What is the best method to animating, straight ahead or pose to pose?

Answer 1

There isn't really a right answer to this one because of the way that each method can be used and how individuals prefer to animate.

Straight ahead animation is great for spontaneous actions or effects--explosions, fire, dust clouds, etc. If you're animating something that has an unpredictable pathway (or you want it to seem unpredictable) straight ahead is great. You can run into some issues with straight ahead animation for character animation because of consistency--you character might accidentally change size or level if animating straight ahead without careful checking.

Pose to pose animation works great for character acting and animation. Determining the action ahead of time and using keys, extremes, and breakdowns can help you achieve the most convincing and well laid-out actions. This is how you get more nuance in your character's actions and sell their acting.

I advise using both separately where needed, but combined together as well! For character action, use pose to pose, and for secondary actions, overlapping actions, and followthrough you can use straight ahead.