2D Animation

Principles of Animation
 Disney's Twelve Basic Principles of
Animation is a set of principles of
animation introduced by the Disney
animators.
 The basic reason was to to produce
animations with more realistic
approach.
 The principles was to produce an illusion
of characters holding to the basic laws
of physics.
 They also dealt with more abstract
issues, such as emotions, timing and
character appeal.
Squash and Stretch technique is considered as the
most important of all. Squash and stretch makes an
illusion of character's weight, volume and elasticity
or hardness of each material.

The key to adding fluidity to a bouncing object is to

keep its volume consistent when using squash and
stretch.

The easiest way to understand how squash and

stretch work is to look at a bouncing ball. As the ball
starts to fall and picks up speed, the ball will stretch
out just before impact, and as the ball impacts the
ground, it squashes, and as it takes off again it
stretches.
Squash: flatten an object or character by pressure or
by its own power or others.

Stretch: increase the sense of speed and emphasize

the squash by contrast.
 Anticipation is used in animation to set the audience up for an
action that is about to happen.

 Anticipation allows the audience to clearly see what a character

is doing and understand what the character is planning, so that
each action does not come as an abrupt surprise.

 Before a character takes any kind of action the character must

think and plan.

 Actions in animation happen very fast, which is not enough

time for the audience to see and grasp what is happening.
However, if the character winds-up and then pauses before the
pitch, the events taking place become a lot clearer to the
audience.

 Anticipation is an important element in the timing of any

animation.
This movement prepares the audience for a major action
the character is about to perform.
An action occurs in three parts:
The preparation for the action
The action itself
The termination of the action
 Follow Through refers to the technique
which help to render movement more
realistically

 Follow Through
While anticipation is the preparation of
an action, follow through is the
termination of an action. Actions rarely
come to a sudden and complete stop,
but are generally carried past their
termination point.
 Follow Through is the idea that loosely connected parts
of a body or object will continue moving after the
character has stopped.

 In the movement of a complex object different parts of

the object move at different times and different rates
 Staging is about presenting actions and subject clear and
effectively.

 Poses and actions, arrangement of cameras, background

and stage elements shall clearly demonstrate character's
temper, reaction, character's attitude to a story and
continuity of the plotline.

 Effective use of close-ups, medium shots and main shots

as well as camera angles help to narrate the story.

 Film duration is limited therefore each succession, each

scene, each film frame shall be relevant to the whole
story.
 Chosen background shall neither distract the viewer
from the story or a character nor attract his attention
by too many details. Foreground, character and
background shall complement each other and work as
a whole in the course of storytelling.

 The camera should set up in a way to communicate

the characters expression clearly.

 Do not confuse the viewer with too many

simultaneous actions, use one clear action at a time to
convey the idea.
In a scene with plenty of action, the audience's eye will
be drawn to an object at rest.
Equally, in a still shot, the eye will be drawn to the item in
motion.
Straight Ahead Action
means drawing out a scene
frame by frame from
beginning to end.

• Open for creativity during

the key framing work

• Good for fast animations

• This method sometimes

lead to complex key
frames.
 Pose To Pose involves
starting with drawing a
few key frames, and then
filling in the intervals later.

• Has more control over the

results.

• More work in less time.

• Creating extremes can be

used as corrections.
Slow in and slow out is known as Ease In Ease out

Slow in slow out is a gradual acceleration and

deceleration of animation which gives smooth and life
like effect.
 Slow In Slow Out refers to how an object needs time
to accelerate and slow down as it moves. Typically, an
animation looks more realistic if there are more
frames at the beginning and at the end of an action to
depict this increase and decrease in speed.
Arcs is movement of an object in angular or circular motion

All actions, with few exceptions (such as the

animation of a mechanical device), follow an arc or
slightly circular path. Arc give animation a more
natural action and better flow.
 Such arcs are used extensively in animation, since they
create motion that is more expressive and less stiff
than action along a straight path.

 Arcs give animation a more natural action and better

flow. As natural movements in the terms of a
pendulum swinging, arm movement, head turns and
even eye movements are executed on an arcs

 In animation arc motion will appear more natural and

appealing.
Action supplement and re-enforce the main action.

Secondary actions enriches the main action and adds

more dimension to the animation

The important thing about secondary actions is that

they emphasize, rather than take attention away
from, the main action.
 The secondary action should typically be something
subtle that doesn't detract from the main action
happening.

 Secondary actions should work together in support of

one another.

 For example - the walk as the primary action and arm

swings, head bounce and all other actions of the body
as secondary or supporting action.
 Timing, or the speed of an action, is an important
principle because it gives meaning to movement.
Timing helps create the illusion that an action is
abiding by the laws of physics

 This is time or number of frames you use to

demonstrate an action or motion. Use less frames and
your motion will be quick, use more frames and your
motion will be smooth and slow.
 Timing involves a few simple principles: how quickly
something moves and how long it stays still. Slowing
something down in time adds weight, gravity and mass.
Speeding something up adds a sense of speed that is
lightness and energy.

 Timing is in charge not only for speed, but also for size,
weight and volume.

 Also, there is timing in the acting of a character to

establish mood, emotion, and reaction to another
character or to a situation. An alert person usually has
faster blinking eye movement than a tired one.
• Exaggeration is a representation of something in an
excessive manner.
• Animation is limitless and allows showing things as
we want them to show different from reality.

• Exaggeration is a method in animation which

subsequently changes the shape and size of an object
or character.
 Exaggeration can be used to create extremely
cartoony movements, or incorporated with a little
more restrain to more realistic actions. Whether it's for
a stylized animation or realistic, exaggeration should
be implemented to some degree, to make more
readable or fun movement while staying true to reality.

 Exaggeration can be used to create motions, poses,

expressions and emotions more readable and increase
its significance and draw attention to it.
 All characters have to have appeal whether they are
heroic, villainous, comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use
it, includes an easy to read design, clear drawing, and
personality development that will capture and involve
the audience's interest.

 Audiences like to see a quality of charm, pleasing

design, simplicity, communication, or magnetism. A
weak drawing or design lacks appeal.

 Over the years, the artists have learned that to produce

a feature there was a need for story continuity,
character development and a higher quality of artwork
throughout the entire production. Like all forms of story
telling, the feature has to appeal to the mind as well as
to the eye
Mickey Mouse is in his 90s and now. The animated
mouse first appeared in 1928 on the screen of the
Colony Theatre at New York City
The principle of solid drawing means taking out the
forms in three-dimensional shapes, composition, weight,
solidity, balance, light and shadow.

This have proper understanding of drawing construction,

perspective, form, anatomy and line control which
create space-occupying shapes with a defined form.
 Your character poses shall be clear and expressive. Stick
to clear shapes, watch the center of gravity, weight
should be evenly distributed. Poses shall clearly express
thoughts, intentions, condition, wishes and feelings of a
character.