Executive Summary: The Basics of Making Animation Come to Life
The 12 principles of animation are a set of core rules for creating movement that feels real, dynamic, and full of emotion. These ideas were first developed by top animators at Walt Disney and were officially written down in the 1981 book,
The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. While they started with hand-drawn cartoons, these principles are now the foundation for all types of modern animation, including computer-generated films, visual effects, video games, and motion graphics.
This report breaks down each of the twelve principles in a simple way, showing why they are more than just technical rules. They are a powerful set of tools for controlling movement, timing, and how a scene is set up to show a character’s personality, feelings, and the story. The report also explains how these timeless ideas are still used today in digital animation and how they help animators create both funny and serious moments . The principles are an important language for animators to make their work connect with an audience.
1. Introduction: From Drawings to Digital Worlds
Animation is simply the art of making something that isn’t alive look like it is. The 12 principles of animation are the main rules that guide how this trick is done. Even though the way we make animation has changed a lot—from drawing on paper to using computers and 3D models—the goal of these principles has stayed the same: to give characters and objects a sense of reality, personality, and feeling. The principles were first created to make cartoon characters “follow the basic laws of physics” and to show “emotional timing and character appeal”. This shows that they were not just about copying reality, but about making it more interesting and expressive.
For today’s animators, these principles are still the “theoretical bedrock” and a key guide for all their projects, whether for movies, websites, or commercials. The fact that these ideas are still so important, almost four decades after they were first published, shows how vital they are for both students and professionals. The principles are not strict rules, but a toolkit for artistic expression, a starting point for animators to grow their skills. By understanding these ideas, an artist can purposefully control movement to create a true performance.
2. A Historical Blueprint: The Illusion of Life
The story of the 12 principles of animation is closely tied to the golden age of Walt Disney Animation Studios.They were developed by two of Disney’s best animators, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, who were part of a group known as the “Nine Old Men”. These pioneers carefully studied how people and animals move to understand both the physics and the psychology behind it. Their work, which lasted from the 1930s to the 1970s, was all about bringing more realism and emotion to hand-drawn characters.
In 1981, Johnston and Thomas put this knowledge into their famous book, The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. The title itself reveals their main idea: the goal was not to make a perfect copy of real life, but to create a convincing “illusion” of it. A simple, frame-by-frame copy of reality can often look boring. The principles offer a plan for artistically changing motion to make it more believable and meaningful than a direct copy. This allowed animators to explore both the physical rules of gravity and mass, as well as more abstract ideas like emotional timing. As a result, the principles are the technical base for a creative philosophy that aims to give characters a real sense of being alive.
3. The Twelve Pillars: A Detailed Breakdown and Analysis
This section explains each of the twelve principles, what they are for, and how they are used with classic and modern examples.
Principle Name | Concise Definition | Purpose | Example |
Squash and Stretch | Deforming an object to convey weight and flexibility. | To give a sense of weight and flexibility to objects or people. | Bouncing ball that flattens on impact and elongates mid-air. |
Anticipation | A preparatory movement before a main action. | To prepare the audience for a major action and make it more realistic. | A golfer winding up before swinging the club. |
Staging | Presenting an idea clearly to the audience. | To direct the viewer’s attention to the most important element in a scene. | A close-up on a character’s face to show their emotion. |
Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose | Two different animation workflows. | To choose a method that suits the desired result, from fluid spontaneity to planned drama. | Straight ahead for a fluid scene like a running dog; pose to pose for a character’s dramatic reaction. |
Follow Through & Overlapping Action | The continued movement of secondary parts after a main action stops. | To create realistic, non-synchronous movement that obeys inertia. | A character’s hair or cape continuing to move after they stop running. |
Slow In and Slow Out | Gradual acceleration and deceleration. | To make movements feel organic and natural rather than mechanical. | A car slowly accelerating and decelerating to a stop. |
Arcs | The natural curved trajectory of most movements. | To add fluidity and life to an object’s motion and avoid stiff, straight lines. | The path of a thrown ball or the movement of a character’s arm. |
Secondary Action | Smaller movements that support the main action. | To add depth and personality to a character’s performance. | A character swinging their arms as they walk, or a deer’s tail wagging. |
Timing | The number of frames used for an action. | To control the speed and rhythm of a movement, conveying weight and emotion. | A heavy object requiring more frames to move than a light object. |
Exaggeration | Pushing a movement beyond realism for emphasis. | To enhance a pose for greater clarity, humor, or emotional impact. | A character’s jaw dropping to the floor in shock. |
Solid Drawing (Posing) | Creating the illusion of three-dimensional form. | To give characters a sense of weight, balance, and volume. | A clear character silhouette that reveals their pose and action. |
Appeal | Creating a character that is visually engaging and relatable. | To make the audience care about the character and their story. | The design of a hero or even a villain, making them interesting to watch. |
This is arguably the most important principle. It’s the technique of changing a character’s or object’s shape to show that it has weight and is flexible . For example, when a ball hits the ground, it flattens out, or “squashes,” on impact and then stretches as it bounces back up . This effect, while exaggerated, is based on the real-world idea of elasticity and makes the object seem like it has mass . A key part of this principle is keeping the object’s volume the same; if it stretches up, it must get thinner from side to side . This rule makes the brain accept the change as a physical effect of force, not just a change in size.
