Principles of animation

The principles of animation

Squash and stretch is the action of compressing or stretching an object. A typical example is when a ball bounces off of a surface. When the ball touches the floor, it squashes as it’s being crushed by its own weight. When it bounces up again, some stretching occurs, as the force with which it was thrown forces it up again, out of its compressed state.
Squash and stretch is widely used in cartoons, in order to make cartoon characters and objects more interesting to look at. Realistic movement can be somewhat dull and squash and stretch makes motion more interesting, and can also be used as a gag in itself, depending on the situation.

Anticipation is the moment before an action is taking place, the build-up to a certain motion. For instance, when someone is about to jump, they first bend their knees, indicating that an action is about to be taking place. Or when a baseball player is about to throw the ball, he first pulls his arm back before he throws.
Anticipation is an important feature. It adds to the realism of the animation, regardless of whether it’s supposed to realistic or cartoony. It makes the motion more believable and easy on the eyes.

Follow-through and overlapping action gives the impression that the object is subject to physical laws. Follow-through is when separate parts of an object continue moving after the object is stopped. Overlapping means that different parts of a body move at different rates than others. Such as the arms and head.

Arcs: Most of the actions humans and animals perform, occur in an arching trajectory, like throwing and jumping and so on. Adding these arching movements to a motion, makes it more believable and is not something that should be ignored when doing animations. Otherwise it detracts from the realism of the animations.

Slow in/slow out is used to make an object appear to accelerate and decelerate. More drawings at the beginning of the action make it seem as if the action begins slow and then gains speed as fewer drawings are introduced later on.

Staging is used to convey the general mood of the animation. Anything from the background, the stance of the character to the use of camera techniques can be used. Staging is important. In order to portray the right feel to the animation, the various elements need to work together to make it work.
Secondary action is when other actions are mingled with the main action. For instance, if a character is walking a happy walk, his hands and head can help add to the feeling that the character is happy, even though the main action is in his walk.
It adds another dimension to the animation, fleshes it out even though the actions themselves might not be apparent to the viewer.

Straight-ahead action is when you start from the first drawing, and then redraw it all the way to the last drawing. It is hard to keep proportions intact, but gives a more expressive and actiony feel to the animation.

Pose-to-pose drawings are more planned out than straight-ahead drawings. Pose-to-pose drawings generally plot out the main poses first and then add in drawings in between to flesh it out. It’s easier to control proportions and sizes when using pose-to-pose , but can sometimes look too controlled and lacks the same sense of action that straight-ahead drawings have.

Exaggeration is generally used in cartoony animations as a means to portray excessive emotion. An example of this is, when a character experiences shock, the eyes will bulge out of their sockets and their mouth will be wide agape. It generally as a sense of humour over it, and it is widely used in children’s cartoons.

Appeal is a must for any animated character. Appeal is what the character portrays, what the character’s personality is like. In order to have a good coherent character he should be well drawn, visually pleasing, but also mentally pleasing. A character without personality is a character without appeal, and it bores the viewer.