Hi, everyone.
I'm new to this guild, so please forgive me if everyone already knows about this stuff, but I really think it would benefit everyone if they knew about the Principles of Animation.
John Lasseter (1987) wrote, "Whether it is generated by hand or by computer, the first goal of the animator is to entertain. The animator must have two things: a clear concept of exactly what will entertain the audience; and the tools and skills to put those ideas across clearly. Tools, in the sense of hardware and software, are simply not enough."
The Principles of Animation are guidelines that were developed by Disney's studio in the 1930's. They are all still in use to this day, even in 3D and flash animations. They are extremely useful and will basically double your ability to animate once you know them well.
They are...
01. Squash and Stretch
02. Anticipation
03. Staging
04. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
05. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
06. Slow In and Slow Out
07. Arcs
08. Secondary Action
09. Timing
10. Exaggeration
11. Solid Drawing
12. Appeal
...And they will be elaborated on below. Original source to this information can be found here and from The Illusion of Life (usually being paraphrased by me).
---------------
01. Squash and Stretch
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.
A classic example is a bouncing ball, that squashes when it hits the ground and stretches just before and after. The stretching, while not realistic, makes the ball appear to be moving faster right before and after it hits the ground.
When an object squashes or stretches, it appears to be made of a pliable material, if it doesn't then it appears rigid. Objects that are partially pliable and partially rigid should have only the pliable parts deform.
A hinged object can squash and stretch without deforming, e.g. Luxo, jr.
These deformations are very important in facial animation, since they show the flexibility of the skin and muscle and also the relationship between the different facial parts. In very early animation, a character chewing something only moved its mouth and it appeared unrealistic. A later innovation was to have the entire face moving with the mouth motion, thus looking more realistic. This can be exaggerated for effect. A broad smile or frown similarly involves more than the mouth
This can also be used in the rapid motion of objects. If motion is slow, then the objects overlap between frames and the eye smoothes out the motion. But if the motion is too fast, such that there is no object overlap, then the eye sees separate images and the object appears to strobe. A solution is to stretch the object to retain the overlap and smooth motion.
-----
02. Anticipation
An action occurs in three parts:
1. the preparation for the action - this is anticipation
2. the action
3. 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.
-----
03. Staging
Staging is the presentation of an idea so that it is clear. This idea can be an action, a personality, an expression, or a mood. The key idea is that the idea is made clear to the viewer.
An important objective of staging is to lead the viewers eye to where the action will occur so that they do not miss anything. This means that only one idea at a time occur, or else the viewers may be looking at the wrong thing. So, the main object should be contrasted in some way with the rest of the scene. A good example is motion, since the eye is drawn to motion in an otherwise still scene. In a scene with everything moving, the eye is drawn to a still object.
The animator must use different techniques to ensure that the viewer is looking at the correct object at the correct time. For example, in Luxo, jr. The Father appears first, and so is the center of attention. Then the son bounds in, moving rapidly, so the center of attention shifts to him. At a certain point the son stops and looks up at the father, refocusing the attention on the father.
In the early days at Disney all characters were black and white, with no gray. All action was shown in silhouette (to the side), because if a character moved its black arm in front of its black body it would disappear, so the action had to be against the white background. The Disney animators realized that even without this technological limitation action was more clearly visible in silhouette.
-----
04. Straight Ahead/Pose-to-Pose Action
Straight Ahead Action in hand drawn animation is when the animator starts at the first drawing in a scene and then draws all of the subsequent frames until he reaches the end of the scene. This creates very spontaneous and zany looking animation and is used for wild, scrambling action.
Pose-to-Pose Action is when the animator carefully plans out the animation, draws a sequence of poses, i.e., the initial, some in-between, and the final poses and then draws all the in-between frames (or another artist or the computer draws the inbetween frames). This is used when the scene requires more thought and the poses and timing are important.
-----
05. Follow Through/Overlapping Action
Follow through is the termination part of an action. An example is in throwing a ball - the hand continues to move after the ball is released. In the movement of a complex object different parts of the object move at different times and different rates. For example, in walking, the hip leads, followed by the leg and then the foot. As the lead part stops, the lagging parts continue in motion.
Heavier parts lag farther and stop slower. An example is in the antennae of an insect - they will lag behind and them move quickly to indicate the lighter mass.
Overlapping means to start a second action before the first action has completely finished. This keeps the interest of the viewer, since there is no dead time between actions.
Here is a quote about overlapping from Walt Disney:
"It is not necessary for an animator to take a character to one point, complete that action completely, and then turn to the following action as if he had never given it a thought until after completing the first action. When a character knows what he is going to do he doesn't have to stop before each individual action and think to do it. He has it planned in advance in his mind."
