PRINCIPLES OF

ANIMATION
April 25, 2011

INTRODUCTION
This week we will demonstrate our understanding of
the principles of animation by designing a scene
that illustrates the 12 principles.

Today our goals are to:

Become familiar with the 12 Principles of
Animation
Examine some of the principles at work in a
modern animation
Begin planning your own scene

PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

6.

Squash and Stretch

Anticipation
Staging
Straight Ahead v.
Pose to Pose
Follow Through and
Overlapping Action
Slow In and Slow Out

7.

Arcs

8.

Secondary Action

9.

Timing

10.

Exaggeration

11.

Solid Drawing

12.

Appeal

SQUASH
Gives the illusion of
weight to an object as
it moves
An objects volume
must not be changed
when squashed or
stretched.

and Stretch

CC-BY-SA Lapman 2008

Another Example
CC-BY-SA Lapman 2008

ANTICIPATION
Prepares the audience for the action and makes the action
appear more realistic

CC BY-SA Dikeman 2004

STAGING

Click icon to add picture

scene
should
reveal the
attitude,
mood,
reaction or
idea of the
character
or story.
Camera
angles help
frame this
for the
audience.

STRAIGHT AHEAD V. POSE TO

POSE
Straight Ahead Animation

Pose to Pose Animation

Begins with the first drawing and works

drawing toward the end of a scene.

Planned out and charted

Key drawings done at intervals

throughout the scene

FOLLOW THROUGH AND

OVERLAPPING ACTION

When the main body of the character stops all

other parts continue to catch up to the main mass
of the character, such as arms, long hair, clothing,
or a long tail.

Animated Example
CC-BY-SA SunCreator 2010

SLOW IN AND SLOW OUT

More

drawings
near start and end
pose.
Softens the action
CC-BY-SA Lapman 2008

ARCS
All actions,
with few
exceptions
follow an
arc or
slightly
circular
path.
Road2Animate 2010

SECONDARY ACTION

Action adds to the

main action and adds
dimension to the
character

TIMING
Timing refers to the number of drawings or frames
for a given action
On a purely physical level, correct timing makes
objects appear to abide to the laws of physics
Timing is critical for establishing a character's
mood, emotion, and reaction.

EXAGGERATION
Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for
animation, as perfect imitation of reality can look
static and dull in cartoons.

SOLID DRAWING

The basic principles

of drawing apply to
animation as it
does to academic
drawing.

APPEAL

Appeal
includes an
easy to
read
design,
clear
drawing,
and
personality
developme
nt to
capture
the
audiences
interest

SUMMARY
The 12 Principles of Animation were developed by
the animators at Disney studios.
They serve as guidelines to make animation (drawn
or computer generated) more realistic and
appealing to an audience.

Lets take a look at how these principles have been

applied in an animation you are probably familiar
with.
SAMPLE

REFERENCES
"12 Basic Principles of Animation." Wikipedia, the Free
Encyclopedia. 23 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_anim
ation>.
"Frank & Ollie'sWebsite: Principles of Physical Animation."
Frank & Ollie'sOfficial Site. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://frankandollie.com/PhysicalAnimation.html>.
Lightfoot, Nataha. "Animation Toolworks' Library - 12
Principles." Animation Toolworks - Home of the LunchBox DV,
LunchBox Sync and Video LunchBox. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.animationtoolworks.com/library/article9.html
>.
Stefano, Ralph A. "The Principles of Animation." Evl |
Electronic Visualization Laboratory. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.evl.uic.edu/ralph/508S99/>

IMAGES
Arc. Digital image. Road2Animate. 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://road2animate.com/2010/04/30/12-principles-of-animationfor-3d-animators/>.
Dikeman, Rick. Pitcher's Motion. Digital image. Wikipedia, the Free
Encyclopedia. 15 Sept. 2004. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Baseball_pi
tching_motion_2004.jpg>.
Lampman. Squash and Stretch. Digital image. Wikipedia, the Free
Encyclopedia. 27 June 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Squash_and
_Stretch.svg>.
Nystrom, J-E. Animhorse. Digital image. Wikipedia, the Free
Encyclopedia. 6 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Animhorse.
gif>.
All images courtesy Microsoft Office ClipArt, unless otherwise noted.