1. SQUASH & STRETCH

Following the list of The 12 Principles of Animation in Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's book  "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life"  ,  I will post clips of the animation they use to illustrate the principles, along with some additional explanatory drawings. 

Squash and Stretch - 

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. How extreme the use of squash and stretch is, depends on what is required in animating the scene. Usually it's broader in a short style of picture and subtler in a feature. It is used in all forms of character animation from a bouncing ball to the body weight of a person walking. This is the most important element you will be required to master and will be used often.


                                       

Squash and Stretch is demonstrated by the famous animation exercise of animating a Flour Sack moving and emoting - 

          
 

In this example Frank and Ollie compare early animation of Oswald the Rabbit chewing (with some rudimentary use of Squash & Stretch on the face) with a more sophisticated application of Squash & Stretch principle by Les Clark in "The Country Cousin", as Abner the country mouse chews -






Chewing action (squash & stretch on face) , Looped several times -



Examples of Squash & Stretch used for intentionally comic Distortion effect: 


        (sorry , some of these scans from the book got cut off at the edges by the scanner .  GET THE BOOK !  You'll be glad you did) 






The following examples of SQUASH & STRETCH action (which also show ANTICIPATION) are used by Frank and Ollie to illustrate how the Disney studio's animation technique progressed .  In both clips the villain Peg Leg Pete performs a similar action, hoisting up his belt , causing his considerable bulk to squash and stretch , but notice in the second clip how much more exaggerated the use of Squash & Stretch had become in a few short years. 



Peg Leg Pete Squash & Stretch Action from "Shanghaied" (1934) -



Pete (no longer with a "peg leg") Squash & Stretch Action from "The Riveter" (1940) -



Remember doing the "Bouncing Ball" Exercise ?  See how it applies to a character: 


(Gus animation drawings by Scott Petersen .  He has an excellent series of animation tutorials that are worth purchasing: http://www.goldenstreetanimation.com/#!animation-training-dvds/c1hxt  )

In his book "Character Animation Crash Course" , Eric Goldberg reminds us that when Distorting (Squashing or Stretching) a character or object that the VOLUME of the character must remain consistent:



Tracy J. Butler shows how Squash & Stretch applies to the facial features :

From the tutorial "Notes on Expressions" .

http://lackadaisy.foxprints.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=333

2. ANTICIPATION

Anticipation -

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. A comic effect can be done by not using anticipation after a series of gags that used anticipation. Almost all real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitcher's wind-up or a golfers' back swing. Feature animation is often less broad than short animation unless a scene requires it to develop a characters personality.

This example from Preston Blair's book "Cartoon Animation" shows Anticipation as the character pulls back before jumping forward to grab the butterfly:

Here is a diagram of the principle from Blair's book: 

You'll see anticipation when a character winds up to deliver a punch  ... first they pull their arm back , then thrust forward .  Or if a character is going to swing a golf club or a baseball bat , first they swing it up in the opposite direction before they take their swing.  

You can probably recall seeing this sort of thing a hundred times in various cartoons:  a character will demonstrate Anticipation before exiting a scene by pulling their body up and back in the opposite direction (with leg raised up) before launching into a walk or run out.  - 

  


Before he runs across to screen right , Donald Duck anticipates downward , jumps up in the air , and then launches into his run.  Using an anticipatory action accents the main action (fast run to the right).



In this second example ,  before he grabs the gun from Mickey , Donald moves upward and reaches back with his arm , before moving forward to grab the gun  -



Anticipation is also used for things like vehicles , such as this car anticipating and then rapidly accelerating , from the film "Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro"  -

This scene of Pablo the penguin demonstrates Anticipation (and also Squash & Stretch , and Secondary/Overlapping action)  as he reacts to something , jumps up (anticipation) , then scrambles into his igloo -



Elmer the Elephant anticipates by moving to the left and then moving down as he shoves his hands into his pockets,  before he turns to walk out towards screen right:


(this also shows the principle of "Slow-in" , as he moves up into the key pose reacting to the
off-screen laughter of the other kids taunting him, before he turns to walk away)

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In this scene you can see the principle of anticipation as Elmer pulls himself up and back before he kicks, and again when he moves his head up and back slightly before moving forward as he is blowing his nose -

(also note other principles at work:  strong poses/line-of-action/clear staging/follow-through/overlap/squash & stretch/exaggeration/appeal)




This animation of Tillie the tiger getting ready to blow out the candles on her birthday cake shows the principle of ANTICIPATION , as well as Follow-Through and Overlap and Slow-in (more about those principles later) .






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3. STAGING - clarity of drawing and composition

Staging 

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. There is a limited amount of time in a film, so each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate to the overall story. Do not confuse the audience with too many actions at once. Use one action clearly stated to get the idea across, unless you are animating a scene that is to depict clutter and confusion. 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.

