12 Rules of Animation Research

 When it comes to learning the basics of animation it's important to learn and follow the rules of animation known as 'the twelve principles'. The twelve principles was made famous by the legends of The Disney Company known as Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. These were the rules known and used by animators globally to help create a successful piece of animation. 

1)Squash and stretch is the first main rules of animation, the idea of this rule is to help give gravity, weight and flexibility to the object in the animation. This is an important element to think about as it helps you capture the realistic movement of the object and its action. 

2)The second principle of animation is anticipation. Anticipation helps prepare the viewer for the action that is about to happen, this therefore draws the viewer into the animation and give a sense of life to the piece of work. 

3)The third principle of animation is staging.  Staging works like composition within animation, it is important to think about the placement and the movement of the object as throws helps guide the viewer attention whilst also highlighting the important elements within a scene.

 4) The fourth element is 'straight ahead action and pose to pose'. This principle is two different techniques within animation both often being combined to create the over-all piece. Straight ahead action is created by drawing frame by frame from start two finish. This helps created fluid snuff more realistic movements and animation. Whilst pose to pose has much different response where you begin with the first and last frames before filling in between the key frames in the middle. This helps adds control to the creation of the scene and also increases the detail. 

5)The fifth principle is known as 'following through and overlapping action'. This principle tends to be used when an object comes to a standstill after motion as it shows different parts of the object stopping at different rates. This is an important element for creating a realistic animation as it is important to create overlapping  animations and how different elements will always be slower to stop when coming to a stop. 

6) The sixth element is Slow In and Slow out. The idea off this principle is to create realism with the movement. for example when something begins to move it starts slowly before gaining speed, this also applies for the end when you begin to slow down. To create this extra key frames are added to help show the idea of loss of momentum, this gives a realistic element to the object. 

7)The seventh principle is known as 'Arc' the idea of arc is to follow the rules of physics,. for example when an object is moving it tends to follow a path or arc which is determined by the Earth's gravity. This helps capture the natural process and its properties. 

8)The eighth principle is known as secondary action, this principle is based around the idea of the animation that supports the main action. For example if capturing a character running in action. The hair moving in the wind would class as a second animation as it supports and adds to overall scene. This makes the animation more in-depth using details and therefore drawing the viewer in.

9) The ninth principle is an important part of animation as it focuses around the idea of timing. Timing is all about physics ands how an object moves and at what momentum. When creating a successful animation it is important to think about the object and their speed and movement order to make it believable and realistic.  

10)The tenth rule of animation is known as Exaggeration. Exaggeration is the idea in which more drama and character is added to there animation. If an animation is seen too realistic the piece could be seen as boring and slow, however by adding exaggeration you are creating character and excitement which creates a connection between the viewer and character or situation. 

11) The eleventh principle is known as 'solid drawing'. This principle is simply about the skill of drawing and knowing how to draw. These may seem like a simple point however, it is very nessicary as without the simple skill of drawings there may be elements that look wrong or out off scale and therefore ruin the piece. 

12) The twelfth and final principle is based around the idea of Appeal. Appeal is a harder yet important too principle. When thinking about creating an animation with a character it is a must  create a connection with the viewer this couple be through drawing, personality art chrcaterisitics