Studio Brief 3- 12 Principles of Animation

12 Principles of Animation

1.Squash & Stretch

This is to look at the mass and weight of an object as animations can be ruined if something isn't moving with the correct weight, like a walk cycle. When creating these think about what force there is behind an object and what energy it holds.

2.Anticipation
This is the preparation for the action that is about to be created. You have to break it down because before you do something, like throwing a ball, you have to move your body into position. This step is so that you have to think more about the movements.

3.Staging(Mis-en-scene)

Staging is so you can clearly communicate what is happening. I can help you get across; mood, attitude, emotional state of the characters of objects. This also includes looking at the camera angles and where you want the audience to be looking, its best not to make some sequences too complicated as the audience can get lost.

4.Straight Ahead& Pose to Pose

Straight ahead-This is when the frames done use keyframes, its just one long run. These are usually used in fight scenes when its all going very fast. These are risky as it can be easy to lose size and volume of objects.


Pose to Pose- This is when every key pose is planned and then someone fills in the extra frames to make it all flow. This is used when timing is a problem as you can get things done a whole lot quicker.
Its good when using these to try to use both as it makes animation look a lot more visually interesting.

5.Follow Through & Overlapping Action

Follow though- Actions that carry on when something else has stopped, this is usually hair, clothing or just subtle body parts as the person comes to a halt.

Overlapping- This is when things overlap as they are happening at the same time. For when things need a looseness but also a solidness to them.

6.Slow Out & Slow In

To be used when the scene either needs to be fast or slow, the more slides the slower the action and the less slides means slower and quicker action. This can make the whole thing seem more lifelike or more cartoon like. Can also be called ease in and ease out.

7.Arcs

All actions follow in an arc and make everything flow smoothly. This applies to everything apart from robots and and mechanical objects, they follow a more jerky pattern of motion.

8.Secondary Action

These are actions that support an action, this can be very large eyes for when someone is shocked. Can be exaggerated for a more comic effect, makes it easier for people to understand what is going on.

9.Timing

Used for timing of actions, can either be 2 shots,when the motion is slower and can sometimes be jerky and 1 shot for when the motion is fast and needs to be smooth and quick. Mixing the two can make the overall piece more visually interesting. This can be made better when you can use references as you get a better understanding of things.

10.Exaggeration

Exaggeration does not have to be big and fast, it can be subtle and small. This makes animations all the more impressive. You can over stretch something or make the expressions hold just a bit more expression than needed to make it all stand out more so.

11.Solid Drawing

When doing this you can make things come to life as it creates dimensions, volume, depth and weight. When drawing it is best to draw in a 3/4 view as it makes the drawing more visually appealing but also look more lifelike.

12.Appeal or Character Personality

This is important as it helps to create an emotional bond to each character and if done wrong, it can make animations fail and have less audiences keep up interest with certain characters. When making animations character design, surroundings and story all have to be good for it to be successful.

Overall i find i will need to learn how to apply these to every animation i create as it makes all the difference to the final outcome. I feel i will learn these though practicing each one and trying to apply each to different types of animations to make them look better as well, but also make them all look more professional.