Research - 12 principles of animation

Squash and Stretch

"The most important principle is "squash and stretch", the purpose of which is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to drawn objects. It can be applied to simple objects, like a bouncing ball, or more complex constructions, like the musculature of a human face. Taken to an extreme point, a figure stretched or squashed to an exaggerated degree can have a comical effect. In realistic animation, however, the most important aspect of this principle is the fact that an object's volume does not change when squashed or stretched. If the length of a ball is stretched vertically, its width (in three dimensions, also its depth) needs to contract correspondingly horizontally."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation

"When real objects move only totally rigid ones, e.g., a chair, remain rigid in motion. Living creatures always deform in shape in some manner. For example, if you bend your arm, your bicep muscles contract and bulge out. They then lengthen and disappear when your arm straightens out. The squashed position shows the form flattened out and the stretched position shows the form extended. An important rule is that the volume of the object should remain constant at rest, squashed, or stretched. If this rule is not obeyed, then the object appears to shrink when squashed and to grow when stretched."

http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/squash_and_stretch.htm

"This action gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as it moves. Also squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions. How extreme the use of squash and stretch is, depends on what is required in animating the scene. Usually it's broader in a short style of picture and subtler in a feature. It is used in all forms of character animation from a bouncing ball to the body weight of a person walking. This is the most important element you will be required to master and will be used often."

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

My definition - Stretch and Squash

1.The squash and stretch principle consists of the definition of the object. The weight and flexibility of when an object is in motion. Considered the most important principle because it is what makes the animation as realistic as it can be. An example of it is that it could be a tennis player hitting the tennis ball with his racket; the motion of the racket would look thinner as it builds up speed whilst it is swung. The ball when hit would stretch to give it that realistic effect of it traveling at speed through the air.

Anticipation

"Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for an action, and to make the action appear more realistic. A dancer jumping off the floor has to bend his knees first; a golfer making a swing has to swing the club back first. The technique can also be used for less physical actions, such as a character looking off-screen to anticipate someone's arrival, or attention focusing on an object that a character is about to pick up."

For special effect, anticipation can also be omitted in cases where it is expected. The resulting sense of anticlimax will produce a feeling of surprise in the viewer, and can often add comedy to a scene.This is often referred to as a 'surprise gag'."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation

"An action occurs in three parts:
- the preparation for the action - this is anticipation
- the action
- the termination of the action."

"Anticipation can be the anatomical preparation for the action, e.g., retracting a foot before kicking a ball. It can also be a device to attract the viewer's attention to the proper screen area and to prepare them for the action, e.g., raising the arms and staring at something before picking it up, or staring off-screen at something and then reacting to it before the action moves on-screen. An example of this is the opening scene of Luxo, jr.. The father is looking off-screen and then reacts to something. This sets up the viewers to look at that part of the screen so they are prepared when Luxo, jr. hops in from off-screen."

"A properly timed anticipation can enable the viewer to better understand a rapid action, e.g., preparing to run and then dashing off-screen."

"Anticipation can also create the perception of weight or mass, e.g., a heavy person might put their arms on a chair before they rise, whereas a smaller person might just stand up."

http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/anticipation.htm

"This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation. A comic effect can be done by not using anticipation after a series of gags that used anticipation. Almost all real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitcher's wind-up or a golfers' back swing. Feature animation is often less broad than short animation unless a scene requires it to develop a characters personality."

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

My definition - Anticipation 

2. Anticipation is preparation for an action that requires detailed aspects of. It is considering movement of elements whilst taking in perceptions of weight, mass and height. An example of this would be someone jumping into some water off a bridge; the camera would shown the camera shot of the person about to jump off then straight away cut to the water when the person hits the water, the persons weight and angel would define how the water would splash out.

Staging

This principle is akin to staging as it is known in theatre and film. Its purpose is to direct the audience's attention, and make it clear what is of greatest importance in a scene; Johnston and Thomas defined it as "the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear", whether that idea is an action, a personality, an expression or a mood. This can be done by various means, such as the placement of a character in the frame, the use of light and shadow, and the angle and position of the camera. The essence of this principle is keeping focus on what is relevant, and avoiding unnecessary detail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation

My definition - Staging

3. Staging is creating emphasis on a certain importance in the scene. This can be enforced by camera angles, lighting and positioning. For example someone who is really angry standing next to someone who isn't, staging here could be that the angry person could be much bigger due to positioning, the other person could be positioned in the corner of the scene and angled away from the angry person to make us as the audience draw our attention to the angry person.

Straight ahead action and pose to pose

These are two different approaches to the actual drawing process. "Straight ahead action" means drawing out a scene frame by frame from beginning to end, while "pose to pose" involves starting with drawing a few key frames, and then filling in the intervals later. "Straight ahead action" creates a more fluid, dynamic illusion of movement, and is better for producing realistic action sequences. On the other hand, it is hard to maintain proportions, and to create exact, convincing poses along the way. "Pose to pose" works better for dramatic or emotional scenes, where composition and relation to the surroundings are of greater importance. A combination of the two techniques is often used.

Computer animation removes the problems of proportion related to "straight ahead action" drawing; however, "pose to pose" is still used for computer animation, because of the advantages it brings in composition. The use of computers facilitates this method, as computers can fill in the missing sequences in between poses automatically. It is, however, still important to oversee this process and apply the other principles discussed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation

My definition - Straight ahead action and pose to pose

Straight ahead means the scene is built up by frame by frame. Creating a spontaneous look to the animation. Pose to pose is when the scene is built up of a couple of key frames (poses) and then the animator draws the in-between frames. Straight ahead is better for fluidity and pose to pose is better for dramatic and playing with exaggerated emotions.


