Animation Principles
Animation Principles
Within this section of research i aim to enhance my knowledge the principles of animation to ensure i create a high quality animation. To achieve this i plan to use a range of youtube videos and blog posts.
The aim of this research is to gather information on the general animation principles to effectively portray the styles of animation i plan to create during this project.
(Becker, 2017)
(StudioBinder, 2024)
Both of the videos and website links above include in depth information about the 12 principles of animation. Watching these videos and examining the websites will educate me on the principles and reinforce my knowledge on how to effectively use them when I start production on my animation.
The 12 principles of animation
The 12 principles of animation are the fundamental building blocks for animation. They are routed from Walt Disney's techniques and designs. These principles are crucial to any medium of animation from 2d-3D
Squash and stretch
This principle focuses on the speed, momentum, weight and mass of an animated object. The more squash and stretch there is on an object it will appear softer and less squash and stretch will make an object appear stiffer and rigid. This principle is used in situations such as a character a character jumping where they would stretch as they jump and squash as they land to give the jump a better sense of impact. It is important that the objects volumes stays consistent when using squash and stretch as it could lead to inconsistent shapes in your animation.
Anticipation
This principle is is when you prepare for an action in your animation. this helps your audience know what will happen next. An effective use of this principle allows you to set the expectations for the viewer so they know what to expect from your animation. An example of this principle is when a character is winding up to throw a punch to generate power, this helps to add a sense of weight and realism to an action in your animation.
Staging
This principle make sure the audiences focus is on the correct area of the animation, this ensures the ideas in your animation are clear. All the aspects of a scene must work in tandem to make sure the audiences attention is controlled throughout your animation. effective camera angles, timing and spacing are vital to avoid your audience being confused watching your animation.
straight ahead and pose to pose
Straight ahead is when you animate in sequence , while pose to pose focuses on the key poses in the animation. Pose to pose allows animators to control the main poses of the animation and refine them earlier. Straight ahead is effective when animating fire or explosions as these typically move in a random and unpredictable manor.
Follow through and overlapping action
Follow through is when the body continues moving after the main action has ended this helps add realism to an animation. Overlapping action is the timing difference between the main body and the appendages. The primary function of these principles is to make an animation more fluid and natural.
slow in and slow out
Typically, a movement start slow and speeds up as it gains momentum this reflects a life like movement. Using this principle avoids your animation fell robotic and stiff. This principle is used differently depending on an actions speed.
Arcs
generally movements follow arcs, this adds a more natural and organic feel to them. IF you leave the software to interpolate between poses it can lead to an un-organic fell to your animation. Arcs can be implemented into any movement to enhance the realism of it.
Secondary action
Secondary action enhances the main movement in an animation by adding more depth. It is crucial to use this principle subtly as it shouldn't be overused and detract from the primary movement in the animation. An example of secondary action is when a person is talking and they blink or glance around the room. as this add character and personality without detracting from the main movement in the animation via the subtle movements.
Timing
Timing is the number of frames that your animation includes. This has a heavy influence on the pace of your animation. Varying the timing between poses can portray different emotions depending on your aim. Frame rates determine the smoothness and quality of you animation.
Exaggeration
exaggeration reinforces the impact of actions, making them more believable. Animations can include a varied amount of exaggeration depending on how vividly you want to capture emotions. Within the industry animators are pushed to test the limits of this principle an adjust to what is needed.
Solid drawing
This principle is primarily aimed at 2D animation but is is still important to understand.
Solid drawing makes sure your character is in all 3 dimensions with accurate volume and balance. Using effective and accurate shapes ensures you keep the correct perspective and achieve solid drawing. Ensuring the character design avoids symmetry and has a good sense of weight to refine the realism of your animation.
Appeal
This principle is primarily aimed at 2D animation but is is still important to understand.
Appeal is making sure the character in your animation is appealing for your audience. Using varied shapes and proportions and avoiding too much detail can enhance a characters appeal to an audience. A characters personality and emotions can be portrayed through specific and well thought out design choices. This also applies to the target audience of your animation as it is vital that your animation cater and appeal towards them.
(Salsberg, 2019) (Adobe, n.d.)
The video above contains examples of all the animation principles. It is a short and concise video that provides me with an accurate representation of the what the principles look like in a 3D animation.
This video will help in production as I can refer back to it to ensure I am implementing the principles effectively.
(TurboCG, 2016)
Animation principle conclusion
To conclude, Researching into the animation principles has both provided me with new and reinforced old knowledge on what they are and how i can implement them into my animations, to ensure my final animations are of high quality. I can specifically use principles such as squash and stretch and exaggeration when producing my stylised and anthropomorphic animations, which if implemented well can breathe life into an animal or stylised character and help make the more 'animated' and lively. While principles such as anticipation,secondary action and effective arcs as these are principles that help to build realism for an animation which will be my aim when producing my realistic animation. Principles such as overlapping action, follow through, slow in and out, timing and pose to pose are the vital foundations to make sure my animations are fluid and organic. Implementing these aspects into the 3 styles of animation is crucial to ensure there quality. The final two principles that will be effective for me to use are staging and appeal as these help make my animations cater to the correct target audience. In addition, staging allows me to direct the viewer's attention to make sure they are always focused on the aspects of animation that will keep them engaged and entertained. Primally the principle of solid drawing is a 2D techniques so it won't have a vital influence on my animation. In addition to solid drawing the principle of straight ahead will also have little influence on my animation as i plan to use a pose to pose workflow.