12 Principles of Animation

Squash and Stretch - showing an objects mass and rigidity by distorting its shape during an action

A good example of squash and stretch can be seen in this scene from Toy Story 3, I chose this as a good example, because the details are very small, yet tell you a million things about the different characters. As they all walk, their movements are being squashed and stretched but in very small ways. (The Bear)s whole body moves, as one leg moves, giving the idea of the characters body being made of one flexible entity, however, when Rex the dinosaur moves, its body does not squash or stretch as much, giving the impression that this character is made of something much more rigid, like plastic, and made up of multiple sections

Timing and Motion - the speed of an action gives physical and emotional meaning to the action. Example - someone moving their head to look the left, shown to move slowly may show the character thinking - a bit quicker, something has caught their attention - quicker still, they have been hit by an object.

This clip is a good example of how timing and motion can effect the weight of an object. The red balloon falls a lot slower than the lead, and bounces when it lands, giving us the impression that it is very light, whereas the lead balloon  falls much quicker and does not bounce. There is also a good example of secondary action in this video, when the lead balloon hits the ground, the red balloon then bounces, giving the impression that weight of the lead balloon is so much, that it has made the ground crack and shake.

Anticipation - The preparation of an action, eg. Backing up to make a big leap or holding a hand/arm over an object before picking it up. It can also create the perception of weight or mass, e.g., a heavy person might put their arms on a chair before they rise, whereas a smaller person might just stand up.

A good example of this can be seen in a clip of Madagascar, where marty blows out the candle on his cake, several frames are used to show him taking a long deep breath as he moves away from the screen, preparing the audience for the character to suddenly lurch forward and blow out the candle.

Staging - presenting an idea so that it is unmistakably clear. This idea can be an action, personality, expression or a mood.

Example = Motion- in a scene where only one object is moving, the eye is drawn to this object, in a scene where everything is moving, the eye is drawn to the still object (when the viewer is looking across a busy street, with vehicles and people moving across the screen, and one person/object is standing still, your eyes are drawn to focusing on that)

A good example to show staging, can also be seen in this clip from Toy Story 3. The charcters on the left are looking at Barbie, while the ones on the right are looking at Ken. Our eyes are automatically drawn to these characters and because they are looking at each other across a blank space, our minds are already anticipating something to happen in this space between these two characters

Follow Through and Overlapping Action - the termination of an action and establishing its relationship to the next action. E.g. throwing a ball, the arm continues moving after the ball has left the hand.

Straight ahead action - drawing all the subsequent frames until the end of the scene, creates spontaneous animation with no definitive ending point.

 And Pose to Pose action - when the animator plans out the animation and draws out a sequence of poses, then fills in the in-between frames.

Slow in and out - the spacing of the in-between frames. Sometimes more realistic to have the velocity change during an action. Example, a ball bouncing looks more realistic if it moves faster as it approaches/leaves the ground, and slows down when it hits maximum height.

This clip from "Felix the Cat" is a bad example of slow in and out because everything moves at one pace, the rocks at the top of the cliff move at the same speed as the ones falling.

Arcs - the visual path of action for natural movement. Moving from a pivot point, like an arm waving, the elbow is the pivot point.

Exaggeration - Distorting an action or object to exaggerate it. However, if only one thing is exaggerated then it may stand out too much. If everything is exaggerated, then the entire scene may appear too unrealistic

Secondary Action - an action that directly results from another action, but doesn’t compete with the primary action. Example, the body expressing an action, with the expression on the face of a character adding to it.

Appeal - Creating a design/action that audience enjoys to watch. Shouldn’t be too simple (boring), or too complex (hard to understand). Avoid symmetry, asymmetry much more appealing. I think this short clip is a good example because it has no real point or reason to it, yet it is still enjoyable to watch.

Personality - All these principles combined give the character its personality, and Wall-e is also a good example of this. The way the robot is shown interacting with the objects in these clips, is what gives the character his curious, playful personality.

A good example of how timing and motion can give emotional meaning can be seen in Toy Story 3, “Meet Ken” clip, when the characters expressions and movements are slowed down to express awe and love at first sight.