

[![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?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-06T19:58:53.397
34128
2016-07-24T01:00:26.810
25750
question
anime-production
What are these charts and what are they for?


As noted in the comments, the first two in particular are likely to be
animation timings -- in particular, the first two (tagged 1-7 and 7-1, though
the numbers on the latter actually run from 8 to 12 with the same number of
internal markings as the first) illustrate the principles of _ease-out_ and
_ease-in_ ; motions should be slower at their start and finish than in the
middle. For a good brief tutorial on this, see e.g.
<http://blog.digitaltutors.com/animation-body-mechanics-ease-in-and-ease-out/>
-- it's one of the classic principles of animation and goes back to the very
earliest days of the genre.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-22T19:30:29.410
34388
2016-07-22T19:30:29.410
6490
34128
answer


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.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-24T01:00:26.810
34405
2016-07-24T01:00:26.810
7861
34128
answer