12 Fundamental Principles of Animation

The 12 Fundamental Principles of Animation were introduced by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book "The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation." These principles serve as essential guidelines for animators to create realistic and engaging animations, whether for characters, motion graphics, or any other animated content. Here's a detailed note on each principle:

1. Squash and Stretch

- Definition: Squash and stretch involve distorting an object’s shape to emphasize motion and weight. It makes animated objects or characters appear more dynamic and flexible.

- Purpose: It gives the illusion of flexibility and life. When used properly, it helps depict the physical properties of objects—whether they’re soft or rigid. For example, a bouncing ball squashes when it hits the ground and stretches as it leaves.

- Application: It’s mostly used for creating exaggerated movements but can also be subtle for more realistic animations. For characters, it conveys emotions like surprise or impact.

2. Anticipation

- Definition: Anticipation prepares the audience for an action that is about to occur. It's the setup before the main event, like the wind-up before a punch or jump.

- Purpose: It makes actions clearer and adds realism. Without anticipation, movements would feel abrupt or unrealistic.

- Application: Common examples include a character bending down before jumping or pulling back an arm before throwing a punch. It sets up the audience’s expectations and makes the action more believable.

3. Staging

- Definition: Staging refers to the presentation of an idea in a way that’s clear and easily understood by the audience. This involves the camera angle, composition, timing, and action.

- Purpose: Proper staging helps focus the audience’s attention on the most important elements, ensuring they don’t miss key story points.

- Application: Animators must arrange scenes to direct the viewer’s focus, whether by framing a character, using lighting to highlight an object, or slowing down actions to emphasize them.

4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose

- Straight Ahead Action: Animating frame by frame from start to finish. This method results in fluid, unpredictable motion.

- Pose-to-Pose: Key poses are created first, and the in-between frames are filled later. This offers more control and consistency.

- Purpose: Both methods serve different purposes. Straight-ahead is better for spontaneous, fluid animation (e.g., fire, water), while pose-to-pose is ideal for structured, planned actions.

- Application: Pose-to-pose is often used in character animation, while straight-ahead action might be used for things like explosions or dynamic action sequences.

5. Follow-Through and Overlapping Action

- Definition: These principles explain how different parts of a character or object continue to move after the main body has stopped. Follow-through refers to the actions after the main action ends, while overlapping action refers to the way parts of the body move at different rates.

- Purpose: Adds realism to motion by recognizing that not all parts of an object stop moving simultaneously. For example, when a character comes to a stop, their hair, clothes, or tail might continue moving for a moment.

- Application: Common in character animation where body parts like arms or clothing need to show secondary movement. For instance, a running character’s legs may stop, but their hair or cape might keep moving.

6. Ease In and Ease Out (or Slow In and Slow Out)

- Definition: This principle refers to the way objects or characters accelerate and decelerate at the beginning and end of a movement.

- Purpose: It gives actions a more natural flow by simulating inertia. When something starts moving, it gradually accelerates (ease in) and slows down before stopping (ease out).

- Application: For instance, a car starting to move won’t immediately reach its full speed; it will accelerate slowly at first, move steadily, and then slow down before coming to a stop.

7. Arcs

- Definition: Most natural movements follow an arc rather than a straight line. This includes the motion of limbs, bouncing balls, or even the swing of a pendulum.

- Purpose: Arcs add realism to animation by mimicking the way objects move in the real world.

- Application: If a character is waving their hand, instead of moving it in a straight line, the motion should follow a curved path, making it feel more organic and lifelike.

8. Secondary Action

- Definition: This refers to smaller movements that complement and reinforce the main action, adding more dimension to the scene.

- Purpose: Secondary actions enhance the performance and help convey emotions or personality without distracting from the primary action.

- Application: For example, while a character is walking (primary action), they may swing their arms, whistle, or show facial expressions (secondary actions) to add depth to their personality or mood.

9. Timing

- Definition: Timing refers to the number of frames or the speed at which actions occur in an animation. It controls the weight, mood, and realism of an action.

- Purpose: Proper timing gives the sense of weight, speed, and pacing. Faster actions suggest lightness or urgency, while slower actions give a sense of weight or calmness.

- Application: For instance, a bouncing ball would require fewer frames when it’s falling fast and more frames when it's slowing down to a stop. Timing is also crucial for comedic effects, such as in slapstick animations.

10. Exaggeration

- Definition: Exaggeration emphasizes actions, emotions, or features to make them more dynamic or humorous.

- Purpose: It makes animations more visually interesting, adding impact, drama, or humor. Exaggeration helps make the animation more expressive than real life.

- Application: In cartoons, characters’ facial expressions or movements may be exaggerated for comic or dramatic effect, such as a character’s eyes popping out in surprise.

11. Solid Drawing

- Definition: Solid drawing means ensuring that animated characters and objects appear three-dimensional, with proper volume, weight, and balance.

- Purpose: Even though animation is two-dimensional, objects should still feel grounded in a 3D space.

- Application: Characters must be drawn with proper anatomy, proportions, and perspective so they don’t look flat. For instance, when a character turns around, their body should rotate realistically in 3D space, even if the drawing is in 2D.

12. Appeal

- Definition: Appeal refers to how engaging or interesting a character or object is. Even villains should have some form of appeal to captivate the audience.

- Purpose: This principle ensures that characters are charismatic, memorable, and capable of holding the audience’s attention.

- Application: Appeal doesn’t necessarily mean that a character is conventionally attractive; it could mean that they have a unique personality, design, or movement style that makes them stand out and be engaging.

These 12 principles are the foundation of traditional animation but also apply to modern digital animation. Mastering these concepts allows animators to create more realistic, dynamic, and engaging motion that resonates with audiences.