Principles of Animation

12 P R I N C I P L E S O F A N I M A T I O N

1.) Squash & Stretch – this gives the audience impressions of weight and volume to a character as it moves. This principle is useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions. The use of squash and stretch depends on what is required in animating the scene. This is known as the most important element of animation.

2.) Anticipation – This movement makes the audience to expect the next performance or movement of a character, such as, starting to run, jump or change expression.

3.) Staging – 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. The effective use of long, medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in telling the story. There is limited amount of time in a film, so each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate to the overall story. Also, staging directs the audience's attention to the story or idea being told.

4.) Straight ahead and pose to pose animation – this starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. Pose to pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene.

5.) Follower through and overlapping action – Follow through is when the main body of the character stops all other parts continues to catch up to the main mass of the character. Overlapping actions is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward. The character is going in a new direction, to be followed, a number of frames later, by his clothes in the new direction.

6.) Slow-out and slow-in – Fewer drawings is used in slow-out, making the action faster. While more drawings are used in slow-ins, making the action slower.