-----
06. Slow In/Slow Out
This refers to the spacing of the inbetween frames at maximum positions. It is the second and third order continuity of motion of the object. Rather than having a uniform velocity for an object, it is more appealing, and sometimes more realistic, to have the velocity vary at the extremes. For example, a bouncing ball moves faster as it approaches or leaves the ground and slower as it approaches leaves its maximum position. The name comes from having the object or character "slow out" of one pose and "slow in" to the next pose.
-----
07. Arcs
The visual path of action for natural movement (very few living beings are capable of moves that have a mechanical in and out up and down precision; something like a woodpecker or a sewing machine would be exceptions to the rule).
-----
08. Secondary Action
This is an action that directly results from another action. It can be used to increase the complexity and interest in a scene. It should always be subordinate to and not compete with the primary action in the scene. An example might be the facial expression on a character. The body would be expressing the primary action while the expression adds to it. Another example is a person with a long coat; the coat would keep moving after the person has stopped, mostly due to gravity and the blowing of wind and such.
-----
09. Timing
When the character does something, and how long he does it for. Is it coherant? Can the viewer tell he's just done what you wanted him/her to?
Nobody's going to take 30 frames just to get his head snapped off by a steel pipe... And nobody's going to stretch a sore muscle in a single frame.
Most of the time, timing just takes a little common sense.
-----
10. Exaggeration
Exaggeration does not mean just distorting the actions or objects arbitrarily, but the animator must carefully choose which properties to exaggerate. If only one thing is exaggerated then it may stand out too much. If everything is exaggerated, then the entire scene may appear too unrealistic.
-----
11. Solid Drawing
Grim Natwick (an old Disney animator) once said, "You should learn to draw as well as possible before starting to animate. The better you can draw, the easier it'll be for you. You'll have to draw the character in all positions and from every angle... And if you can't do it, and have to stage it from some other angle... It's restrictive, and takes longer."
-----
12. Appeal
When you create scenes and draw characters, you should be constantly asking yourself, "Does it look right? Does it look good?"
While it's fun to make things for yourself sometimes, your main concern (especially if you're trying to make money lol) is to entertain others. If people can honestly say they like your designs and that they can tell what they're doing at all times (unless, you know, you don't want them to) you're in the clear.
-------------
I really hope this helps someone; I will be more than willing to answer any questions you may have about this.
If the thread ends up being useless I will just delete it. No worries.
I'm new to this guild, so please forgive me if everyone already knows about this stuff, but I really think it would benefit everyone if they knew about the Principles of Animation.
John Lasseter (1987) wrote, "Whether it is generated by hand or by computer, the first goal of the animator is to entertain. The animator must have two things: a clear concept of exactly what will entertain the audience; and the tools and skills to put those ideas across clearly. Tools, in the sense of hardware and software, are simply not enough."
The Principles of Animation are guidelines that were developed by Disney's studio in the 1930's. They are all still in use to this day, even in 3D and flash animations. They are extremely useful and will basically double your ability to animate once you know them well.
They are...
01. Squash and Stretch
02. Anticipation
03. Staging
04. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
05. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
06. Slow In and Slow Out
07. Arcs
08. Secondary Action
09. Timing
10. Exaggeration
11. Solid Drawing
12. Appeal
...And they will be elaborated on below. Original source to this information can be found here and from The Illusion of Life (usually being paraphrased by me).
---------------
01. Squash and Stretch
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.
A classic example is a bouncing ball, that squashes when it hits the ground and stretches just before and after. The stretching, while not realistic, makes the ball appear to be moving faster right before and after it hits the ground.
When an object squashes or stretches, it appears to be made of a pliable material, if it doesn't then it appears rigid. Objects that are partially pliable and partially rigid should have only the pliable parts deform.
A hinged object can squash and stretch without deforming, e.g. Luxo, jr.
These deformations are very important in facial animation, since they show the flexibility of the skin and muscle and also the relationship between the different facial parts. In very early animation, a character chewing something only moved its mouth and it appeared unrealistic. A later innovation was to have the entire face moving with the mouth motion, thus looking more realistic. This can be exaggerated for effect. A broad smile or frown similarly involves more than the mouth
This can also be used in the rapid motion of objects. If motion is slow, then the objects overlap between frames and the eye smoothes out the motion. But if the motion is too fast, such that there is no object overlap, then the eye sees separate images and the object appears to strobe. A solution is to stretch the object to retain the overlap and smooth motion.
-----
02. Anticipation
An action occurs in three parts:
1. the preparation for the action - this is anticipation
2. the action
3. 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.
-----
03. Staging
Staging is the presentation of an idea so that it is clear. This idea can be an action, a personality, an expression, or a mood. The key idea is that the idea is made clear to the viewer.
