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The 12 Principles of Animation

The 12 principles of animation were developed in the 1930s by Disney animators to help create the illusion of life in animated characters. The principles include squash and stretch to show reaction to forces, anticipation of movements, clear staging, approaches to animation like straight-ahead and pose-to-pose, follow through and overlapping action to mimic real physics, easing movements in and out, using arcs instead of straight lines, secondary actions to emphasize attitudes, controlling timing, exaggerating traits, solid realistic drawings, and making characters inherently appealing. The principles were first compiled by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in their 1981 book and still apply to animation today.

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77 views2 pages

The 12 Principles of Animation

The 12 principles of animation were developed in the 1930s by Disney animators to help create the illusion of life in animated characters. The principles include squash and stretch to show reaction to forces, anticipation of movements, clear staging, approaches to animation like straight-ahead and pose-to-pose, follow through and overlapping action to mimic real physics, easing movements in and out, using arcs instead of straight lines, secondary actions to emphasize attitudes, controlling timing, exaggerating traits, solid realistic drawings, and making characters inherently appealing. The principles were first compiled by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in their 1981 book and still apply to animation today.

Uploaded by

Christian Gariando
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The 12 Principles of Animation

The foundation of any animation education is the 12 principles of animation.

The 12 principles were a set of core concepts that were developed in the 1930's by animators
at Walt Disney Studios as they were transitioning from doing shorts to feature films. It was a
gradual process of discovery and refinement as the animators tried to push their work to a new
higher standard.

These 12 principles were first compiled by the legendary animators Frank Thomas and Ollie


Johnston in 1981 in their book The Illusion of Life.

Creating the illusion of life is what the principles are all about. They help us create characters
that look like they have weight, personality, and exist in a real world with real physics at work.

Even though they were developed by 2D animators, they still apply to 3D and any other
type of animation.

1. Squash & Stretch


Squash and stretch describe how an object changes shape in response to forces acting on it.
Squash is when the object is compressed by an impact of an opposing force. Stretch is when an
object is distended by something pulling on it, or by moving quickly.
2. Anticipation
Anticipation is a smaller movement that comes before a major one, and signals that the major
movement is about to happen.
3. Staging
Staging is the presentation of a shot in a way that makes the content of the shot as clear as
possible, and the narrative function of the shot as strong as possible.
4. Straight ahead vs. Pose-to-pose
Straight-ahead and pose-to-pose are different approaches to animating.
Straight-ahead means creating each new frame in sequence from beginning to end. Pose-to-pose
means creating the key poses for each action first, and then filling in the in-between poses.
5. Follow Through & Overlapping Action
Follow-through and overlapping action refers to the tendency of different parts of a body to
move at different speeds.
This includes the concept of drag, which is when one part of the body lags behind when a motion
starts.
6. Slow in & Slow out
Slow-in and slow-out refer to the tendency of objects to gradually accelerate (and then
decelerate) when moving from one position to another.
These are sometimes referred to as ease-in and ease-out, or simply easing.
7. Arcs
The principle of arcs come from the observation that living things don't move in straight lines,
but rather in curved motions.
Creating graceful, clear arcs often elevates the animation and reveals the experience level of the
animator.
8. Secondary Action
Secondary action refers to smaller movements (or gestures) that support the primary actions of a
character.
These actions make the shot clearer by emphasizing the attitude or motivation behind the
movement.
9. Timing
Timing is controlling the speed of an action through the number of frames used to represent it.
It is one of the most fundamental of the 12 principles and takes years to master.
10. Exaggeration
Exaggeration means representing a subject in a heightened or more extreme way, rather than
strictly realistic, in order to push your animation further.
11. Solid Drawing
Solid drawing means posing characters in a way that creates a sense of volume, weight and
balance.
Drawing for animation requires being able to draw the characters from any angle or pose, with
three-dimensionality in mind.
12. Appeal
Appeal is a broad term for any qualities of a character's design that makes them inherently
compelling to watch.
This includes the design of the character, as well as how the character is animated.

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