12 PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION

The 12 principles of animation where a list created by workers at Disney Studios, These principles came as a result of reflection about their practice and through Disney's desire to devise a way of animating that seemed more 'real' in terms of how things moved.

They included of;

1. Squash & Stretch
This action gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as it moves. Also squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions. 

2. Anticipation
This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation

3. Staging
Staging directs the audience's attention to the story or idea being told. Care must be taken in background design so it isn't obscuring the animation or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation.

4. Straight ahead and pose to pose animation
Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action.

5. Follow through and over lap animation
Nothing stops all at once. When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair, clothing etc.
This is follow through. Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward. The character is going in a new direction, to be followed, a number of frames later, by his clothes in the new direction.

6. Slow out and slow in
Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like.

7. Arcs
All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow. 

8. Secondary action
This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action. Example: A character is angrily walking toward another character.Think of the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action.

9. Timing
A variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and interest to the movement.
There is timing in the acting of a character to establish mood, emotion, and reaction to another character or to a situation.

10. Exaggeration
Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. Its like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal.

11. Slow drawing
The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic drawing. The way you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense, using pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. 

12. Appeal
A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal. Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture and involve the audience's interest.



SOURCE
http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_principles.html