What are these charts and what are they for?


[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GskAW.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GskAW.jpg)

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/f5FhO.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/f5FhO.jpg)

This is used during anime production,but why do animators draw those and what
are they for?




It looks like an inbetweening timing chart, very similar to the ones given in
an example on a web page titled [Timing
Charts](http://www.brianlemay.com/Pages/animationschool/animation/lipsyncbook/timingcharts.html)
by Brian Lemay:

[![Example animation timing
charts](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bPa0p.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bPa0p.jpg)

The chart in your question looks to be an example of what the is described in
the picture above as a "halves slo-in" and "halves slo-out".

The chart shows how the
[inbetween](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbetweening) frames that fill the
gaps between key frames (like the one below the chart in your question) should
be drawn. The chart gives two alternatives, one using 5 inbetween frames
between key frames on the left, and the other using 4 inbetween frames between
them.

Using the alternative on the left, the chart is telling the inbetweener to
first draw frame number 5. This frame would be drawn halfway between two key
frames, the one numbered 1 and 7 on the chart. The inbetweener would then draw
frames 4 and 6, the former halfway between frames 1 and 5 and the later
halfway between 5 and 7. Then frame 3 would be drawn, halfway between 1 and 4,
and then frame 2. halfway between 1 and 3. A similar process would be followed
to draw frames 9, 8, 10, 11, and 13 in that order.

Since the frames are displayed at a constant rate (probably "on twos" at 12
frames per second) the illusion of movement created by the animation would
start off slow, speed up and then slow down again. The total running time for
the animated sequence would be (if done on twos) 1 second.

