More on Rough Tie-down and Prep for Clean-up-
For me, the rough animation stage is consisting of rough first pass and tie-down prior to clean-up and on to ink & paint.
Once the drawings for rough first pass are made, it is to be pencil-test and timed. The rough timing is then marked onto each drawing with corresponding frame exposure.
Next is to select the extremes. The numbers of extremes are depending on the complexity of the movement. It is my habit to have many extremes within a scene (to achieve a more organic and spontaneous feel).
Only extremes are to be tie-down. Each drawing ID number is named after its placement within the scene’s frame count (instead of systematic 1,2,3,4, etc.) The rough-pass inbetweens are discarded and replaced by timing chart based on their rough position and exposure.
Once the tie-down extremes are made, it is then re-inbetween for further review. Not all tie-down inbetweens are necessary, just enough for the animator to be certain of scene’s fluidity and its info through movement is reading as intended.
While these tie-down inbetweens don’t need to be as precise and accurate as the clean-up inbetweens, they are nonetheless time-consuming and not a direct part of final on-screen outlook. (It is resourceful to keep this in mind from a production managing viewpoint.)
Extreme drawings are indicated by a circle around their drawing number and often accompanied by a timing chart. This clear identification is very critical for the final clean-up stage.