12 Principles of Animation

Considered the most important discovery, it allows organic and inorganic objects to come to life in an exaggerated manner.

• Squash and Stretch

• Exaggeration

• Arcs

• Appeal

An audience must be taken through a planned sequence of actions that will lead them clearly from one activity to the next. The viewer must be prepared for the next movement and expect it before it actually occurs.

• Anticipation

• Secondary Action

• Follow-through

• Overlapping Action

This is the most general of principles; it covers so many areas and goes back so far in the theater. The meaning however is very precise; it is the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakable clear.

• Staging

• Timing

• Solid Drawing

• Appeal

Means literally that you begin with the first drawing and then the second and so forth.

• Follow Through

• Straight Ahead Action

• Slow in and slow out

• Timing

The animator will draw out key poses in an animated scene to block out the action, once the key poses are just right the animator will fill in the animation with what are called in-between drawings to polish off feel and timing.

• Straight Ahead Action

• Follow Through

• Pose to Pose

• Timing

This is the term for animation that is applied to items that are attached to a character that do not move independently. When a character entering a scene reached the spot for his next action, the character often has to come to a sudden stop.

• Follow Through and Overlapping Action

• Slow in and Slow out

• Arcs

• Staging

Based on the idea of the animator wanting to show off the extremes or key poses in an animated sequence, the animator would draw more in-betweens around these poses to draw the audience's attention to the key pose.

• Follow Through and Overlapping Action

• Slow in and Slow out

• Arcs

• Staging

Also known as pushing the pose, it has to do with taking an action and pushing it to the next level for clarity of the story.

• Exaggeration

• Appeal

• Squash and Stretch

• Staging

This principle deals with actions that happen in addition to the characters primary action.

• Follow Through and Overlapping Action

• Secondary Action

• Timing

• Staging

This is one of the most important principles to learn. To have this, the image does not always have to be what is considered a traditionally pretty or a beautiful image.

• Exaggeration

• Appeal

• Squash and Stretch

• Staging