So when a character is running and stops, their main body will stop, but the other parts of their body will keep moving for a bit after. Follow Through and Overlapping Action – The follow through principle argues that when a character is in action and stops, nothing stops all at once. Straight ahead is better for creating fluid, realistic actions while pose to pose is more effective for dramatic or emotional scenes where it’s more about conveying an idea than a sense of realness.ĥ. The straight ahead technique is more nuanced and involves an animator literally crafting one frame after another, as in this early draft of an iconic Cinderella scene. The pose to pose technique involves drawing the key poses that you’d like the character to take first and then filling in the transitional poses second. Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose – Straight ahead and pose to pose refers to the techniques by which animation is crafted. In this scene from Finding Nemo, the swirl of the water directs the audience to the totally sweet action where they are supposed to be looking in that moment.Ĥ. Staging also applies to the movement and placing of the camera. If you were to isolate Tink and make a silhouette of each of her poses, you would still be able to get the idea that Tink is overjoyed in the first pic, annoyed in the second pic, and feeling the zzzs in the final. Take these images of Tinker Bell for instance. Staging – Staging is the principle that every pose or action that a character makes should convey a clear intention. Notice how Thumper draws back his leg before breaking into a run? This is anticipation in action!ģ. To do this, animators will often work in a smaller action or two, right before the major action to signal that something is coming. Anticipation – Anticipation is used to let the audience know that a major action is about to take place. As a result, we as an audience actually believe that they are dancing because we see the impact that gravity has on their bodies.Ģ. Notice how as the two characters dance around, their shapes compress ever so slightly and then stretch back into shape. To see the principle in action, take a look at this scene from the Pixar short Day and Night. This is done by expanding and compressing the character’s body. Squash and Stretch – The squash and stretch principle gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as they move. Pixar’s wonderful world of animation and see how these classic principles have influenced some of your favorite films today!ġ.Made famous by two of Walt Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, the 12 principles of animation have become an essential must-learn for all aspiring and working animators in the industry today.Īs Frank and Ollie say in their cameo at the end of The Incredibles (Yes, that was them!), “There’s no school like the old school!” Take a journey through Disney and Disney To answer any of these questions, one must first understand the 12 principles of animation. How do animators breathe life onto a blank canvas? How do they get us to laugh at Pascal, sympathize with Carl, and feel the longing of Ariel wanting to be part of your world? How do they make us believe that the things they’ve rendered are actually alive?