To illustrate the anticipation in the animation, imagine a character jumping in the air without bending his knees. The movement is unrealistic and downright weird because you can`t jump without moving the joints. Modern computer animators get less because of the facilities that computers give them,[35] but their work benefits greatly from a basic understanding of the principles of animation and their additions to basic computer animation. [33] The principles of animation underpin all movement work. In this guide, let`s take a look at the 12 principles of animation that Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas described in their book, and how each could help you become a better animator: Animation is unlimited and allows you to show things as we want them to be different from reality. Thanks to exaggeration, we can achieve more expression, precision, more dynamic poses and movements. Not only can a character`s baselines be exaggerated, but also their personal characteristics, behavior, condition, movements, etc. Let`s compare two punches. The first example is realistic, when the character makes a slight turn during the swing and turns his body into a “load”.

In animation, this movement will not be dynamic and attractive enough. Another example is the animation with exaggeration, when during a swing our character turns his body to 3/4 of a circle – which is a powerful, dynamic and attractive pose. Secondary actions are intended to complement and intensify the main action or with the intention of diverting or directing the viewer`s attention to other actions in order to enrich the animation and make it more attractive and solid. Imagine a student looking for a test during the exam, he looks at it with uncertainty, changes from foot to foot in case of doubt, his eyes wonder – this is the main action. Now imagine the same scene where a schoolboy squirms with a pen, which is a side action. This makes the whole scene deeper and more attractive. Other examples: When objects come to a standstill after a movement, different parts of the object stop at different speeds. Similarly, not everything on an object moves at the same speed. This is the essence of Disney`s fifth animation principle. Secondary actions are gestures that support the main action to add more dimension to the character`s animation.

They can give more personality and insight into what the character does or thinks. When applied, these animation techniques give you control over the scene, so you can amplify the dramatic effect of the movement. In Straight Ahead, each frame of an action is illustrated one after the other. This technique is more spontaneous, so the effect is fresh and surprising. If you want to create smooth and realistic movements, Straight Ahead is a great technique to try. The movement of objects in the real world, such as the human body, animals, vehicles, etc., takes time to speed up and slow down. For this reason, more images are drawn towards the beginning and end of an action, creating a slowing down and slowing effect for more realistic movements. This concept emphasizes the extreme poses of the object. Conversely, fewer frames are drawn in the middle of the animation to emphasize faster action. [12] This principle applies to characters who move between two extreme poses, such as sitting and standing, but also to inanimate and moving objects, such as the bouncing ball in the figure above.

[22] Life does not move in straight lines, and animation should not. Most living things – including humans – move along circular paths called arcs. All the above laws and principles are studied in detail and put into practice in our courses. The knowledge gained in these courses is useful and applicable regardless of the software package used. If you`re interested in animated video productions, be sure to take a look at our portfolio. IdeaRocket creates videos in 2D animation, 3D animation, whiteboard and live action as well as combinations of these techniques (mixed media). These principles encompass the foundation of all the animation work that Disney animators have pursued since the early 1930s. Although the book was published almost 40 years ago, its key principles are still applied in modern animation work as well as in web design. The pose-to-pose method is more planned with keyframes/poses clearly arranged throughout the scene.

Using this method means better control over the size, volume, proportions of the character, as well as their actions. The lead animator is only allowed to define key poses of the animation and pass the rest of the work to the auxiliary animators.