Without squash and stretch, animation would look stiff and lifeless . The way it’s used depends on the style of the animation, from the extreme changes in classic cartoons like Bugs Bunny to the more subtle facial movements in modern CGI films from Pixar and DreamWorks .
3.2. Anticipation
Anticipation is a small movement that happens right before a big one. It’s used to get the audience ready for what is about to happen and to make the action look more real. This principle is based on how people and animals naturally move. Before a big action, like a baseball player winding up to throw a ball or a character getting ready to jump, there is a small, opposite motion that builds up energy.
The point of anticipation is to give the audience a “heads-up” and make them feel like the character is making a choice, not just being moved by some outside force. Without it, a character’s movements can seem robotic and unnatural . This principle is not only for large movements; it can be as small as a character’s eyes moving before their head turns or looking at an object they are about to grab . In video games, anticipation is a key tool that gives players the visual cues they need to react to an enemy’s next move, making the game more engaging
3.3. Staging
Staging is a principle from theater and film. Its goal is to guide the audience’s attention and make the main idea of a scene “completely and unmistakably clear” . This can be done by how a character is placed in the frame, how light and shadows are used, or by the camera angle . Staging is a basic part of visual storytelling, and animators are always thinking about it, much like a director.
This principle makes sure the audience stays focused on the important parts of the story and isn’t distracted by extra details. For example, a single, frozen pose can show a character’s emotion clearly if it’s staged well, with a clear outline and framing, like Belle’s annoyed face in Beauty and the Beast. Staging is a guiding principle that affects all the others; a perfectly timed or exaggerated movement is useless if the audience doesn’t see it.
3.4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose
These two principles describe two different but related ways to create animation.
Straight Ahead Action means animating each frame in order from beginning to end. This method is great for creating fluid, active, and unpredictable scenes, like a running dog. However, it can be hard to keep a character’s size and shape consistent throughout the scene.
On the other hand, Pose to Pose animation starts with the animator drawing a few key frames that show the main actions. The drawings in between those main poses are then filled in later. This method gives the animator more control, making it better for dramatic or emotional scenes where the timing and composition are more important. The best animators often use both methods, using Pose to Pose for the main structure of a scene and Straight Ahead Action for more spontaneous, fluid parts. With computer animation, this process has changed, as software can now create the in-between frames automatically, though the animator still needs to guide the process to make sure the final result is believable.
3.5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
Based on the rules of physics, this principle adds a crucial layer of realism and smooth movement to a character . Follow Through is when a character’s secondary parts, like hair, clothing, or a cape, keep moving for a moment after the main body has stopped . Overlapping Action means that different parts of a character or object do not move at the exact same time .
Without these principles, a character would move like a single, stiff object with no sense of weight or momentum. For instance, a princess’s dress will keep spinning for a moment after she stops a twirl, and a character’s hair and arms will lag behind their head during a quick turn. This fluid, non-synchronized movement is a visual cue that the character is made of many connected parts, each with its own physical properties, which makes the overall animation more believable.
