Yesterday, I Decided To Use AvM As An Example For "Expression Through Body Language In Animation" So

Yesterday, I decided to use AvM as an example for "Expression through Body Language in Animation" so I thought; why not share it over here?

Expressing EMOTION through Body Language (Using AvM as an example)

Body language is actually very important in animation. The use of it can help express just about anything! Sometimes it doesn't have to be facial expressions or strong voice acting to make a point about how someone is feeling.

For example, simple movement, like throwing your hands in the air or jumping around, can express joy,

confusion,

and even woe and sadness.

Sometimes, the complete use (or lack) of movement can be very telling of an emotion. In the picture above, Purple is standing completely still at his mother's grave, head cast down in sorrow.

Did it take any line of dialogue or facial expression to make his grief clear? No! All it took was simple body language.

It even helps differentiate one character from another, in terms of how they walk,

(Green skipping dramatically just SCREAMS theatre kid in The Wishing Well short:)

how they pose

("Blue" posing in a way that the REAL Blue most likely wouldn't in The Witch:)

(and Red’s aggressive movements vs Green's cocky ones from The Prank; you can tell by the way Red stomps up to Green that the poor guy is getting mad)

their fighting styles, too; where Red shows his aggressive and impulsive nature in the way he fights, compared to Yellow taking a more defensive stance in 'Green's Channel';

And even how they sit! HOW THEY SIT!

The animation team could've easily had them all sit in the exact same way, but no! They had them sit differently, in ways that give them all more personality.

And later on in the same short, they expressed frustration differently!

Red's pose here being some sort of pout, Blue’s feeling more of a "damn it!" while Yellow is a classic thinking pose; showing that he's possibly coming up with ways to succeed in another try.

And it didn't take a single word, nor a FACE, to get this point across! All it took to convey emotions was how they move! It's actually really interesting to think about. It didn't take voice actors or faces or even character design to show emotions and personality, all it took was a good understanding of body language and movement. Props to the Alan Becker team for that!

Before I go, here are some other examples of how simple movement conveyed emotions in AvM.

Blue's shock turning to horror in the Omelette Short:

Green laughing in Fruit Ninja and Wallpaper:

Orange tiredly rubbing his eyes in Ragdoll to show that "He didn't get enough sleep for this nonsense":

And finally, Red, Green and Orange leaning differently during a race in "Carrot on a Stick"

That's all I have, thank you for your time <3

I genuinely admire how the animation team managed to pull off body language so amazingly! It's so cool how you can express so much about yourself through your movements alone.