12 Principles of Animation

12 Principles of Animation

1.        Squash and Stretch
2.        Anticipation
3.        Staging
4.        Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-pose Action
5.        Follow Through and Overlapping Action
6.        Slow In and Out
7.        Arcs
8.       Secondary Action
9.        Timing
10.        Exaggeration
11.        Solid drawing
12.        Appeal

Squash and Stretch

• gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as it moves
• useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions
• How extreme the use of squash and stretch is, depends on what is required in animating the scene

Anticipation

•  prepares the audience for a major action the character is about to perform
• Example : starting to run, jump or change expression
•  A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation.

Staging

•  A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience
• The staging are the “position of character on the screen”,” the composition of scene”. 
•  Also staging can be considered the clearity of silouhette.
• Eg:  attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the story and continuity of the story line
•  effective use: long, medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in telling the story

 

Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-pose Action

       Two contrasting approaches to the creation of movement.

• straight ahead - animator works "straight ahead" from the first             drawing to the last, knowing where the scene fits into the story and what it must contain. He does drawing after drawing, getting new ideas along the way until the scene is concluded.
• pose to pose - animator plans his actions, figures out what drawings are needed to complete the scene and creates them, concentrating on poses and the relationships between the characters.

Follow Through and Overlapping Action

        Overlapping and follow through are the physical reaction gived by an 

        action..

    Follow Through :

• When character stops moving, any appendages attached to its main body will not halt immediately.
• Example : A dog with loose skin and flews, tail and fallen ears. As it comes to a sudden stop, its looser parts keep on moving for a very short while, each stopping at a different time.
• Follow-through action consists of the reactions of the character after an action
• Example: When Cindarella starts to dance, her dress does not begin to move with her immediately but catches up a few frames later. Long hair and animal tail will also be handled in the same manner. Timing becomes critical to the effectiveness of drag and the overlapping action.

Overlapping Action :

• In overlapping action multiple motions influence, blend, and overlap the position of the character
• Back to the example of the dog : while it was running, its looser parts also had some freedom to move on their own, they do not stick to the body. When the dog changed direction. These parts continued on their previous line of motion until the were pressed against its body or pulled by it.
• Overlapping Action is the superimposition of motions of the carried   parts over  the carried parts over those that carry them.

     Drag :

• Drag is what happens with appendages of a body when it starts to move: they  take a little time to accompany the movement.

Action	Main Body...
Follow Through	Stops.
Overlapping Action	Changes direction.
Drag	Starts moving.

Slow In and Out

• Fewer drawings = action faster
• More drawings = action slower
• This action soften the action, making it more life-like

Arcs

• The visual path of action for natural movement.
• Gives weight and fluid motion to the subject.
• Makes the movement between key poses fun to watch

 

Secondary Action

• The action of an object resulting from another action.
• Examples we've seen include Wally B.'s feet dragging behind him and Luxo Jr.'s cord rippling behind him as he moves along.

    * Watch the movement of the cord

Timing

• Spacing actions to define the weight and size of objects and the           personality of characters
• Gives meaning to movement!

Exaggeration

• A caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions.
• In animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural

Solid drawing

• Draw in the classical sense
• Transform into color and movement giving the characters more life

  

Appeal

•  Creating a design or an action that the audience enjoys watching.
• Appeal is really anything a person likes to see