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The fundamental needs in character animation are presented in the animation literature as “The Twelve Principles of Animation.” These principles serve as guidelines or rules for planning and executing animation.
Through a series of articles, I’ll explain all the animation principles, delving into the theory and practical applications, providing a roadmap for those interested in the field of character animation for games or animated films.
First, I’ll introduce The Twelve Principles of Animation as listed by early Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. Then, I’ll add my own perspective on the study and the interconnection of multiple elements of the animation principles.
Whether you realize it or not, these principles are present in the work of all character artists, whether animators, concept artists or graphic designers. Therefore, my articles will explore associations and connections between animation, physics for artists and concept art.
Getting Started with Character Animation
Character animation is the field of visual storytelling or visual narrative. It involves knowledge of various fields such as imagination, improvisation, physics of motion, psychology, and acting; all combined with specific software skills and keen observation.
Character animation follows a specific progression or path, much like learning basic math operations before advancing into more complex mathematics. Even in nature, we observe laws of growth, such as how a seed develops into a plant. These natural laws guide the evolution process.
Similarly, learning character animation requires artistic and technical progression. However, when working with animation, one must always begin by familiarizing oneself with the animation principles, which demands a high level of observational skills.
Grasping the animation principles helps a beginner understand the nature of motion and explain it from a storytelling perspective. Studying animation is like studying the inner workings of motion, akin to studying daily life, as everything around us is in motion.
What are the Principles of Animation?
The animator’s job is to create the illusion of life, making the character appear to move, have a personality, an attitude, and act and react in any situation, just like a real human.
Therefore, the “illusion of life” represents the concept of three elements: Motion, Emotions, and Performance. This concept aims to create harmony in storytelling.
Animation principles as motion
The most common interpretation of the animation principles is the expression of motion as mechanical believability. We examine the animation principles from the perspective of cause and effect, also known as Newton’s Laws.This interpretation is based on the real physics’ laws of motion in understanding concepts such as gravity, mass, velocity, inertia, opposing forces, and momentum.
Animation principles as emotions
Another significant interpretation of the animation principles represents the expression of the inner life. This interpretation is based on human basic behavioral aspects and emphasizes that our emotions are like forces that drive our actions. We look into the language of basic emotions such as happiness, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, and surprise.
Animation principles as acting performance
The most profound interpretation of the animation principles is based on the interconnection of all the above aspects. This interpretation is based on the theatrical entertainment experience given to an audience through verbal and nonverbal communication. Here is where the inner world of the character (thoughts and emotions) is fully mirrored into the outer world of visual storytelling (cinematography).
The Twelve Principles of Animation
The Twelve Principles of Animation were presented by early Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in the 1930s-40s as they created animation techniques in films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), and Bambi (1942). They had a spectacular 43-year career at The Walt Disney Studio as top animators, directors, and story men.
Both Frank Thomas (1912-2004) and Ollie Johnston (1912-2008) retired from Disney in 1978 and went on to write several influential books on animation, including the acclaimed “Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life.”
However the first animation book was written by Preston Blair (1908-1995). He was a director and producer, known for Bambi (1942), Pinocchio (1940) and Fantasia (1940). Blair wrote “Cartoon Animation” in 1948, an amazing and timeless book on learning the techniques for both designing and animating cartoon characters. He included images of the MGM & Disney cartoon characters he had animated.
The animation principles are the frameworks explaining time, motion, and the story. Much like the physical laws that govern our real world, such as gravity or thermodynamics, animation laws govern the art of visual storytelling. They apply not only to a micro level but also to a macro level of motion.
Let’s describe The Twelve Principles according to the official webpage of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.
Animation Principle 1: Squash and Stretch
Represents the illusion of weight and volume of an object or character in motion.
Animation Principle 2: Anticipation
Represents a subtle movement that prepares the audience for a main action.
Animation Principle 3: Staging
Represents a pose or action that clearly communicates to an audience the attitude, mood, reaction, or idea of the character. It relates to the story and continuity of the storyline.
Animation Principle 4: Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose
Represents a workflow technique on how to start the animation. The technique differs significantly depending on the medium, whether it’s 2D or 3D. In 2D, the animator can easily lose track of size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it can gain more spontaneity.
Animation Principle 5: Follow-through and Overlapping Action
This principle represents the relationship between several body parts or accessories of a character. It explains why some body parts will stop and other parts will continue to catch up to the main mass of the character, such as long hair, clothing, coat tails, floppy ears, or a long tail.
Animation Principle 6: Slow-out and Slow-in (also known as Spacing)
This principle represents the various acceleration and deceleration moments within an action. Fewer drawings or poses make the action faster, and more drawings make the action slower.
