Text Fig. 13 A Bird in Flight Drawing showing how Mr. McCay utilizes his split system in picturing a bird in flight for animation.

The most important technical knowledge he shares with us is what he calls his split system. He says “it is my own invention.” His system was used to carefully lay out and time an entire sequence. He began by laying out the path of the movement for the sequence on page number 0. The finished guide was then used under other drawings that were made on separate pieces of paper placed one at a time over the guide. This gave him the correct position for each drawing.

McCay tells us he began by drawing the first and last images of the sequence (extremes, he doesn’t mention using key drawings), and then his center or middle drawing. He calls the center image the split drawing. By the 1930s this was known as the breakdown drawing or the passing position. If he were animating a sequence that was going to end in an odd number of drawings then he would have an even number of drawings on either side of his split and his split would be equal distance from either extreme. He then drew his subject midway between his split and an extreme, and continued drawing in this manner until the sequence was finished. McCay’s discussion of drawing for animation ends at this point (Richard Williams’ The Animator’s Survival Kit barely begins at this point) and he moves on to discuss his career, achievements and the future of animation.

The Real Basics
One of the charms of this publication is how primitive and unsophisticated it is. Most of the basics presented to students today are not discussed. There is no mention of squash and stretch, yet he used it for humorous effect in his first work Little Nemo, which premiered April 8, 1911 according to John Canemaker’s research. While he does present us with a ball in motion, there is no acceleration and deceleration. His drawing guides or charts show his movements spaced between the extreme positions.

In his discussion of timing he explains that when Gertie is lying on her side he wanted to show her breathing. He realized it doesn’t take as long for us to inhale as it does to exhale, but he couldn’t get his timing right by using his wristwatch. He says that by watching the second hand on a large clock he was able to figure out the correct timing of the sequence accurately. The movement of Gertie breathing while lying on her side is subtle, natural looking and the sequence is quite charming.

Text Fig. 7 Animated Action on the Flitter Pad You will find that you can get Additional Effects by Using Red and Blue Marks parallel with the Black.