Follow through and overlapping action

Follow through and overlapping action is a general heading for two closely related techniques which help to render movement more realistically, and help to give the impression that characters follow the laws of physics. "Follow through" means that separate parts of a body will continue moving after the character has stopped. "Overlapping action" is the tendency for parts of the body to move at different rates (an arm will move on different timing of the head and so on). A third related technique is "drag", where a character starts to move and parts of him take a few frames to catch up. These parts can be inanimate objects like clothing or the antenna on a car, or parts of the body, such as arms or hair. On the human body, the torso is the core, with arms, legs, head and hair appendices that normally follow the torso's movement. Body parts with much tissue, such as large stomachs and breasts, or the loose skin on a dog, are more prone to independent movement than bonier body parts. Again, exaggerated use of the technique can produce a comical effect, while more realistic animation must time the actions exactly, to produce a convincing result.

Thomas and Johnston also developed the principle of the "moving hold". A character not in movement can be rendered absolutely still; this is often done, particularly to draw attention to the main action. According to Thomas and Johnston, however, this gave a dull and lifeless result, and should be avoided. Even characters sitting still can display some sort of movement, such as the torso moving in and out with breathing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation

My definition - Follow through and overlapping action

Follow through and overlapping action is two similar techniques which aid in making the animation more realistic. The follow through technique means when a character has stopped moving certain parts of the body will continue moving such as the arms for example. Overlapping means certain parts of a  characters body will move at different rates for example arms would move at a different rate than legs when walking.

Slow in and out

As action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like. For a gag action, we may omit some slow-out or slow-ins for shock appeal or the surprise element. This will give more snap to the scene.

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

My definition - Slow in and out

Slow in and out basically makes the animation more realistic again. Some frames would have a slow in and some frames would have a slow out depending on the circumstance. For example if a character saw a ghost and was supposed to look scared the reaction would be a slow in due to being shocked which would bring a more emphasised emotion.

Arcs

All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging. All arm movement, head turns and even eye movements are executed on an arcs.

My definition - Arcs

Arcs means the path of movement which would follow a circular path which looks like an arc. I imagine it as like a compass you use in maths, it creates a perfect circle from the anchor point in the middle. An arm would move round exactly like this with the shoulder being the anchor point. 

Secondary action

This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action. Example: A character is angrily walking toward another character. The walk is forceful, aggressive, and forward leaning. The leg action is just short of a stomping walk. The secondary action is a few strong gestures of the arms working with the walk. Also, the possibility of dialogue being delivered at the same time with tilts and turns of the head to accentuate the walk and dialogue, but not so much as to distract from the walk action. All of these actions should work together in support of one another. Think of the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action.

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

My definition - Secondary action

The secondary action is a more in depth action to support the main action. It enforces emotion across better making it more understandable and realistic. For example if a character was exhausted from walking they would be walking sluggish with small steps. The secondary action to support this could be making the characters arms look floppy and tired, they could be slouched over, theyre mouth could be showing they are breathing heavy, there legs could be shaking a little bit too.

Timing

Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining technique. The basics are: more drawings between poses slow and smooth the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. A variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and interest to the movement. Most animation is done on twos (one drawing photographed on two frames of film) or on ones (one drawing photographed on each frame of film). Twos are used most of the time, and ones are used during camera moves such as trucks, pans and occasionally for subtle and quick dialogue animation. Also, there is timing in the acting of a character to establish mood, emotion, and reaction to another character or to a situation. Studying movement of actors and performers on stage and in films is useful when animating human or animal characters. This frame by frame examination of film footage will aid you in understanding timing for animation. This is a great way to learn from the others.

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

My definition - Timing

Timing basically means the timing of movements and actions of characters and things. The more drawings means the scene slower and smooth and the less drawings means the scene is faster. Timing the amount of drawings is important to establish what you want your animation to portray. For example if a character was about to get hit by a car, the drawings should be slow at first then faster when the car hits the character to portray the emotion and damage the car has caused.

Exaggeration

Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. Its like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Action traced from live action film can be accurate, but stiff and mechanical. In feature animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural. The same is true of facial expressions, but the action should not be as broad as in a short cartoon style. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal. Use good taste and common sense to keep from becoming too theatrical and excessively animated.

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

My definition - Exaggeration

Exaggeration means what is says on the tin. Certain elements in the frame can be exaggerated to draw the viewers eye, or it can portray a visual style in the animation overall. For example If the visual style was a fast actioned comedy like tom and jerry, fast movements when running, turning the head, punching, kicking, showing anger can be exaggerated using fast movements. 

Solid drawing 

The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic drawing. The way you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense, using pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. You transform these into color and movement giving the characters the illusion of three-and four-dimensional life. Three dimensional is movement in space. The fourth dimension is movement in time.

http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html

My definition - Solid drawing

Solid drawing is taking consideration into volume and weight. This means drawings will have the three dimensional look giving it a more realistic look again.

Appeal


A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal. Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture and involve the audience's interest. Early cartoons were basically a series of gags strung together on a main theme. Over the years, the artists have learned that to produce a feature there was a need for story continuity, character development and a higher quality of artwork throughout the entire production. Like all forms of story telling, the feature has to appeal to the mind as well as to the eye.

My definition - Appeal 

Appeal means characters in the animation have to live up to what you want them to be seen like. For example id you want the character to be evil, that means being appealing as being evil. They can have many different actions to enforce the personality.