Examples of effective STAGING cited by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in "The Illusion of Life" - 

                           

(sorry, some of these scans got cut off around the edges)



Dopey (on Sneezy's shoulders) dances with Snow White :


(I had some trouble uploading this movie clip . If it doesn't play in the interface, try this link:
Staging_Dopey_Sneezy.mov )



          

These animation roughs by Fred Moore show his masterful sense of staging and appeal .

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Animator/teacher  Hanna Abi-Hanna,  created this video to demonstrate how a master animator can use effective STAGING to lead the viewer's eye , to create a center of interest in the composition . (this is especially important when animating two characters in dialogue ,  to direct the viewer's eye to the character or the point on the screen you want them to look at) -



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Part of strong STAGING  (also "Solid Drawing" and "Appeal")  is the use of clear LINE-OF-ACTION and SILHOUETTE value in your drawings. 

Here are some examples from Disney and other studios - 

From Mark Kennedy - http://sevencamels.blogspot.com/2010/04/kick-in-head-part-one.html

More Notes on  Silhouette Value , from handouts prepared by Eric Larson and Walt Stanchfield:

"Line of Action" from Preston Blair's classic book on Animation : 

      

From Sherm Cohen: http://shermcohen.deviantart.com/art/SpongeBob-Storyboard-Notes-255210415

  
      
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See these links for more specific information about STAGING scenes when you are Storyboarding or Laying-Out a scene: 

http://www.floobynooby.com/wordpress/drawing-and-composition-for-visual-storytelling/

http://theartcenter.blogspot.com/search/label/Storyboarding

http://www.animationmeat.com/pdf/televisionanimation/strybrd_the_simpsonsway.pdf

http://shermcohen.deviantart.com/art/SpongeBob-Storyboard-Notes-255210415

Dreamworks Storyboarding Notes 

⇒ See Chapter 7  'On Layout and Staging"  in the book "Character Animation Crash Course"  by Eric Goldberg.   (if you don't have this book then GET IT ! ) 


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4. STRAIGHT AHEAD and POSE TO POSE ANIMATION

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. You can lose size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and freshness. 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. The lead animator will turn charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better used with this method so that the animator doesn't have to draw every drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this way and concentrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of both methods of animation.

Straight Ahead example given in "The Illusion of Life" - 


Straight-ahead animation of Goofy and Horse by Woolie Reitherman , from "El Gaucho Goofy" . 




Pose to Pose example in "The Illusion of Life" - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6BnuLAqjM8

Animation by Fred Moore from "The Three Caballeros" -
     


This just scratches the surface .  There are MANY other examples of  "Straight Ahead"  and  "Pose-to-Pose" animation which could be posted .  The most common method tends to be Pose-to-Pose , but as Frank and Ollie point out:

"Many scenes use a bit of both methods of animation."

(Also refer to "The Animator's Survival Kit"  by Richard Williams,  page 57 - to - 68 , which covers this topic in some detail)

5. FOLLOW THROUGH AND OVERLAPPING ACTION

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. "DRAG," in animation, for example, would be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and clothes do not keep up with his legs. In features, this type of action is done more subtly. Example: When Snow White starts to dance, her dress does not begin to move with her immediately but catches up a few frames later. Long hair and animal tail will also be handled in the same manner. Timing becomes critical to the effectiveness of drag and the overlapping action.


From "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life"  page 59 , an example of Follow Through and Overlapping action .  Animated by Les Clark, from the film "Mickey's Grand Opera" (released 1936)   .    The authors write:  "Squash & Stretch have now been combined with follow through and overlapping action on the feather and other parts to give a feeling of weight and living form" .






Again, the authors use this example shown earlier (to show Anticipation) which also showed the development of the principles of follow-through and overlapping action  (on Elmer's ears , trunk, and costume) : 




⇒ If it isn't obvious by now , I should mention that it's very difficult to separate these Principles from one another as distinct examples of just ONE principle in play ... all good animation will involve ALL of the 12 Principles of Animation being utilized .   Depending on the type of action it is you might emphasize some of the principles more than others , but there would never be a time where you would consciously decide : "well, I'm only going to use 5 of the Principles in this scene and ignore the others " .   

