The Twelve Principles of Animation

These principles formed the basis of what animation was in the 1930's and represent the corner stone on which to build animation today. These principles were developed at the Walt Disney studios. Various writers and animators have reviewed this list and in some instances have found the need to add a few more principles to the list. To develop a deeper appreciation about animation and these twelve principles, I refer you to The Illusions of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson (1981).

One: Squash and Stretch

• uses shape distortion to focus on movement and eliminates the rigid form
• creates the illusion of weight and volume to as character or object as it moves
• the illusion must be created that the volume of the character or object is maintained
• examples:
  • when a ball bounces and comes it contact with the ground it will tend to flatten and as the ball leaves the ground it will stretch in the direction it is moving
  • when an arm bends a muscle will contract (squash) and when the arm is straightened the muscle will extend (stretch)
  • if an animated pencil were to jump the act of crouching and bending and then straightening as the jump occurs is basically the idea of squash and stretch.

Two: Anticipation

• the use of reverse movement to focus on a forward action
• used to prepare the audience that some form of major motion is about to occur.
• to create the right anticipation it is necessary for the animator to have in mind what the major action is to be and what follow up occurs because of that motion.
• examples:
  • the wind-up of a pitcher prior to throwing the ball
  • the glide just before a figure skater does a particular jump.
  • the planting of the pole and the backward bending of the body just before the pole vaulter lifts into the air
  • the backward motion of the swimmer just before she leaves the starting blocks

Three: Staging

• the use of the camera to hi-light the character and focus the audience on the character
• includes the use of long, medium or a close up shot in conjunction with particular camera angles
• should convey the attitude, mood or reaction of the character
• make sure that secondary characteristics to do convey conflicting messages
• pay particular attention to the detail of the background so that it does not overpower the character.
• examples:
  • a close-up of the face of the winner of the million dollar lottery
  • the medium distance camera shot capturing the emotion of the competitor as the flag is being raised during the medal ceremony at the Olympics.
  • creating the wrong illusion by having a character dealing with the agony of defeat (body bent over, arms hanging by his sides, tears in his eyes) and a smile of his face.

Four: Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose

• two basic procedures
  • start with the first drawing and then working from drawing to drawing until the scene is completed
    • potential to lose size, volume and proportions with this method
    • not sure of where you will end up
  • planned out with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene and then creating the inbetweens
    • size, volume and proportion better controlled with this method.
    • know what will happen ahead to time

Five: Follow Through and Overlap

• focuses on the idea that no type of movement stops abruptly
• follow through refers to the idea that when the main body of the character stops other parts continue in motion until they catch up to the main mass
• follow through has motion that follows that path of the action
• follow through occur at the end of an action
• overlapping action occurs when the character changes direction and other components continue in the original direction for a few frames.
• overlapping can occur at the beginning of an action
• examples:
  • follow through - if a dog with long ears has been running and comes to a stop there is a moment or two when the ears would continue their forward motion prior to coming to rest or returning to their normal position.
  • follow through - if a hockey player takes a slap shot (the main action) the hockey stick continues its forward motion after striking the puck before returning to its normal held position.
  • overlapping - a figure skater wearing a cloak changes direction resulting in the main body moving in a new direction while the cloak continues in the original direction
  • overlapping - a dancer starts into twirl and the dress does not begin to move immediately but does catch up a few frames later

Six: Slow In and Slow Out (Ease in and Ease Out)

• permits the smoothing of the start of an action or the completion of an action
• fewer drawings make the action appear faster
• more drawings slows down the action
• used to create the illusion of acceleration or the idea of stopping
• example:
  • if we were to animate a sprinter we would use fewer drawings (pictures) a the beginning of a one hundred meter run to create the illusion of a fast start and when the sprinter crosses the finish line we would include more drawings (pictures) to create the illusion of the sprinter slowly down prior to stopping

Seven: Arcs

• focus on the idea that movements occur in an arc rather than a linear fashion
• motion in an arc or slightly circular path occur in humans and animals and must be used to create a more natural action.
• example:
  • when you rotate your head from left to right your head actually dips at the midway point
  • when an arm is moved it creates a swinging like motion (arc) - could be compared to the movement of a pendulum

Eight: Secondary Action

• focuses on the concept that other actions are usually occurring during or immediately after the major or dominant action.
• used to add more dimension to the character and is used to re-enforce the main action
• used to create realism
• must not overpower the main action
• examples:
  • a person is in a hurried walk (primary action) and there is some head bounce (secondary action)
  • a gymnast is walking on a balance beam (main action) and the arms move to provide balance (secondary action)

Nine: Timing

• relates to the idea that planned actions should occur as they would in everyday life.
• the speed at which an object moves gives the audience a sense of what the object is and why it is moving. In other words in creates an interest in the motion.
• is used to allow the action of the character to establsih mood, emotion and reaction to other characters.
• most animation is done in twos - one drawing or set-up to two frames of film (two pictures)
• ones - one drawing or set-up to one frame of film (one picture) is used for camera pans and for quick changes
• examples:
  • an eye blink can be fast or slow - fast indicatiing that the character is alert or is anticpating something while slow would indicate that the character may be tired or disinterested.
  • a head turn back and forth - slow might be interpreted as a stretch, a little faster might indicate the character is really saying no and fast might indicate that the character is trying to wake himself up.

Ten: Exaggeration

• the manipulation or distortion of an action making it more extreme than would naturally occur
• it does not have to be taken to the extreme
• is used to accent an action
• examples:
  • a batter swings at a pitch and misses and to create the illusion of alot of effort in the swing you might have the body twist more than normal
  • a field goal kicker attempts to kick a sixty yard field goal to win the game and to create the illusion of effort you might have his kicking leg move higher than normal to such a postion that he actually causes himelf to be thrown into the air and falls back landing on his back

Eleven: Solid Drawing

• focuses on the need to create the illusion that any character is a three dimensional character
• in simple terms it requires a good drawing
• requires that any created character have form and weight

Twelve: Appeal

• focuses on the personality of the character and how the audience reacts to the character
• creates a character that is attractive to the audience because it is heroic, comic, villainous, cowardly, inspirational or cute