Still

The move that does nothing, on purpose. A prop sits where you put it; a character holds a pose while everything else moves around it.

Use it in a cartoonOpen it in the block editorThe pack file (JSON)

What it is for

Still was made for props: a sign, a cake, a box that should not wobble while the characters act. It is just as useful on a character. A sudden hold is one of the strongest beats in comedy: everyone else keeps moving while one character stops dead, and the audience knows something has landed. Put Still on a character for a scene, and the stillness itself becomes the acting.

The principle it shows: staging, and the hold

Staging is making sure the audience looks at the right thing. Movement pulls the eye, so the clearest way to send attention to one character is to stop the others. A hold also gives a moment room to breathe: after a surprise, a beat of stillness lets the viewer catch up before the next action. Real animators hold poses for many frames for this reason. Still is a hold you can switch on and off.

The program, line by line

when it starts

• when it starts — a hat block with nothing under it. The move starts, runs no blocks, and the character keeps its resting pose for as long as the move lasts.

That is the whole program. Because there is no block, there is nothing to explain in the text and nothing that can drift: the pose at the end of the scene is the pose at the start. The two edits below each add one block under the hat, which is the simplest way to see how a move is built up from nothing.

Try this

1. Add a bob block of 3 pixels with a wave every 2 seconds (each wave of a bob holds two small rises, so the body lifts once a second). Still becomes the faintest possible breath, a good way to see how little movement it takes to make something look alive.

   In the program: scripts.0.body.0 add → {"op":"bob","amp":3,"every":2}

2. Add a set block that tips the body 10 degrees and leaves it there. Now Still holds a pose instead of the rest pose, like a character frozen mid-stumble for a joke.

   In the program: scripts.0.body.0 add → {"op":"set","to":{"rot":10}}

How it differs from Breathe and Fidget

Breathe and Fidget are idles: they keep a waiting character alive with small movements. Still is the opposite choice, an exact hold with no movement at all. Use an idle for a character who is waiting, and Still for a prop, a frozen moment, or a character who has just been stunned into silence.

Works on

c4c:beh:static · version 1.0.0 · CC0 (public domain) · by Jabbertoon