Animation Principle 7: Arcs
All actions, with just a few exceptions such as the animation of a mechanical device, will always follow an arc or slightly circular path. Motion arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow.
Animation Principle 8: Secondary Action
This principle represents an action that adds to and enriches the main action. It adds more dimension to the motion by supplementing and/or reinforcing the main action.
Animation Principle 9: Timing
This principle represents the rhythm or beat of an action. A variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and interest to the motion.
Animation Principle 10: Exaggeration
Exaggeration is not an extreme distortion of a posture or a very fast rhythm of motion. It’s like a caricature of the whole, including facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes, and actions.
Animation Principle 11: Solid Drawing
This principle represents the rules of drawing, such as form, weight, volume, solidity, and the illusion of three dimensions, which apply to animation as they do to academic drawing. It only applies in 2D animation and not in 3D animation.
Animation Principle 12: Appeal
Appeal in animation does not mean a cute and cuddly character; it means personality development that will capture and involve the audience’s interest.
Here’s a nice and simplistic visual representation of the Twelve Animation Principles: by Alan Beckery, Cento Lodigiani and Emanuele Colombo.
Let’s Delve Deeper into the Principles of Animation
Now, let’s explore all principles in detail. I’ll explain each principle in a separate article to create a blueprint of connections between animation, physics, and concept art.
I’ll also update this article until completion of all principles.
Squash and Stretch Principle: How to add flexibility to your character.
The Squash and Stretch Animation Principle is also a drawing principle used by all character artists, whether in 2D or 3D mediums. Its primary purpose is to create the illusion of weight and elasticity. The absence of its usage will give a feeling of stiff characters and rigid motion.
Read my full article — Squash and Stretch Principle — I explain the multiple applications of the Squash and Stretch principle, from an animated bouncing ball standpoint, to the flexibility of a facial expression or, to the elasticity of the character in motion. There’s the same logic behind all, but on multiple layers of details.
Line of Action Principle: How to improve your character’s posture.
The Line of Action is both an animation and drawing principle.It’s crucial knowledge that all character artists must master, whether you are conceptualizing a human or animal character, for illustration or animation purposes, again in 2D or 3D mediums. A powerful and clean line of action will always make your character look more alive.
Read my full article — Line of Action Principle — I explain how the Line of Action is the key to adding attitude to a character’s posture or dynamism to its movement. It’s the touch that creates that feeling of a smooth visual flow.
Arc of Motion Principle: How to Make Motion Feel Organic and Natural
The principle called Arc of Motion is an animation principle that refers to what in real physics we know as trajectory or path of motion. From an animation standpoint, it defines the flow of motion in both time and space. Its main purpose is to give the feeling of organic and natural movement.
Read my full article — Arc of Motion Principles — you’ll discover the various applications of the Arc of Motion principle, from the fundamental motion of a pendulum to the bouncing ball animation to the motion flow of a human walk. Once you understand the logic behind a motion flow, you’ll then be able to navigate much more easily through the language of animation.
Silhouette Principle: How to Make Your Art Clear and Appealing
The silhouette principle is a universal art principle that provides visual clarity to a scene or enhances a character’s posture. It can be found in various art forms, including animation, concept art, graphic design, photography, and even performing arts.
Read my full article — Silhoutte Principle — I discuss the silhouette principle from multiple perspectives, such as cinema in silhouette, visual development, and character posing for animation.
Five Reasons Why to Master the Principles of Animation
Understanding the 12 essential principles of animation is crucial for any aspiring artist looking to master the art of character animation. These principles are the backbone of visual storytelling for games and animated films and mastering these fundamentals will elevate your animation, making actions appear natural and engaging.
Here are a few good reasons why you need to master the principles of animation.
- Remain unchanged in their essence regardless of the animation style, software, or storytelling needs.
- They explain everything that moves in the animation world, from a tiny object to a character, from a blink to a full-body emotional reaction.
- Brings balance and clarity to the animation work and, most importantly, to the story itself.
- Brings a deep understanding of the nature of motion and explains it from a storytelling perspective.
- It brings credibility and adds life to any animation, helping to communicate actions and emotions effectively.
Recommended Animation Books
- Cartoon Animation (1948) by Preston Blair
- Tips on Animation (1955) by Walt Disney
- The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation (1995) by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
- Character Animation Crash Course (2008) by Eric Goldberg
- The Animator’s Survival Kit (2001) by Richard Williams
- Game Anim: Video Game Animation Explained (2019) by Jonathan Cooper
My Courses in Animation Principles
My Students Work
- 2D Animation Reel, Intro to Animation Principles
- 3D Animation Reel, The Basics, studio training
- 3D Animation Reel, Year 1, mid term
- 3D Animation Reel, Year 1, end term
