There’s a style of ‘animation’ that has become widely used on YouTube where they take a still image of a character then make them sway back and forth repetitively. I guess it’s cheap to make but I find it distracting and weird, even a bit patronising, as if they think we need moving pictures to keep us interested. I think it started with Veritassium and spread to other edutainment YouTube channels and now I just flat out avoid channels which use it.
Anyone else find it annoying?
That’s all the animation we got back in the day. I like it because it reminds me of the past and it is a way that everybody can animate without having the tools or skills yet
That’s a nice nostalgic take. I do remember a similar style being used in some flash videos and that didn’t bother me at the time. I think maybe it’s just become too common and feels lazy. Kind of like how Memphis art style was once unique and fresh but then became very associated with a bland corporate aesthetic.
Yes! CCG companies use it to make “trailers” and I hate it.
When you deliver a talk in real life, you don’t just stand there like a statue as you click through the slides.
Good presenters know it engages the audience a lot more if you move around the room, motion at the slides, use hand gestures to emphasise your point. People fundamentally respond better to that, and that’s just human nature.
Stick figure animation is the equivalent for YouTube presenters who don’t want to show their face.
You might find it patronising, but it works.
No doubt at all. I’m probably just in the minority who pay it too much attention. It’s like visual tinnitus to me.
Stick figures are far less jarring for me, it’s when they try to create semi realistic characters that sway repeatedly that it bothers me
Unfortunately the urge to create and push content has created a lot of illustrations and animation that is total tat. Just because you can does not mean you should. It’s the same as the insta tropes, unoriginal and annoying AF.
The thing is…creators are gonna keep doing it if people keep mindlessly watching it. So easiest way is to review just how much slop you consume. I am not trying to be condescending, just an observation.
yes and I fucking hate it
No, it is a technique used since puppets exist, it is much worse when your characters don’t move at all. There has to be some kind of movement, either swaying, jumping up and down, pan and zoom or something else. Here is where animators can shine if they are good puppeteers, if not, it is like bad acting.
I feel like when puppeteers and rubber hose animators have cyclic animation they add to the characters personality. A character like miss piggy flops around dramatically, Kermit crumples awkwardly, Betty Boop bobs around perkily. The animation you see on YouTube are basically - define arms legs and head then sway back and forth every 2 seconds - copy for all characters.
It is the difference between putting some interest and not giving a fuck.
It never looks good when people do this
Eh I do appreciate motion comics
Yes, and in particular because of the patronising thing you mention. Just like lots of the other things they do on the veritasium channel you gave as an example. Because they are things no one does because they think it makes their video better, but because it is known to drive engagement.
I can’t imagine that it’s cheaper than not doing it. I think the visuals are useful storytelling aids; they help me keep track of characters in a story, especially if a story has a lot of characters. I’ve never really thought about the passive animations, but if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it’s either a way to keep the eye trained on a visual element (e.g., moving a character or object while that object is being discussed by the narration), a ploy to increase retention, or maybe the animator just likes having things animated even if they aren’t performing a specific action at the moment.
I’ve never really been bothered by it, I think it’s just a stylistic choice.
Yep know exactly what you mean and absolutely hate it.
I think I need an example.
Very fair. If you watch the start of this video you can kind of get an idea of the style I mean. In particular the unnecessary head swaying when it could just be a static picture.
Not throwing shade at the channel or its content, it’s just the animation style really grates on me.
i had never seen this before but i totally get what you mean. the other comments are latching on to motion vs no motion, and i think in most cases motion would be better, but these just look like inflatable arm wavers stuck in molasses. just panning over a static image slowly would achieve a much better effect for less effort than this
Can you find any other examples? This seems completely innocuous to me.
In the first minute of that video, it depicts someone walking up the stairs, writing with a pen, and closing a cupboard. All of these scenes and movements were really well animated, actually. I didn’t see any awkward standing or wobbling that seemed out of place.
Random diagnostic question; are you an anime fan? I ask because anime often has scenes where people kind of just stand there completely stock-still and talk, with the camera moving around. The art style is a bit reminiscent of anime, so I’m wondering if the movement is coming across as uncanny-valley due to the similarity.
Interesting comparison. I don’t mind a sparse animation style, I think what bothers me is the animation used in these YouTube channels feels much more ‘procedurally generated’ and repetitive.
I could definitely have picked a better example, I just found the first one that popped up. It’s most jarring when it’s just a static shot of a cartoon toso swaying back and forth for like 10 seconds for no reason.
I can only imagine you could’ve found a better example because I don’t see anything annoying about that at all. It’s simply an inexpensive animation style where more elaborate animation isn’t necessary.
But that’s the point - why animate a scene that should be completely static? Do we really need the character to lol their head around like a bobble head for no reason? To be clear I’m being hyperbolic here - I realise in the grand scheme of annoying things this falls somewhere between ‘that speck of dust under your phone screen protector’ and ‘the noise grandma makes when she chews’.
Why do you think it “should” be static? Someone wanted to convey something with that movement or they wouldn’t have put the effort in. I mean, why animate anything at all?
Ideally it would be an animation of the character that actually moves intentionally. Failing that, just keep it still! I’m happy to stare at a still photograph or cartoon of someone for 30 seconds, I don’t need to watch them sway back and forth like a slow flailing tube man to keep me engaged!
People don’t stand perfectly still. It’s exaggerated in the animation, but it’s done to make them seem alive.
Yea pretty much, it’s the same as old video games that had the sprite loop through an animation when you were standing still, instead of having the character freeze in place
If everything was still, I might as well be flipping through a PowerPoint
True! You and our other commenter friends all have very valid opinions! I think I may be in a minority who it annoys for whatever reason, a bit like how some people can’t stand chewing noises.
YES. It bugs me in game development too. I notice that you’re doing nothing but tweening and I hate it
It’s creepy. I block everything that uses it so I don’t have to see it accidentally.
It’s fine in visual novels, but only in visual novels.