3.6. Slow In and Slow Out
Also known as “Ease In, Ease Out,” this principle is based on the idea that most things in the real world don’t start or stop instantly. An object needs time to speed up and slow down. Animators achieve this by drawing more frames at the beginning and end of an action, and fewer frames in the middle.
This change in spacing mimics natural acceleration and deceleration, giving movements a sense of weight, momentum, and personality. A character’s arm that starts to move slowly, then speeds up, then slows down again, feels much more natural and real than a movement at a constant speed. This principle has been called a “magic trick” that makes cartoons feel “alive” because it changes a mechanical motion into a believable performance.
3.7. Arcs
This principle states that most natural movements, especially those of living things, follow a slightly curved path instead of a straight line. The path of a character’s limbs, a thrown object, or even the simple act of turning one’s head naturally follows a curved shape.
Without arcs, animation would look “stiff and mechanical,” like the jerky movements of a robot. By making movements follow curved paths, animators add fluidity, grace, and a clear sense of life to their characters and objects. The speed of these arcs can also be changed on purpose. For example, a movement that is so fast it blurs is called an “animation smear”.
3.8. Secondary Action
Secondary actions are smaller, supporting movements that add richness, depth, and personality to a character’s main action. While the main action is the focus of a scene—for example, a character walking or speaking—the secondary actions are the subtle details that give “color” and make the character feel more “human”.
The main rule for a good secondary action is that it must support the main action, not distract from it. Examples include a person swinging their arms as they walk, a deer’s tail wagging in relief after spitting out a bad leaf, or a character’s hair flapping in the wind as they run. These small, extra movements are key for showing a character’s internal thoughts and feelings without needing to use words.
3.9. Timing
Timing is a core principle that controls the speed and rhythm of an animation. It is defined by how many frames or drawings are used for a specific action. Timing is directly related to how heavy or big an object seems. A heavy object, like a bowling ball, will move slower and need more frames, while a light object, like a balloon, will move faster and need fewer frames.
Beyond physics, timing is also a powerful tool for showing a character’s emotional state. A character’s movements can show they are tired or excited, nervous or calm, just by their speed. For example, a character who fumbles for keys nervously moves differently than a confident person who zips through a task. By adjusting the timing, an animator can give a movement a purpose that goes beyond just motion.
3.10. Exaggeration
Exaggeration is the principle of pushing a movement or pose past what is realistic to make it clearer, more emotional, or funnier . It’s like drawing a caricature, where unimportant details are removed and the features the artist wants to highlight are made more extreme. The goal is to make a character’s emotional state or an action impossible to miss.
While many principles are based on realism, an animation that avoids exaggeration can look boring. Examples include a character’s jaw literally dropping to the floor in shock or their eyes getting impossibly wide in surprise.This intentional break from reality is what makes animation unique and allows for stronger emotional and comedic expression.
3.11. Solid Drawing (or Posing)
This principle, which started with 2D animation, is about making a character feel like it exists in 3D space, with a sense of weight, volume, and balance. It requires the animator to understand anatomy and perspective, making sure a character’s shape and form stay consistent from all angles.
In modern computer animation, this principle is now called “Solid Posing,” because the goal is still to create believable, weighty poses, even when the “drawing” is done by a computer. A helpful tool for this is the “silhouette rule,” which says that a character’s pose and action should be clear and easy to understand just from their outline. This principle is the basis for a character’s believability, ensuring they feel like a real person in their world, not just a flat image.
3.12. Appeal
The final principle is Appeal, which is about creating characters that are visually interesting, easy to relate to, and charismatic. It’s important to remember that “appeal” doesn’t just mean “cute” or “nice”; a villain also needs to have appeal to be interesting and memorable. Appeal is the result of a good design, personality, and performance that helps a character connect with the audience.5
The other eleven principles are the technical tools, but appeal is the ultimate goal. It’s where all the technical work comes together with artistic intention to create a character that the audience truly cares about. It’s what gives a character a “deep emotional resonance” and makes their story worth watching.
