The 12 Principals of Animation
1. Squash and Stretch
Considered the foremost important discovery, squash and stretch allows organic and
inorganic objects to return to life in an exaggerated manner. The squashed position
can depict the shape either flattened out by great pressure or bunched up and
pushed together. The stretched position always shows the identical form in an exceedingly very
extended condition. The movement from one drawing to the following became the very
essence of animation.
2. Anticipation
An audience must be taken through a planned sequence of actions that may lead
them clearly from one activity to the following. The viewer must be prepared for the following
movement and expect it before it actually occurs. this is often achieved by preceding each
major action with a particular move that anticipates for the audience what’s near to
happen. This movement is as small as a change of face expression or as big as
the broadest physical action – consider the founded for an over the highest sword fight.
3. Staging
This is the foremost general of principles, it covers such a lot of areas and goes back thus far in
the theater. The meaning however is incredibly precise, it’s the presentation of any idea
so that it’s completely and unmistakable clear. An action is staged in order that it’s
understood, a personality in order that it’s recognizable, an expression in order that it is
seen, a mood in order that it’ll affect the audience. Each is communicating to the fullest
extent with the viewers when it’s properly staged.
4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
There are two main approaches to animation. the primary is Straight Ahead Action,
which means literally that you simply begin with the primary drawing then the second and
so forth. Pose to Pose animation is where the animator will lengthen key poses in an
animated scene to dam out the action, once the key poses are excellent the
animator will fill within the animation with what are called in-between drawings to
polish off feel and timing.
5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
This is the term for animation that’s applied to items that are attached to a
characters that don’t move independently. When a personality entering a scene
reached the spot for his next action, the character often has got to come to a sudden
stop. this may look stiff and not natural unless items like clothes, hair, necklaces,
tails (with the exception that a tail may have secondary action), and then on keep
moving after the character has stopped then settling into place.
6. Slow in and Slow out
Based on the concept of the animator desperate to boast 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. These drawings or
movements also are about the sensation of the animation, consider the way it feels
to get on a rollercoaster, because the ride reaches the arc of a hill within the track the cars slow
down for effect before dropping into the following plunge.
7. Arcs
Animators use arcs to form sure that the animation of a personality for instance looks
solid and therefore the proportions stay the identical, whether or not squash and stretch is being applied.
Arcs is plotted everywhere a personality contains a joint and something that moves from
that joint, for instance a hand would pass on an arc that’s designated by the wrist
and so on. In 3D animation the rotation tool has made this principle clear to use.
8. Secondary Action
This principle deals with actions that happen additionally to the characters primary
action. for instance if you have got a personality that’s walking down the road, the
action of walking would be primary. If that very same character raises an arm to wave at
someone while they’re walking, the arm movement and wave is that the secondary
action. The secondary action usually works to always support the first action.
9. Timing
Timing is everything, in an animated film there are 24 frames per second, some
animators will shoot on twos meaning that for each 2 frames of film one drawing
will be held, therefore for one second the animator would do 12 drawings.
Animators play with timing all of the time, sometimes you hold a drawing or image
for 3, 4, 1 frames and then on, until the required look appears within the playback. Timing also has got to do with the spacing of your drawings.
10. Exaggeration
Also referred to as pushing the pose, exaggeration has got to do with taking an action and
pushing it to the following level for clarity of story. it’s what makes a drawing sometimes
look “cartoony” but with great effect will get the action or expression of a personality
across to the audience with zero confusion to what’s happening within the scene.
11. Solid Drawing
Pertaining to an artist draftsmanship skills, solid drawing has got to do with the
understanding of drawing. Creating a visible that becomes three dimensional on a
a two dimensional surface is the main goal of solid drawing. Drawing through the
form and pondering staging for your animation, does the silhouette add up
for the action then confirm it’s believable as a solid object.
12. Appeal
The last principle is appeal and this is often one amongst the foremost important principles to be told.
To have appeal the image doesn’t always must be what’s considered a
traditionally pretty or a gorgeous image, villains have an appeal all their own.
Basically, appeal is just like the hook of an honest novel it grabs an audience’s attention so
they will continue the story, appeal within the sense of film uses unique imagery to achieve
attention then wow with the actions and good storytelling.