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12 Principles of Animation

This document discusses various principles of animation including timing, squash and stretch, arcs of motion, slow in and slow out, anticipation, straight ahead action vs pose to pose, follow through and overlapping action, secondary action, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal. Timing refers to how long actions last both physically and theatrically. Arcs of motion mean that movements follow curved paths rather than straight lines. Anticipation prepares the audience for actions. Straight ahead action draws each frame sequentially while pose to pose uses key frames.

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995 views25 pages

12 Principles of Animation

This document discusses various principles of animation including timing, squash and stretch, arcs of motion, slow in and slow out, anticipation, straight ahead action vs pose to pose, follow through and overlapping action, secondary action, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal. Timing refers to how long actions last both physically and theatrically. Arcs of motion mean that movements follow curved paths rather than straight lines. Anticipation prepares the audience for actions. Straight ahead action draws each frame sequentially while pose to pose uses key frames.

Uploaded by

Razvan Petre
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cedrick Zabala

Flash Animation Seminar


< Timing is, in essence, how long
a given action lasts.
< PhysicaI Timing. Correct timing
makes objects appear to abide
to the laws of physics. This is
represented by how many
frames an animator assigns to a
given action.
< TheatricaI Timing. Less technical nature, and is
developed mostly through experience. t can also
be a device to communicate aspects of a
character's personality.
< The purpose of which is to give a sense of weight
and flexibility to drawn objects.
< This concept relates to how things move. More
appropriately, how living, organic, non-mechanic
things usually move. Arcs of motion refers to how
the source of the action moves. Mnatural motions
move along a curved path, or an arc, not a straight
line.
< The basic jist of this principle is that we add more
drawings to the beginning and to the end of our
sequence. n essence, the animation slowly
moves into the arc, and then slowly leaves.
< f you observe how people move, how actions are
made, you'll begin to witness slow in slow out in
life. t all has to do with inertia and gravity where it
takes more effort to begin or end a sequence of
movements.
< Now do ALL things slow in and slow out?
Absolutely not! t's up to you as an animator to
experiment and find out what types of actions slow
in, but don't slow out. Here are a few examples:
Slow in, but don't slow out
A car driving fast from a distance, but as it passes you, it
whizzes by.
Slow out without slowing in
Someone getting ready to sneeze.
< Anticipation is used to
prepare the audience for an
action, and to make the
action appear more realistic.
< t's the precursor to the main
action. t's like a visual hint
that you give the viewer to
let them know whets about
to happen.
< A dancer jumping off the floor has to bend his
knees first;
< A golfer making a swing has to swing the club
back first.
< ts purpose is to direct the audience's attention,
and make it clear what is of greatest importance in
a scene; what is happening, and what is about to
happen.
< This can be done by various means, such as the
placement of a character in the frame, the use of
light and shadow, and the angle and position of
the camera. The essence of this principle is
keeping focus on what is relevant, and avoiding
unnecessary detail.
< Readability
< Personality
< Mood
< "Straight ahead action" means drawing out a
scene frame by frame from beginning to end.
< t creates a more fluid, dynamic illusion of
movement, and is better for producing realistic
action sequences. On the other hand, it is hard to
maintain proportions, and to create exact,
convincing poses along the way.
< "Pose to pose" involves starting with drawing a
few, key frames, and then filling in the intervals
later.
< "Pose to pose" works better for dramatic or
emotional scenes, where composition and relation
to the surroundings are of greater importance.
< "Follow through" means that separate parts of a
body will continue moving after the character has
stopped.
< "Overlapping action" is when a character changes
direction, and parts of the body continue in the
direction he was previously going.
< A secondary action is an action that results directly
from another action. Secondary actions are
important in heightening interest and adding a
realistic complexity to the animation.
< Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for
animation, as perfect imitation of reality can look
static and dull in cartoons. The level of
exaggeration depends on whether one seeks
realism or a particular style, like a caricature or the
style of an artist.
< Other forms of exaggeration can involve the
supernatural or surreal, alterations in the physical
features of a character, or elements in the
storyline itself.
< Common
characters in
Japanese modern
visual culture are
characterised by a
more realistic body
and exaggerated
facial features, in
particular the large
eyes.
< The principle of solid or
good drawing, really means
that the same principles apply
to an animator as to an
academic artist.
< The drawer has to understand
the basics of anatomy,
composition, weight, balance,
light and shadow etc.
< Appeal in a cartoon character
corresponds to what would be
called charisma in an actor.
< A character who is appealing is
not necessarily sympathetic
villains or monsters can also be
appealing the important thing
is that the viewer feels the
character is real and interesting.
< There are several tricks for making a character
connect better with the audience; for likable
characters a symmetrical or particularly baby-like
face tends to be effective.
< 1. Timing
< 2. Squash and Stretch
< 3. Arcs
< 4. Slow-in and Slow-out
< 5. Staging
< 6. Anticipation
< 7. Straight ahead action and pose to pose
< 8. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
< 9. Secondary action
< 10. Exaggeration
< 11. Solid drawing
< 12. Appeal

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