Squash & Stretch
The purpose behind squash and stretch is to give a tangible sense of weight and/or flexibility to a drawn/imported object. This can be employed in overly exaggerated scenarios to create caricatures and/or flamboyancy often resulting in a comical effect. Yet in reverse, maintaining realism requires a solidity that performs exactly opposite to comical animation. Very tiny amounts of squash and stretch, as the volume/mass of an object cannot change.
Anticipation
This serves to evoke a more convincing, realistic animation by 'building' the movement before the focal movement. (Such as a dragon leaning back to breathe fire, a knight slamming a hammer into the ground would begin with the heft, then a drag, then the final impact). To use anticipation as a comical tool, one would need to omit the realistic anticipation.
Staging
This principle is the decisions to be made on lighting, focus position, shadows, procession through the frame etc. Essentially, keep the focus on what is intended, and don't let unnecessary elements dilute the focus. Principle is also evident in cinematography and theatre.
Straight ahead action - Pose to Pose
Animated sequences occur through either drawn/photographic compilation means, wherein every frame is planned, and executed, be that photos or drawings. This is known as 'straight ahead action'. Pose to pose animation is the pre-planned pose storyboard system, wherein computing is used to connect the pose positions. Sometimes however, the animations outcome is far too lax, so further revision can be needed.
Follow Through and overlapping action
This is a general heading for two closely functioning principles/techniques which help to render movement and give the impression characters follow the established laws of physics. The 'follow through' means that certain appendages will still be moving after the torso/centrepiece has stopped moved. 'Overlapping Action' is the principle that different parts of the animated body will move on different timings. This could be used to achieve a sense of realism, or a comical aura.
Slow-in Slow-out
The movement of the human body, and any other object with perceived weight needs time to accelerate and/or slow down. This means that the more drawings/model variations closer to the action poses will make the animation appear more realistic, by emphasising the extreme poses. This principle can apply to animate, and inanimate objects.
Arcs
Most natural/biological movement occurs through an arcing trajectory, which means animators must adhere to this rule to construct more realistic kinetics. This can apply to a limb rotating at the joint, or a an object projected through a parabolic trajectory. Machinations/machine movement does not abide to this rules, as most machinery moves in straight lines.
Secondary Action
Adding secondary action to an animation gives a scene more life, and can help to support the main action. A human walking can do any amount of movements simultaneously with walking. Arms swinging, head bobbing, head turning etc. The importance of secondary action is the complementation to the main action. It however should always be more subtle than the main action, otherwise it may compromise the scene as a whole.
Timing
This refers to the frequency/amount of drawings to be included in an animation process, which translates the speed of the animation. (similar to BPM in music). On observation, accurate timing intervals can increase the degree to which an animations appears t abide to the laws of physics.
Exaggeration
This principle is particularly useful in cartoon animation, as a perfect imitation of reality can appear static, or dull. To exaggerate, is to stand out from the regular, thus making an animation more memorable, as well as more intriguing.
Solid drawing
This principle pertains to using form in 3 dimensions to accurately represent weight, proportion and volume. An animator, for this principle, needs to be an adept draughtsman, and be able to comprehend and replicate anatomical systems effectively. The creation of 'twins', or two sides of one character that look identical was a common mistake in the foundations of technical animation.
Appeal
Appeal corresponds to what is known as 'charisma'. An appealing character may not be a sympathetic character - monsters and villains can hold an appeal also. The importance lies in convincing the viewer/audience that the character is real, and must exhibit some form of personality in their movement - distinctive from the everyday movements that we all witness.
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