2D character timing

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Hey, I've been doing some scattered work on characters and my methods don't really work too well. For traditional frame by frames, how far do you specifically move the character's frame difference in their timing? Like, how much do you alter between frames in a counting on 12's or march time? Run speed? Do you get the better results in a sudden action by a radical change and easing out? And how do you best plan this out? I got a suggestion of using one sheet with different coloured pencils to plan the movements, and then trace overtop. Should the drawings progress over your pages? Or stay in the center?

Thanks for the tips. I've been trying to mime the motions in some disney movies, and the smooth fast motions are maddeningly fluid. Enough frames to produce a consistent visual preformance, and still fast enough to have that flair. Tough!

Thanks for the warning. I really don't have anything else I can learn from before graduating, and guessed emulating the experts would give me some insight to their methods. The motions I've been doing so far are still basic, but it is getting an even difference between the fast action frames that's hard to keep smooth. So far ive been measuring how far I move each drawing in relation to the previous one(say, 1.5cm between each position in a jump). Is that a good way to work, or is there a more efficient method? I can guess there's no "fast" way to do the work, since "animation" and "time-consuming" go hand in hand. Such is life.

Short cut...

The easiest way to go about animation is to do your KEYS and put enough TWEENS in so that your animation is correctly timed

Have a nice(fun) day!;)

The motions I've been doing so far are still basic, but it is getting an even difference between the fast action frames that's hard to keep smooth. So far ive been measuring how far I move each drawing in relation to the previous one(say, 1.5cm between each position in a jump).

It sounds like you may be approaching things too clinically. I don't know of any professionals who measure the distance between drawings, except visually (apologies if you didn't mean it literally).

Your best approach is to figure out how long an action should take (a 12-frame run, for example), draw your keys, then distribute your inbetweens to smooth things out. In a walk, your keys are the contact positions and passing positions. Also, pay attention to your shapes and make sure they flow into each other. Sometimes problems with smoothness have to do with shapes that don't play well together, creating a jarring visual.

It sounds like you've been doing some frame-by-frame study of Disney work, but if you haven't, you should start (or DreamWorks, or Richard Williams...). You're absolutely right that dissecting how the masters do it will help your problem-solving process.