Disney’s twelve basic principles of animation were introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation.

The book and some of its principles have been adopted by some traditional studios, and have been referred to by some as the “Bible of animation.” In 1999 this book was voted number one of the “best animation books of all time” in an online poll.

I read a ton of articles on these and these principles are being used by some of the best companies around the world for engaging their users. Here are the principles :

1. Squash and Stretch

The squash and stretch principle is the first principle which creates an illusion of physical characteristics of mass and volume to any character/object when they move. This is achieved simply by compressing and stretching the object/character.

After the stretch, they get back into their original shape like jello. This works with the audience as the gravitational impact is felt on the characters. It can be seen at all stages from a bouncing ball to a moving person.

2. Anticipation

This is the principle which helps you to tell your audience that some action is going to take place in a moment. It is the preparation for the main action. It can be seen in many examples: Can you imagine throwing a ball without pulling your arm backward?

In the same way, your animations would seem lifeless when the movements in the animations do not involve a flicker of anticipation.

3. Staging

This principle is based on Theatre and Film, which mentions the importance of directing the audience’s attention to the most important elements of the scene. This is often ignored or overlooked but it can create wonders when properly executed.

Few things under staging include the placement of the camera, the actor’s location and actions. Always use motion design to guide the user’s eye and draw their attention to the vital elements without losing focus.

Also, do not confuse the user with too many actions happening at the same time in the scene. Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a scene.

4. Straight ahead action and pose to pose

There are two ways to handle drawing animation: straight ahead and pose to pose. Each has its own benefits, and the two approaches are often combined. Straight ahead action involves drawing frame-by-frame from start to finish. If you’re looking for fluid, realistic movements, straight ahead action is your best bet.

With the pose to pose technique, you draw the beginning frame, the end frame, and a few keyframes in-between. Then you go back and complete the rest. This technique gives you a bit more control within the scene and allows you to increase the dramatic effect of the motion.

5. Follow-Through and Overlapping Action

Whenever a character in a scene tends to come to a stop, not everything associated with the character stops. There are few elements which are still in motion for a few seconds after the character stops.

You might observe this frequently in animated movies when someone runs and stops, their hair still is in a wavy motion after they stop. Here the secondary elements are following the primary action. This helps in making your animation look more realistic.

6. Slow-In and Slow-Out

This is also famously called as ease-in and ease-out effect which is mostly used in motion design. This has been originated from the functioning of a pendulum, which moves slowly at the ends and faster during the remainder of the journey.

This can also be explained using an example of a car. When you start your car you don’t get to 60mph right away, you slowly gain acceleration from 0–15–30–60 and then attain a steady speed.

7. Arc Motion

Almost every element including humans moves in circular paths rather than in straight lines. This principle revolves around that notion. When a head moves or an arm is turned it always has an arc motion attached to it. The speed of the arc is important, sometimes negligible but sometimes easily noticeable. This is mainly done to increase the grace factor of the animation.

8. Secondary Action

All the gestures which are added to support the main/ primary action are called secondary actions. This improves the personality and the adds dimension to the character by giving more insight into what they are thinking or doing. Here Bolt’s mouth and carrot are supported by a secondary action of its leg movement.

9. Timing

Let’s go back to the laws of physics again for this principle. After all motion design is based on that. Each scene can be broken down into multiple timeframes and the timing of the frame’s arrival is vital to animation. Even milliseconds slower or faster can ruin a scene completely. Some animations might be twice as engaging when they are delayed by 2–3 seconds. This can also help to control the reactions and mood of your characters.

10. Exaggeration

Too much realism can sometimes ruin the overall animation and the scene. To spice things up, add some surreal elements to the scene. This can be done in various ways such as face distortion, character movement, etc., Push the limits for your characters and your animation will pop.

11. Solid Drawings

This principle encourages animators to be mindful of the fact that while forms may be presented in 2D, they should strive to look 3D. In this example, despite being drawn in 2D, through the animation choices we as an audience feel that Zeus has weight and is three-dimensional.

12. Appealing

Obviously, not every character should be appealing. But this principle posits that animators should strive to create images that will be interesting and compelling to audiences.

And there you have it! The 12 essential principles that make animated films so magical! There’s no doubt that animation would not be what it is today without these twelve pieces of wisdom. I can’t wait to see how future Disney animators use and innovate on these principles in their works to come!

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