This scene of Minnie Mouse shows a lot of follow through and overlapping action, as well as the principle of "Slow-in" at the end as she comes to a stop  - 



Magician Mickey shows solid use of follow-through and overlap on the cloth , as well as strong use of squash and stretch , arcs, slow-in/slow-out  (as well as the other principles) - 



In this scene Tillie the tiger shows Follow-through and Overlap (as well as "Slow-in") as she says "OH!" and clasps her hands together . Notice as she goes up into the extreme she doesn't just hit a dead hold and stop there , but she continues in a "moving hold" (retaining the basic key pose , but continuing to move and settle subtly) , while her costume details also overlap and settle -

(in the movie clip this action is repeated several times to let you see it more clearly) 



Again , this fine example by Preston Blair shows all the Principles of Animation in play , but particularly the strong use of follow-through and overlapping action on the loose bits of the character (tail, ears, costume) which give great flow and believability to the action  - - 

(the last two drawings would probably have several more inbetweens added to show the tail, ears , and his costume settling and slowing-in to a stop several frames after his head and body have reached their final positions.  So it doesn't all come to a stop at the exact same time .)

A 1940's era Disney training handout on Follow-Through and Overlap -  




In Eric Goldberg's "Character Animation Crash Course" he shows clothing has drag, follow-through, and overlap : 


Another example from Eric Goldberg's book (a GREAT resource, GET IT if you don't have it )  showing the Principle of Overlapping action with these key drawings of Norman falling into the scene and sitting up:

Notice the multiple application of drag and overlap on these poses to make the action appear to flow naturally.
I find that a common mistake students make would be to go from drawing #1 (of him falling -in)  to drawing #3 (contacting the ground)  then they will just do three or four straight-in-the-middle inbetweens from #3 up into drawing #7 (last drawing) and come to a stop  , skipping the other positions shown in this example , which robs the student's work of the necessary drag and overlap for the action to flow naturally. 

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6. SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN

SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN

As action starts, we have more drawings clustered near the starting pose, fewer drawings in the middle of the action as the action accelerates, and more drawings clustered near the next pose. 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. For a gag action, we may omit some slow-out or slow-ins for shock appeal or the surprise element. This will give more snap to the scene.

The Principle of "Slow-Out" and "Slow-In" is difficult to isolate as a specific principle apart from the others  ... you'll see slow-outs and slow-ins used constantly in full character animation. 

 

Here's an example I used above to show overlapping action ,  but it also shows SLOW-IN .  As Minnie Mouse enters the scene she is moving at full speed , then as she looks and sees something off-screen she slows-in to the pose where she looks  ... then she does a quick reaction as she jumps back in surprise , and then slows-in to the final pose :

Again, with an example used above ,  Tillie the tiger blows out the candles on her birthday cake .  As she goes from her first pose up into the anticipation pose (inhale) she slows-out of the first pose , slows-in to the inhale ,  then as she moves forward into the pose blowing out the candles she slows-in to the last pose:





Sophisticated use of  the "Slow-Out/Slow-In" principle can be seen throughout this animation of the 7 Dwarfs (by Frank Thomas) as they sneak into the bedroom, thinking there is a monster in their bed.  Notice Slow-out and Slow-in on the careful sneak action ,  then Slow-in as they draw back in surprise at around the 0:08 - 0:09 mark , then again at the end as they raise their tools getting ready to attach the "monster" , but then lower them as they realize that it's a girl in their bed , not a monster. 




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This example from "The Animator's Survival Kit" by Richard Williams shows SLOW-OUT and SLOW-IN .  Notice the inbetween spacing chart at the beginning of the action from  Pose (A) to Pose (B)  has many more drawings clustered closer to the start drawing A (this is SLOW-OUT) and at the end of the action there are many more drawings clustered around the end position B (SLOW-IN) . 


(notice Richard Williams refers to this as "Cushion-In" .  "Cushion-Out/Cushion-In" is synonymous with "Slow-Out/Slow-In" .  Sometimes aka "Ease-Out/Ease-In" .  Also notice he's discussing a further refinement of the "Cushion-In/Slow-In" principle by using a "MOVING HOLD" , which is the use of a third extreme  (C) to keep the figure alive and moving , but still retaining the basic pose as at (B) , so instead of Slowing-In to a full hold at (B)  we keep the figure continuing back slightly into (C) with additional closely spaced inbetweens.  This is a known as "Moving Hold" .)

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In it's most basic form , the principle of Slow-Out /Slow-In can be seen in this example from "The Animator's Survival Kit" using a coin to show the difference between Even Spacing  and Spacing that has Slow-Out and Slow-In : 



In both these examples the Starting Position of the Coin and the End Position of the Coin are exactly the same , and it takes exactly 24 frames for the coin to move across in both examples ,  BUT notice how much different the action is withe the coin SLOWING-OUT at the start and SLOWING-IN at the end of the action and vice-versa as the action repeats in reverse , in a loop. 

Version 1  NO Slow-Out or Slow-In - 

Version 2 - With Slow-Out and Slow-In - 

Also see this video referenced at the end of the post below on TIMING and EXAGGERATION :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRVhtMxQWRs   

(more on that a few posts down ... )