdead’s game, Inside!
A simple mGear rig with a lot of detail (such as sleeves, trousers, hair) and a basic but effective head control for achieving appealing poses and strong silhouettes.
Ideal for stylised animation (without being distracted by the facial controls), with emphasis on kid animation studies (something you don’t usually see in demo reels!). 

It includes a full AnimPicker and a Human IK version for motion capture workflows.

Check it out here! ↓

Create a Spider-Verse-worthy shot with this web generator

Quickly create detailed spider webs, customize their appearance, and bring them to life with animation controls. 

This is a procedural Spider web generator and rigging tool for Maya with: 

• 8 unique web looks
• 5 material presets & custom colors
• Surface Conform for realistic placement
• Web Rig Mode for animation
• Adjustable web density and strand properties
• Clean, artist-friendly interface

Discover this FREE tool by clicking down here ↓