لخّصلي

1.!Squash!and!stretch
When!an!object!moves,!its!movement!indicates!the!rigidity!of!the!object. Many!real!world!objects!have!little!
flexibility,!such!as!furniture,!however!most!organic!objects!have!some!level!of!flexibility!in!their!shape.!Also!
squash!and!stretch!is!useful!in!animating!dialogue!and!doing!facial!expressions.!It!is!used!in!all!forms!of!
character!animation!from!a!bouncing!ball!to!the!body!weight!of!a!person!walking.!
2.!Anticipation
An!action!occurs!in!three!parts:!the!preparation!for!the!action,!the!action!itself,!and!the!termination!of!the!
action.!Anticipation!is!the!preparation!for!the!action.!Anticipation!is!an!effective!tool!for!indicating!what!is!
about!to!happen.!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!is!the!presentation!of!an!idea!so!that!it!is!completely!and!unmistakably!clear.!A!pose!or!action!should!
clearly!communicate!to!the!audience!the!attitude,!mood,!reaction!or!idea!of!the!character!as!it!relates!to!the!
story!and!continuity!of!the!story!line.!The!effective!use!of!long,!medium,!or!close!up!shots,!as!well!as!camera!
angles!also!helps!in!telling!the!story.!Do!not!confuse!the!audience!with!too!many!actions!at!once.!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.!Background!and!
animation!should!work!together!as!a!pictorial!unit!in!a!scene.
4.!Straight!ahead!and!pose!to!pose!animation
Straight-ahead-action!is!so!called!because!an!animator!literally!works!straight!ahead!from!the!first!drawing!in!
the!scene.!This!process!usually!produces!drawings!and!action!that!have!a!fresh!and!slightly!zany!look,!because!
the!whole!process!is!kept!very!creative.!Straight!ahead!action!is!used!for!wild,!scrambling!actions!where!
spontaneity!is!important.
In!pose1to1pose!animation,!the!animator!plans!his!action,!figuring!out!just!what!drawings!will!be!needed!to!
animate!the!scene.!PoseQtoQpose!is!used!for!animation!that!requires!good!acting,!where!poses!and!timing!are!
important.!Size,!volumes,!and!proportions!are!controlled!better!this!way,!as!is!the!action.!
5.!Follow!through!and!overlapping!action
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,!coat!tails!or!a!dress,!floppy!ears!or!a!long!tail!(these!follow!the!
path!of!action).!Nothing!stops!all!at!once.!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.!Overlapping!maintains!a!continual!
flow!between!whole!phrases!of!actions.
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6.!Slow?out!and!slow?in
Slow-in-and-out!deals!with!the!spacing!of!the!inbetween!drawings!between!the!extreme!poses.!As!action!
starts,!we!have!more!drawings!near!the!starting!pose,!one!or!two!in!the!middle,!and!more!drawings!near!the!
next!pose.!Fewer!drawings!make!the!action!faster!and!more!drawings!make!the!action!slower.!SlowQins!and!
slowQouts!soften!the!action,!making!it!more!lifeQlike.!
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.!All!arm!movements,!head!turns!and!even!eye!movements!are!executed!on!an!
arcs.!Arcs!are!used!extensively!in!animation,!since!they!create!motion!that!is!more!expressive!and!less!stiff!
than!action!along!a!straight!path.
8.!Secondary!action
A!secondary-action!is!an!action!that!results!directly!from!another!action.!Secondary!actions!are!important!in!
heightening!interest!and!adding!a!realistic!complexity!to!the!animation.!This!action!adds!to!and!enriches!the!
main!action!and!adds!more!dimension!to!the!character!animation,!supplementing!and/or!reQenforcing!the!
main!action.!
9.!Timing!
Timing,!or!the!speed!of!an!action,!is!an!important!principle!because!it!gives!meaning!to!movement.!The!speed!
of!an!action!defines!how!well!the!idea!will!be!read!to!the!audience.!Timing!can!also!defines!the!weight!of!an!
object.!Two!similar!objects!can!appear!to!be!vastly!different!weights!by!manipulating!timing!alone.!Timing!can!
also!contribute!to!size!and!scale!of!an!object!or!character.!Timing!plays!an!essential!role!in!illustrating!the!
emotional!state!of!an!object!or!character.!It!is!the!varying!speed!of!the!characters!movements!that!indicate!
whether!a!character!is!lethargic,!excited,!nervous,!or!relaxed. Expertise!in!timing!comes!best!with!experience!
and!personal!experimentation,!using!the!trial!and!error!method!in!refining!technique.!The!basics!are:!more!
drawings!between!poses!slow!and!smooth!the!action.!Fewer!drawings!make!the!action!faster!and!crisper.!A!
variety!of!slow!and!fast!timing!within!a!scene!adds!texture!and!interest!to!the!movement.!
10.!Exaggeration
Exaggeration!is!not!extreme!distortion!of!a!drawing!or!extremely!broad,!violent!action!all!the!time.!It¹s!like!a!
caricature!of!facial!features,!expressions,!poses,!attitudes!and!actions.!Action!traced!from!live!action!film!can!
be!accurate,!but!stiff!and!mechanical.!In!feature!animation,!a!character!must!move!more!broadly!to!look!
natural.!The!same!is!true!of!facial!expressions,!but!the!action!should!not!be!as!broad!as!in!a!short!cartoon!
style.!Exaggeration!in!a!walk!or!an!eye!movement!or!even!a!head!turn!will!give!your!film!more!appeal.!Use!
good!taste!and!common!sense!to!keep!from!becoming!too!theatrical!and!excessively!animated
11.!Solid!drawing
The!basic!principles!of!drawing!form,!weight,!volume!solidity!and!the!illusion!of!3D!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.!You!transform!these!into!color!and!movement!giving!the!characters!the!
illusion!of!threeQand!fourQdimensional!life.!Three!dimensional!is!movement!in!space.!The!fourth!dimension!is!
movement!in!time.!
12.!Appeal
Where!the!live!action!actor!has!charisma,!the!animated!character!has!appeal.
Audiences!like!to!see!a!quality!of!charm,!pleasing!design,!simplicity,!communication,!or!magnetism.!A!weak!
drawing!or!design!lacks!appeal.!A!design!that!is!complicated!or!hard!to!read!lacks!appeal.!Clumsy!shapes!and!
awkward!moves!all!have!low!appeal.!