12 Principles

12 Principles of Animation

Prepares the audience for a major action.
- Characters might bend their knees before jumping or pull their arm back before throwing a punch to make the primary action feel powerful and realistic.
- a pitcher's wind-up
- a golfers' back swing
- a dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the 'anticipation'.

A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience the attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the story and continuity of the story line.
This is achieved through camera angles, lighting, and character placement to ensure the focus is unmistakably on the relevant action or emotion.
The effective use of long, medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in telling the story.
Use one action clearly stated to get the idea across, unless you are animating a scene that is to depict clutter and confusion.
Rule of Thirds:
- Placing the main character or point of interest along the lines or intersections of a 3x3 grid (the rule of thirds) creates a more balanced and visually engaging composition, naturally drawing the audience's eye to the point of interest.

Two distinct animation workflows.
- Straight Ahead: Animating frame-by-frame from start to finish, best for fluid, unpredictable actions like fire or hair.
- Pose-to-Pose: Drawing key poses first and filling in the intervals later, ideal for structured scenes. In an animation studio, the lead animator will turn charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better used with this method so that the animator doesn't have to draw every drawing in a scene.

Adds realism by showing that different body parts move at different rates.
- When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair, clothing, floppy ears or a long tail. Nothing stops all at once. This is follow through.
- Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward.

SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN
- Reflects the natural acceleration and deceleration of real objects.
- Animators draw more frames at the beginning and end of an action to make the transition between poses feel organic rather than robotic.
- Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like.
ARCS

Most natural movements follow a curved path. Moving a limb or head in a straight line often appears mechanical; following an arc increases visual interest and realism.
Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging.

Small and auxiliary movements that support and enrich the main action. For example, a character’s swinging arms or facial expressions while walking add depth without distracting from the primary movement.
This enriches the main action and adds more dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action.

The number of frames used for an action, which determines its speed and perceived weight.
Fewer frames between poses make an action fast and energetic, while more frames create slow or heavy movements.
- Fewer Frames: Ideal for rapid gestures, hits, or reactions.
- More Frames: Used for dramatic pauses, weight, or slow-motion effects.
Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining technique.

Pushing the boundaries of reality to make characters more expressive.
Poses, timing, and facial expressions are heightened to convey clearer emotions or a specific artistic style.
Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal.

SOLID DRAWING
- Creating the illusion of 3D forms in a 2D space by considering volume, weight, and anatomy.
APPEAL
- A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal.
- Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, evil, comic or cute.
- The "appeal" you'll be using means easy-to-read design, clear graphics, and a unique composition that captures and engages the reader.

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