An important objective of staging is to lead the viewers eye to where the action will occur so that they do not miss anything. This means that only one idea at a time occur, or else the viewers may be looking at the wrong thing. So, the main object should be contrasted in some way with the rest of the scene. A good example is motion, since the eye is drawn to motion in an otherwise still scene. In a scene with everything moving, the eye is drawn to a still object.
The animator must use different techniques to ensure that the viewer is looking at the correct object at the correct time. For example, in Luxo, jr. The Father appears first, and so is the center of attention. Then the son bounds in, moving rapidly, so the center of attention shifts to him. At a certain point the son stops and looks up at the father, refocusing the attention on the father.
In the early days at Disney all characters were black and white, with no gray. All action was shown in silhouette (to the side), because if a character moved its black arm in front of its black body it would disappear, so the action had to be against the white background. The Disney animators realized that even without this technological limitation action was more clearly visible in silhouette.
-----
04. Straight Ahead/Pose-to-Pose Action
Straight Ahead Action in hand drawn animation is when the animator starts at the first drawing in a scene and then draws all of the subsequent frames until he reaches the end of the scene. This creates very spontaneous and zany looking animation and is used for wild, scrambling action.
Pose-to-Pose Action is when the animator carefully plans out the animation, draws a sequence of poses, i.e., the initial, some in-between, and the final poses and then draws all the in-between frames (or another artist or the computer draws the inbetween frames). This is used when the scene requires more thought and the poses and timing are important.
-----
05. Follow Through/Overlapping Action
Follow through is the termination part of an action. An example is in throwing a ball - the hand continues to move after the ball is released. In the movement of a complex object different parts of the object move at different times and different rates. For example, in walking, the hip leads, followed by the leg and then the foot. As the lead part stops, the lagging parts continue in motion.
Heavier parts lag farther and stop slower. An example is in the antennae of an insect - they will lag behind and them move quickly to indicate the lighter mass.
Overlapping means to start a second action before the first action has completely finished. This keeps the interest of the viewer, since there is no dead time between actions.
Here is a quote about overlapping from Walt Disney:
"It is not necessary for an animator to take a character to one point, complete that action completely, and then turn to the following action as if he had never given it a thought until after completing the first action. When a character knows what he is going to do he doesn't have to stop before each individual action and think to do it. He has it planned in advance in his mind."
-----
06. Slow In/Slow Out
This refers to the spacing of the inbetween frames at maximum positions. It is the second and third order continuity of motion of the object. Rather than having a uniform velocity for an object, it is more appealing, and sometimes more realistic, to have the velocity vary at the extremes. For example, a bouncing ball moves faster as it approaches or leaves the ground and slower as it approaches leaves its maximum position. The name comes from having the object or character "slow out" of one pose and "slow in" to the next pose.
-----
07. Arcs
The visual path of action for natural movement (very few living beings are capable of moves that have a mechanical in and out up and down precision; something like a woodpecker or a sewing machine would be exceptions to the rule).
-----
08. Secondary Action
This is an action that directly results from another action. It can be used to increase the complexity and interest in a scene. It should always be subordinate to and not compete with the primary action in the scene. An example might be the facial expression on a character. The body would be expressing the primary action while the expression adds to it. Another example is a person with a long coat; the coat would keep moving after the person has stopped, mostly due to gravity and the blowing of wind and such.
-----
09. Timing
When the character does something, and how long he does it for. Is it coherant? Can the viewer tell he's just done what you wanted him/her to?
Nobody's going to take 30 frames just to get his head snapped off by a steel pipe... And nobody's going to stretch a sore muscle in a single frame.
Most of the time, timing just takes a little common sense.
-----
10. Exaggeration
Exaggeration does not mean just distorting the actions or objects arbitrarily, but the animator must carefully choose which properties to exaggerate. If only one thing is exaggerated then it may stand out too much. If everything is exaggerated, then the entire scene may appear too unrealistic.
-----
11. Solid Drawing
Grim Natwick (an old Disney animator) once said, "You should learn to draw as well as possible before starting to animate. The better you can draw, the easier it'll be for you. You'll have to draw the character in all positions and from every angle... And if you can't do it, and have to stage it from some other angle... It's restrictive, and takes longer."
-----
12. Appeal
When you create scenes and draw characters, you should be constantly asking yourself, "Does it look right? Does it look good?"
While it's fun to make things for yourself sometimes, your main concern (especially if you're trying to make money lol) is to entertain others. If people can honestly say they like your designs and that they can tell what they're doing at all times (unless, you know, you don't want them to) you're in the clear.
-------------
I really hope this helps someone; I will be more than willing to answer any questions you may have about this.
If the thread ends up being useless I will just delete it. No worries.
