Animation Final ~ Fundamentals of Animation

The first principle of animation is Squash and Stretch. Squash and Stretch is the idea that an object can change shape depending on its momentum, weight, speed and density. When and object has a sharp impact with another, depending on the aforementioned factors depends on how the two objects behave with each other. If a squishy ball hits a hard surface then it will squish upon impact and then reassume its shape as it bounces back up. If we compare this example to a harder ball such as perhaps a bowling ball, the hard surface won’t cause much of squish to the ball upon impact. Thus, you can use squash and stretch to show the density and mass of objects. Speed and momentum can also be shown using the squash and stretch principle. Again, taking into consideration the density and mass, a squishy ball might elongate as it picks up speed, whereas a bowling ball would not.

The second principle of animation is Anticipation. This is the wind up before an action is taken. We can see this in examples such as a character pulling their arm back to get ready to throw a ball. The use of anticipation can help to indicate when an action is coming to the audience so that they are prepared for it.

The third principle of animation is Staging. Staging can be used for a variety of purposes. It can help to direct the audience’s attention to a focal point that you want them to be aware of, make the audience infer something that wouldn’t otherwise be obvious, and evoke various emotions in the audience. This is done through timing and presenting parts of the scene in a way that ensures that the audience is experiencing the animation as intended and focusing on the right parts. For example, if you want a character to be presumed to be a gamer, you can have various gaming objects scattered around the room that they’re in, or perhaps put them in a nerdy t-shirt. Or if you want it to be obvious to the audience that a character is a villain then you could present them from a low angle shot to make them more threatening.

The fourth principle of animation is Straight Ahead / Pose to Pose. Straight Ahead animation is drawing each frame one at a time in sequence. This is most commonly used for drawing fluids or unpredictable objects as it allows you to work on predicting the movement as you go along. Pose to Pose animation is drawing some keyframes throughout the animation and then filling in the in-between frames (also known as tweening). This method is most commonly used for character movements and actions.

The fifth principle of animation is Follow Through and Overlapping Action. This is the idea that certain appendages will drag behind the main force when a movement or action is taken. For example, how if a character waves a flag around then the cloth of the flag will take a while to catch up with the bar that’s being moved. This is referred to as Overlapping Action. Often this lag can also cause the dragging object’s momentum to propel it past the stopping point of the main force item. This is what’s referred to as Follow Through.

The sixth principle of animation is Slow In and Slow Out. Also known as ease in and ease out this principle suggests that most movements start and finish slowly. Controlling the intensity of the ease in and ease out can give different impressions of increasing momentum and speed. For a frame by frame animation, you can create ease in and ease out by having more frames at the beginning and end of an action and less in the centre.

The seventh principle of animation is Arcs. The idea of the arcs principle is that not many actions made by living beings run in a straight motion. If you think about how your arm moves as you go to pick up an object, you can see your arm move in an arc shape. It’s very difficult for living creatures to perform a perfectly straight motion, and most motions can be found to in fact be arcs.

The eighth principle of animation is Secondary Action. Not to be confused with Overlapping action, secondary action is when multiple animations are combined to emphasise action. For example, if a fish jumps out of a pond the first action is the fish jumping, the secondary action is any ripples or splashes that are created in the water by the first action. Or if a character yawns, the first action is the opening of the mouth itself, and secondary actions could be the eyes shutting, the scrunching of the face, and possibly covering their mouth with their hand.

The ninth principle of animation is Timing. When using a standard frame rate, timing is the idea that having more or fewer frames will result in different perceptions of an action. Fewer frames give movement speed and urgency, whereas more frames are slower and more leisurely. Another element of timing is the idea that you can skip frames (also known as drawing in ones, twos or threes) to add artistic effect.

The tenth principle of animation is Exaggeration. Exaggeration is the idea that for comic effect every action can be exaggerated to increase the impression on the viewer. If you want to make a strong man seem extra strong then instead of having him just break a small hole in a wall, have him destroy the whole thing. Or if you want to make a character look exhausted after a long day you could have them very hunched over with their arms almost dragging on the ground. Exaggeration is effective when realism is not desired.

The eleventh principle of animation is Solid Drawing. Solid drawing is making a 2d object feel like it is 3d. This is a skill that can be learnt by practising techniques of 3d drawing and perspective. Solid drawing can help a character feel like they are coming closer or moving further away from the screen. It’s mainly used to give a sense of depth to the composition.

The twelfth and final principle of animation is Appeal. Appeal is the idea that all animations should be interesting and appealing to an audience. This applies to characters as well as objects in your animation. More appeal can be added by giving variety and details to characters. The more detailed and believable the character is, the more likely they are to be appealing. Appeal is a difficult principle to attain since everyone’s tastes are different.