What are 12 principles of animation

1) Squash and Stretch

One of the fundamental principles of animation is the use of stretching and squash.

This allows us to create a sense of flexibility and weight for various objects.

For instance, you can create an animated ball that's flat while it hits the ground, and then squash it to widen its width.

Although this animation is exaggerated, it still maintains the ball's illusion of being distorted by the outside force. Using squash and stretching to make realistic animations is also possible. But, keep in mind that the object's volume should be considered.

2) Anticipation

When you want to get your audience ready for action, use anticipation to add some reality.

Take into account what individuals do to get ready for anything.

3) Staging

When thinking about staging, imagine that you are a theater or film director.

Consider the location of the camera, what it is will be focussing on, the 'actors' location, and the actions they will take.

Staging is important and is sometimes disregarded, whether the characters are entertaining cartoon figures or realistically rendered people. Avoid distracting the audience with superfluous detail so they can focus on the crucial parts of the tale you're conveying.

Some of you can successfully develop the narrative with an array of lighting, frame, and composition,

as well as by making sure to clear the area of clutter. 

4) Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose

In a way, Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose are two ideas that deal with various methods of sketching.

Action scenarios that happen immediately need animating every frame from start to finish.

If you want to produce precise postures with maintained proportions,

Do it to create a fluid illusion of movement for action sequences.

When animating from position to pose, animators first sketch the crucial frames and then fill in the gaps.

This method is preferred for dramatic, emotional moments since the relationship to the environment and composition become more crucial.

5) Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Together, these two movement-based concepts give animation movement a more realistic feel and give the idea that characters are obeying physical laws. The body parts that move after a character stops are known as follow through.

Then, as with a real person, the parts draw back towards the center of mass.

Objects are also subject to follow through. The overlapping action of body parts indicates that their rates of motion are not the same.

6) Ease in and Ease out

The "slow in and slow out" animation principle is another name for it.

In the real world, things must slow down before coming to a stop and accelerate when they begin to move.

More frames must be drawn at the start and finish of an action sequence in order to depict this in animation.

Ease in, ease out will help the viewer relate to and empathize with your characters while also giving your animation a more realistic feel.

7) Arcs

Most things that happen in real life follow an arc. Animators ought to adhere to this idea in order to produce more realism.

Follow natural arcs to create fluidity and prevent erratic, unnatural animation when creating the effect of limbs moving or an object being thrown into the air. Traditional animators frequently lightly sketch arcs on paper as a point of reference, erasing them when not in use. This helps them remember arcs.

Arcs require timing and speed because they can occasionally happen so quickly that they become unrecognizable.

8) Secondary Action

This animation principle gives your characters and objects more depth, which helps to highlight the main action in a scene.

Intricacies, like the way a person swings their arms while strolling down the street, add character and color to your creations. Secondary actions can truly make a scene come to life, as long as they don't draw attention away from the main action.

9) Time

Timing is crucial in animation, just like in real life. 

When one can apply this approach correctly, everything will seem to obey the rules of physics, giving your animation a realistic foundation. 

Consider their characters' weight and size in relation to the objects and people in their immediat eenvironment. 

When pressed, a lightweight object or person will respond more quickly compared to a heavy one.

Make sure there's the correct number of shots or drawings in order to achieve the proper timing in animation. 

The slower the motion, the more frames or drawings it will be required to add, according to the ease in, ease out animation principle.

10) Exaggeration

This is in line with many of the 12 principles of animation, which are based on realism.

But if you completely avoid exaggeration, animation runs the risk of appearing lifeless because it is frequently too realistic.

11) Solid Drawing

One of the trickier animation principles to master is solid drawing, particularly in traditional animation.

This is due to the fact that your creations must have volume, weight, and a 3D feel.

You can gain a deeper understanding of weight, balance, gravity, light, shadow, and other concepts by taking art classes.

12) Appeal

One of the most crucial of the 12 animation principles is the final one.

Directors want their actors to be charismatic in theater, television, and film.

Whether a character is a hero or a villain, it should still be compelling enough for viewers to want to see how their story plays out.

Reference source from:

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/animation/discover/principles-of-animation.html