12 Principals of ANIMATION

12 principles of animation introduced by Disney. The Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life  Disney Animation. The book has been referred to by some as the "Bible of animation". Some of  Principles have been adopted by traditional studios in 1999.

The 12 Principals of Animation

Squash and Stretch

Anticipation

Staging

Straight A Head and Pose to Pose Action

Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Slow in and Slow Out

Arc

Secondary Action

Timing

Exaggeration

Solid Drawing

Appeal

 

Squash and Stretch

The most important principle is "squash and stretch" the purpose of which is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to drawn objects. It can be applied to simple objects, like a bouncing ball, or more complex constructions, like the musculature of a human face.

Anticipation

Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for an action, and to make the action appear more realistic. Example the character is about to perform, such as , starting to run , jump or change expression.

Staging

This principle is akin to staging as it is known in theatre and film. Its purpose is to direct the audience's attention, and make it clear what is of greatest importance in a scene.

Straight A Head and Pose to Pose action

"Straight ahead action" creates a more fluid, dynamic illusion of movement, and is better for producing realistic action sequences.

"Pose to pose"  works better for dramatic or emotional scenes, where composition and relation to the surroundings are of greater importance.

Follow Through and overlapping Action

Follow through and overlapping action is a general heading for two closely related techniques which help to render movement more realistically, and help to give the impression that characters follow the laws of physics, including the principle of inertia.

Slow In and Slow Out

The movement of objects in the real world, such as the human body, animals, vehicles,  objects etc. needs time to accelerate and slow down. For this reason, more pictures are drawn near the beginning and end of an action, creating a slow in and slow out effect in order to achieve more realistic movements.

Arc

Most natural action tends to follow an arched trajectory, and animation should adhere to this principle by following implied "arcs" for greater realism. This can apply to a limb moving by rotating a joint, or a thrown object moving along a parabolic trajectory.

Secondary Action

Adding secondary actions to the main action gives a scene more life, and can help to support the main action. The important thing about secondary actions is that they emphasize, rather than take attention away from, the main action.

Timing

Timing refers to the number of drawings or frames for a given action, which translates to the speed of the action on film. Timing is critical for establishing a character's mood, emotion, and reaction. It can also be a device to Communicate aspects of a character's personality.

Exaggeration

Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for animation, as perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull in cartoons. The level of exaggeration depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style, like a caricature or the style of an artist.  exaggeration can involve the supernatural or surreal, alterations in the physical features of a character; or elements in the storyline itself.

Solid Drawing

The principle of solid drawing means taking into account forms in three-dimensional space, giving them volume and weight. The animator needs to be a skilled draughtsman and has to understand the basics of three-dimensional shapes, anatomy, weight, balance, light and shadow, etc

Appeal

Appeal in a cartoon character corresponds to what would be called charisma in an actor. the important thing is that the viewer feels the character is real and interesting. There are several tricks for making a character connect better with the audience. it may more accurately be described as 'captivation' in the composition of the pose, or the character design.