Disney's 9 Old Men

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During the Golden Age of animation Disney's 9 Old Men worked tirelessly to push animation to it's limits and create some of the most well loved characters and films of all time. They worked on pretty much every Disney classic until the end of the Golden Age.  Snow White, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland are just part of the list of great films they helped animate.

Although they did did not invent animation they literally wrote the book on the qualities of great animation.  "Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life" is one of the greatest text books on animation ever written.  This book defines the 12 Principles of Animation, a set of concepts designed to help animators make their movement more lifelike and natural.  

The 12 Principles of Animation

Watch this clip from Disney's Pinocchio and look at how naturally objects are animated, the amazing use of light and shadow, and how amazing the painted backgrounds are.  Pinocchio is widely regarded as a master piece of traditional cell animation.  One of the reasons it is so great is its use of the Principles of Animation to make everything feel as if it were real.
  1. Squash & Stretch
  2. Anticipation
  3. Staging
  4. Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose
  5. Overlap & Follow Through
  6. Ease in & Ease Out
  7. Arcs
  8. Secondary Action
  9. Timing & Spacing
  10. Exaggeration
  11. Solid Drawing
  12. Appeal

1. Squash and Stretch

  • Gives the illusion of weight and volume
  • Objects & characters seem a little more like rubber.
  • Used often and important to master

2. Anticipation

  • Prepares audience for the next major action
  • Use before starting to run or jump
  • Think of a pitcher’s wind-up in baseball

3. Staging

  • Is the mise-en-scene of animation.  
  • Choose the best shot size & angle
  • Clearly communicate the scene’s idea and mood
  • Includes animation and background

4. Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose

Straight Ahead

  • Straight ahead starts with the first drawing and ends on the last
  • Can lose size, volume, and proportions as it progresses
  • Feels loose and spontaneous

Pose to Pose
  • Pose to pose uses "key" drawings for main body positions
  • Maintains consistency of size, volume and proportions
  • “In-between” drawings are filled in between each key pose.

5. Overlap & Follow Through

Overlap
  • Objects overlap when direction changes
  • e.g when a basset hound runs, its ears flop around
  • Used mostly for accessories, hair, tails etc...


Follow Through
  • Not all objects stop at once
  • e.g. when a whip is cracked, the arm moves first, the whip second
  • Shows physics of mass and momentum

6. Ease In and Ease Out

  • Softens the action
  • More drawings slow down the action
  • Fewer drawings speed up action
  • More drawings at the beginning and end than in the middle

7. Arcs

  • Most natural actions move in a arcing path
  • Arcs give animations a better flow
  • Straight movements are mechanical and stiff (Un-natural)

8. Secondary Action

  • A second action separate from the main action.
  • e.g. Walking and talking, arms swing, head bobs
  • All actions should work together

9. Timing & Spacing

Timing
  • More drawings slows down timing
  • Fewer drawings speed up action
  • Flash uses frames to count time

Spacing
  • Try acting out actions to figure out Timing & Spacing
  • Spacing is the distance moved over time
  • To appear faster, move objects further over the same number of frames

10. Exaggeration

  • Accentuation of an action or an idea
  • e.g Eyes bugging out of the face
  • This is one of the main reason’s to use animated storytelling
  • Can be use on:  physical features, expressions, body movements, scale, style, speed, and physics
  • Warner Brothers pushed exaggeration further than Disney

11. Solid Drawing

  • Drawings have weight and form
  • Objects and characters feel solid in 3D space
  • More than just good drawing
  • Characters should be considered from 360 degrees

12. Appeal

  • Characters should capture audience’s interest
  • Charisma and personality
  • More than just being cute
  • All characters should have appeal, not just heroes