Twelve Principles

of Animation
Ellie Pak
Staging Principle
Staging Principle is how the view’s attention
to the shot is directed. The purpose of this to
grab the viewer’s attention and to do so,
placement of characters or objects with
different poses and actions will help.
 Squash and Stretch & Animation
Timing
Squash and Stretch is the principle of applying a Animation timing shows how long or short an action
contrasting change of shape to give a sense of flexibility takes from the beginning to the end. Timing is very
and life in animation. Squash and Stretch applies a important since it gives meaning to the motion
contrasting change of shape—from a squash pose to a animation. If the timing is too fast or too slow, the
stretch pose or vice versa—to give a feeling of flashiness, animation would not look realistic or look too linear or
flexibility, and life in animation. This principle helps deal too long. The timing is what gives meaning to the
with how a character moves. Normally, squash is used to animation. Animation Timing is measured at frames
show the force of an impact or anticipation. per second.
Stretch
shows
and
indicates
the
accelerat
ion or
velocity.
Squash and Stretch can be used to animate animals’ or
humans’ movements or the movement of a ball. These
can shown in the two GIFs.
Slow In and Slow Out
Slow In and Slow Out is a principle used to describe an object or character to start their
movements out more slowly, then picking up the speed and finishing with deceleration. It
refers to how an object needs time to accelerate and slow down as it moves. This would make
the object or character more realistic or more focused on the video. In real life, characters and
objects accelerate and
decelerate when
moving. Movements are
not the same and are
not linear for all of them.
To produce the slow in
and slow out effects,
adding drawings
together or separate at
the beginning of the
action and the same at
the end of the
movement helps.
Straight Ahead Action
Straight Ahead Action is a technique used to animate
actions from the first scene to the end scene in a
sequence order. The drawing of the scene is in order
frame by frame from start to finish. This is used for the
animator to have a target destination in the action,
which can include the character’s development or how
an object was moved. However, this is not planned, and
the animator has to create the scenes straight-forward.
This can correlate with pose-to-pose action. This is
when the action is planned out by the animator using a
few key frames, then the intervals are filled in.
Secondary Action
A Secondary Action is an additional action that supports the
main action. This can add interest and realism to the scene.
Secondary actions originates from immediate action. An
example of this would be someone pushing the chair to sit
down. This adds emphasis to what the character is doing in
the scene. The main action and the secondary action tell the
story and perfectly work together. Without the secondary
action, the main action only tells the same story. If there is
only a secondary action without the main action, it does not
make sense.
Principle of Anticipation
The Principle of Anticipation is the preparation for an action, such as a jump or a
punch. The stronger the anticipation motion, the more cartoon and fluid the
animation will be. The smaller the anticipation, the more stiff the animation will be.
Before technology was developed, animators would have to hand draw each frames
to show anticipation and other principles in the generated animations. Hand drawn
animation which includes 2-D Animation had a more of a cartoonish anticipation
than modern technology, with 3-D Animation being more subtle.
My favorite exaggeration and arc shown in an Exaggeration is
important
animated movie would have to be Aladdin. I
because it
personally love how Genie expresses his shows
emotions. When he is excited, he can turn his head emotions
expressed
and when he is shocked, his mouth drops to his by the
chest. Genie also makes the movie very characters. It
entertaining to watch and without him, Jasmine
and Aladdin wouldn’t have gotten together. also adds more life
and meaning to their
actions, which greatly
impacts the scene. An
animation could be
stiff without this. Arc
is important because
it makes movements
realistic and pleasing
to the eye.

My Favorite Exaggeration
and Arc Animation
 Follow Through and
Overlapping Action
The Follow Through principle is the short
moment after the main action. It refers to
the boat parts of characters or objects that
might continue to move even though the
motion is completed. This is also known as
anti-antipaction.
Overlapping Action is the principle used by
animators to emphasize the action and the
mood of the character or object. Some
Principle of Appeal parts will lead the action, while other parts
will follow the main action, which makes
Appeal makes the character or design stand up the overlapping tool.
out. When having appeal, this generates
interest of the character or object to the
audience. It makes the characters interesting.
This can vary from how the character looks,
the environment of the location, their
interactions with objects and other
characters, and other factors.
 Creativity with Solid
Drawing Principle
A Solid Drawing makes the three-dimensional
believable because of the volume, weight, and
balance, Animators need to know the
difference with 3-D and 4-D Animation to
understand how that would affect the scene
greatly. This is important because the
animator can compartmentalize and organize
their animation from pictures and frames they
drew and gave meaning to.
 Thank you!
References:

https://darvideo.tv/dictionary/squash-and-stretch/

https://media.giphy.com/media/l41YhPWdAljmzhD0Y/giphy.gif

https://delviewmedia.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/9/9/3099487/4dc04311910c4b7db76e45a815592158_orig.gif

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/animation-foundations-fundamentals/the-importance-of-timing#:~:text=Since%20animation%20is%20a%20time,sce
ne%20and%20give%20it%20mood.

https://darvideo.tv/dictionary/slow-in-slow-out/#:~:text='Slow%20In'%20and%20'Slow,of%20the%20movement%20are%20softened.

http://www.andrewnourse.com/aa/principles.html

https://learn.toonboom.com/modules/animation-principles/topic/slow-in-and-slow-out-principle#:~:text=Most%20characters%20and%20objects%20acc
elerate,the%20end%20of%20the%20movement.

https://www.brownbagfilms.com/labs/entry/12-principles-of-animation-straight-ahead-action-and-pose-to-pose-tutorials

https://iwanttobeananimator.wordpress.com/2018/01/11/lesson-10-secondary-action-recap/

https://darvideo.tv/dictionary/staging/#:~:text=Definition,other%20elements%20of%20the%20scene.