The purpose of Squash and stretch in animation is to give your animated objects a sense of weight and flexibility. We can apply this principle to simple objects like a bouncing ball, as well as complex objects like the human face. The most important aspect of this principle to remember is that when you squash and object in one direction you need to stretch it in the other direction so as the object maintains it's original volume.

Anticipation prepares the audience for what comes next. When applied it makes the objects action more realistic. For example when a dancer jumps off the floor they have to bend their knees first. Anticipation can also be used for more subtle actions, such as as character looking at an object before picking it up, or a character looking off screen to anticipate another characters arrival.

Staging is a lot like composition in artwork or photography. The purpose of staging is to draw the viewers attention to the action or object of most importance in a scene. Staging can be done through various means, such as placement of a character within the frame, use of light and shadow, angle or position of camera. It is important to keep the focus on what is relevant and avoid unnecessary detail.

These are two different approaches to the drawing process. Straight ahead action scenes are animated frame by frame from beginning to end. Pose to pose involves starting with drawing key frames and filling the in between frames later. Both techniques have their advantages and disadvantages, and animators will often use a combination of the two.

Follow through and overlapping action are techniques used to give movement more realism, or to help convey the characters obey the laws of physics (even when the laws are broken purposefully), including inertia. Follow through means that loose body parts or accessories should continue to move beyond the point where the character stopped. Overlapping action refers to tendency for body parts to move at different rates.

The movement of objects in the real world, such as the human body, animals, vehicles, etc. needs time to accelerate and slow down. For this reason, more pictures are drawn near the beginning and end of an action, creating a slow in and slow out effect in order to achieve more realistic movements. This concept emphasizes the object's extreme poses. Inversely, fewer pictures are drawn within the middle of the animation to emphasize faster action.[

Most natural action tends to follow an arched trajectory, and animation should adhere to this principle by following implied "arcs" for greater realism. This technique can be applied to a moving limb by rotating a joint, or a thrown object moving along a parabolic trajectory. The exception is mechanical movement, which typically moves in straight lines

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 their arms or keep them in their pockets, speak or whistle, or express emotions through facial expressions. The important thing about secondary actions is that they emphasize, rather than take attention away from the main action. If the latter is the case, those actions are better left out.

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 obey the laws of physics. For instance, an object's weight determines how it reacts to an impetus, like a push; as a lightweight object will react faster than a heavy one. Timing is critical for establishing a character's mood, emotion, and reaction. It can also be a device to communicate aspects of a character's personality.

Exaggeration is especially useful for animation, as animated motions that strive for a perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull. The level of exaggeration depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style, like a caricature. 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. It is important to employ a certain level of restraint when using exaggeration. If a scene contains several elements, there should be a balance in how those elements are exaggerated in relation to each other, to avoid confusing or overawing the viewer.

The principle of solid drawing means taking into account forms in three-dimensional space, or giving them volume and weight. The animator needs to be a skilled artist and has to understand the basics of three-dimensional shapes, anatomy, weight, balance, light and shadow, etc. One thing in particular that Johnston and Thomas warned against was creating "twins": characters whose left and right sides mirrored each other, and looked lifeless.

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. There are several tricks for making a character connect better with the audience; for likable characters, a symmetrical or particularly baby-like face tends to be effective. A complicated or hard to read face will lack appeal or 'captivation' in the composition of the pose or character design.