4. Modern Application: From 2D to 3D and Beyond
The animation principles, which were born from hand-drawn animation, have proven to work in any medium. They have “great relevance for today’s more prevalent computer animation” and other motion-based media because they are based on observing real life, not on the specific tools used.
In modern CGI and 3D animation, principles like Squash and Stretch are created using special tools in software like Maya or Blender that can change a model’s shape while keeping its volume the same . Similarly, the Pose to Pose workflow is the basis for modern keyframe animation, where animators set a few main poses and let the software fill in the rest. The principle of Solid Drawing has been changed to “Solid Posing,” where animators still focus on weight, balance, and form, but with a 3D model instead of a pencil.
The principles are not just for films. In visual effects (VFX), rules like Follow Through and Overlapping Action are essential for creating realistic effects, like a flag waving in the wind or a character’s hair moving . For video games, they are a key part of the player’s experience. For example, a character’s anticipation provides a crucial visual clue to the player, giving them time to react and making the action feel earned instead of random . This shows that the principles have successfully gone beyond their original use, becoming a universal language for motion design in all its forms .
5. The Emotional Toolkit: Principles for Dramatic and Comedic Effect
The real power of the 12 principles is that they can be changed and adjusted to create specific moods and emotions. The same principles that create realistic movement can be used to make something funny or seriously dramatic.
Principle | Comedic Application | Dramatic Application |
Timing | Fast pace for chases and slapstick; sudden stops to emphasize a reaction.9 | Slow, deliberate timing to build anticipation and suspense.9 |
Exaggeration | Exaggerated poses with minimal in-betweens for snappy movements; pushing facial features beyond realism.3 | Nuanced, subtle exaggerations, such as micro-expressions and eye movements, to convey complex emotions without dialogue.9 |
Staging | A “freeze frame” or sudden stop after a quick movement for comedic surprise; exaggerated, stylized framing.9 | Extended holds on key emotional poses to allow the audience to absorb a character’s feelings; synchronization with music and sound to reinforce mood.9 |
Arcs | A character moving in an absurd, elongated arc for slapstick.9 | Naturalistic, fluid arcs that add a sense of grace and realism.3 |
Slow In/Out | A slow, comedic “wind-up” before a rapid payoff.9 | Gradual acceleration or deceleration of movement to create emotional weight, such as a character hesitantly approaching danger.9 |
Comedy in animation often uses rhythm and physical surprises . Animators create humor by changing the timing with quick bursts of action, followed by sudden pauses or “freezes” to highlight a reaction . Exaggeration is a key tool for this, as it allows animators to push poses and facial expressions to a ridiculous level for clear and funny results . This can be seen in the fast timing of classic cartoons like Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, the funny character reactions in Pixar’s Toy Story, or the extreme facial expressions in anime like One Punch Man . The principle of anticipation can also be exaggerated to build audience expectation, making the final action even funnier .
5.2. Crafting Drama
For drama, animators use the same principles in a more subtle and careful way. Timing is often slowed down to build suspense, with long holds on important emotional poses to give the audience time to feel what the character is feeling. The principle of Slow In and Slow Out is used to show emotional weight, like a character slowly sinking into quicksand. Staging can be used to show a character’s isolation or inner struggle through special lighting, framing, and sound . In dramatic animation, subtlety is most important. Micro-expressions and small gestures can show complex emotions without any dialogue, as seen in emotional scenes from films like
The Lion King .
6. Conclusion: The Lasting Legacy of the Principles
The 12 principles of animation are not old-fashioned rules but a timeless toolkit for creating believable, dynamic, and emotionally powerful animation in any medium. They represent a basic understanding of how movement can be used to tell a story. What started as a set of rules to make drawings follow the laws of physics became a complete artistic language that works no matter what technology is used.
This report shows that each principle has a special purpose, from the physical rules of Squash and Stretch and Follow Through to the psychological and artistic ideas of Anticipation and Appeal. These principles give animators the power to do more than just make things move; they allow artists to give their creations a sense of purpose, emotion, and life. The principles are the lasting legacy of a group of animators who wanted to give their drawings a soul, and in doing so, they created a universal language that all animators still use today.
