12 Principles of
12 Principles of
Animation
Animation
GKN1043 GKN1043 Animation Studio 1 Animation Studio 1General Objective
General Objective
Apply animation principles, techniques Apply animation principles, techniques
and theories in individual and
and theories in individual and groupgroup projects.
General Objective
General Objective
Apply animation principles, techniques Apply animation principles, techniques
and theories in individual and
and theories in individual and groupgroup projects.
Specific Objectives:
Specific Objectives:
•
• Deconstruct and analyze own workDeconstruct and analyze own work
and the work of others to evaluate the and the work of others to evaluate the technical and aesthetic quality based technical and aesthetic quality based on the 12
on the 12 principles of animation.principles of animation.
•
• Identify and apply principles ofIdentify and apply principles of
animation correctly in project. animation correctly in project.
Video
Activity 1: Think-Pair-Share
What is 12 principles of
animation?
12 Principles of animation
• were developed by the 'old men' of
Walt Disney Studios, amongst them Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, during the 1930s.
Disney's Twelve Basic Principles of Animation is a set of principles of animation introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. Johnston and Thomas in turn based their book on the work of the leading Disney animators from the 1930s onwards, and their effort to produce more realistic animations. The main purpose of the principles was to produce an illusion of characters adhering to the basic laws of physics, but they also dealt with more abstract issues, such as emotional timing and character appeal. The book and some of its principles have been adopted by some traditional studios, and have been referred to by some as the "Bible of animation. In 1999 the book was voted number one of the "best animation books of all time" in an online poll. Though originally intended to apply to traditional, hand-drawn animation, the principles still have great relevance for today's more prevalent computer animation.
• These principles came as a result of
reflection about their practice and
through Disney's desire to devise a way of animating that seemed more 'real' in terms of how things moved, and
how that movement might be used to express character and personality.
• It needs to be said that many brilliant
moments of animation have been created without reference to, or knowledge of these principles.
12 Principles of Animation
• Squash & Stretch
• Anticipation
• Staging
• Straight ahead & Pose to pose
• Follow through & Overlapping action
• Arcs • Secondary action • Timing • Exaggeration • Solid drawing • Appeal
Squash & Stretch
• the purpose 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.
Activity 2: Bouncing Ball
Which one is better? Why?
Anticipation
• used to prepare the audience for an
action, and to make the action appear more realistic.
• Example:
– a dancer jumping off the floor has to
bend his knees first; a golfer making a swing has to swing the club back first.
• produce a feeling of surprise in the
viewer, and can often add comedy to a scene.
• This is often referred to as a 'surprise
Activity 3:
Anticipation: Act Out!
Think of one scene and act out the
Staging
• Its purpose is to direct the audience's
attention, and make it clear what is of greatest importance in a scene; what is happening, and what is about to
•
• Staging is achieved by Staging is achieved by charactercharacter
positioning, lighting, shadows and the
positioning, lighting, shadows and the
camera angle used.
Activity 4:
Activity 4:
Which one is better? Why?
Which one is better? Why?
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 (in between) later.
Follow Through and
Overlapping Action
• 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).
5
minutes
break!
Recap
session
Slow In and Slow Out
• 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.
Activity 5: Slow In Slow Out
Lets Guess It!
1. 2.
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.
• An object in motion that moves out of
its natural arc for no apparent reason will appear erratic rather than fluid.
• Traditional animators tend to draw the
arc in lightly on the paper for reference, to be erased later.
Secondary Action
• Adding secondary actions to the main
action gives a scene more life, and can help to support the main action.
• A person walking can simultaneously
swing his arms or keep them in his
pockets, he can speak or whistle, or he can express emotions through facial
• The important thing about secondary
actions is that they emphasize, rather than take attention away from the
Timing
• Timing refers to the number of drawings
or frames for a given action, which
translates to the speed of the action on film.
• On a purely physical level, correct
timing makes objects appear to abide to the laws of physics; for instance, an object's weight decides how it reacts to a stimulus, like a push.
Exaggeration
• Exaggeration is an effect especially
useful for animation, as perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull in
cartoons.
• The level of exaggeration depends on
whether one seeks realism or a particular style, like a caricature or the style of an artist.
• The classical definition of exaggeration,
employed by Disney, was to remain true to reality, just presenting it in a wilder,
more extreme form.
• Other forms of exaggeration can involve
the supernatural or surreal, alterations in the physical features of a character, or elements in the storyline itself.
Activity 6: Exaggeration
Solid Drawing
• The principle of solid drawing means
taking into account forms in
three-dimensional space, giving them volume and weight.
• The animator needs to be a skilled
draughtsman and has to understand the basics of three-dimensional shapes,
anatomy, weight, balance, light and shadow, etc.
Appeal
• Appeal in a cartoon character
corresponds to what would be called charisma in an actor.
• A character who is appealing is not
necessarily sympathetic – villains or
monsters can also be appealing – the important thing is that the viewer feels the character is real and interesting.
Activity 7:
Q & A
Session
Group Assignment
In a group of 6, make a simple video representing 12 Principles of Animation.
Each person in the group have to choose two from 12 principles, (the rest have to choose other principles) draw sequences of drawings of
the two principles, capture it and compile it as movie file with the other 5 group members.
You may add any dialogue or sound effects and there will be no time limit. Each of the team members are required to write down the
name on the video created. Progress: 7.5.2015
Presentation: 14.5.2015
We will have a presentation and critique session.
