What are the Basic Principles of Animation?

Animation does not have any proper rules that can be stated as right or wrong. There is no quantified rule for the right way of animation, but with the passing of time, we have made a few basic principles that we follow while doing animation. Today in this article we will be discussing all the principles of animation. Although, the principles were first introduced to the world by the animator's named Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas in the book named “ The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation”, which was first released in the year 1981 but from the 1930s this book was approached down for the basic principles of animation.  Here in this article, we will be discussing all the basic principles which we need to follow while doing animation:

SIX BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION 

To create a successful animation these principles are very important. So here are the six basic principles that are required to create an animation:  

The Squash and Stretch Technique

The first and one of the most important of the 12 principles of animation. This technique gives an illusion to the animated characters or the objects flexibility, weight, gravity, and mass. Imagine a rubber ball bouncing into the air,

What will the rubber ball do? At first, it will travel up and while moving down it squishes as the ball hits the ground. While using this “Squash and Stretch” technique, you will have to keep in mind that the object’s volume should be consistent. So when an individual stretches an object it needs to get thinner and while one squashes something it needs to get wider.

 

Anticipation:

This technique helps to prepare the viewers for what is to happen. While applying the technique gives an effect of creating the action in a more realistic way. Think about a situation where you are to jump high up in the air without even bending your knees, although it is not even possible to jump high up without bending our knees. Anyways, coming back to the point the movements while doing the animation without the help of this technique “ Anticipation” will make a character’s motion really awkward, stale, and very lifeless. 

 

Staging:

It is a kind of artwork. It guides the eyes of the viewer and moves the attention toward the object which is important in the scene, it keeps the focus on the important aspects of the scene and it also balances the motion by keeping the non-important part to a minimum.  

 

Straight ahead action along with pose to pose 

these are two different techniques, they are often combined as they go hand in hand. Straight ahead action goes with drawing a character or an object frame by frame from start till finish. This technique involves a realistic movement. On the other hand in the “pose to pose” technique an animator has to draw a starting frame and an ending frame while in the middle there will be quite a few keyframes. Then the animator has to go back and finish the rest of the frames. This technique is very helpful to the animators as it gives more control within the scene and it also allows one to lift up the dramatic effect of the motion.

 

Arcs

Most of the objects which are used in animation follow the path of arc when a character or an object is moving around and that particular thing should reflect that arc as well. For instance, while tossing the ball up into the air, that will follow the natural arc as it normally affects the earth’s gravity to act upon it. These techniques are the fundamentals of animation. Reputed institutions those who are offering animation courses in Kolkata; are making their students efficient in animation with these techniques and with a holistic curriculum. 

 

Exaggeration

Sometimes animation should be unrealistic, too much realism can ruin the animation process. Hence, some exaggeration of the characters and objects is required to make them more dynamic. This technique is used so that the animation can pop.

 

 Nearly 40 years later, many of these fundamental concepts are still applied in classrooms and studios all around the world. While new and varied ideas have been included in animation as technology and other industries have developed; the fundamentals are still present in modern films and web design. Learn uses of animation in different sectors.