Principles of Animation

Series Summary

An animated cartoon usually refers to a series of drawings that correspond to each other in some way such that, if put together in sequence and run at high speed, they create the effect of live action…what we now know as moving pictures or “movies.” While in some ways we are far removed from the days of William Horner and the zoetrope, the fundamental principles of motion, optics, and human vision still govern the modern world of animation. Computers have taken the field a giant step forward, allowing for a more streamlined 3D animation process, adapting the techniques of stop motion animation. Above all though, the driving force behind the art and craft of animation is mankind’s desire to create, to imitate the anima, the breath and living soul of a thing, to bring an idea to life.

In this free video series on how to draw animated cartoons, learn the fundamental techniques and principles that guide the development of any animation idea. Our expert will walk you through some of the basic processes to animate your drawings and sketches, including materials needed, how to plot a movement path, how to draw keyframes, how to copy keyframes to separate frames, how to test your animation for timing issues, how to digitally capture your drawings, how to ink your frames, and other helpful tips. Now you have all you need to start creating!

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Cable on behalf of Expert Village. A couple of very important principles of animation are squash and stretch and timing. These very important concepts are what give animation a lot of its appeal and what people like to see. For example the classic animation of a bouncing ball give the illusion that a ball really has weight and elasticity and it squashes and stretches. There is a few steps that we can take to make a simple bouncing ball demonstration. The principle of squash and stretch gives a drawing a illusion of weight by making a sphere even flatter or narrower gives the illusion that it has skin and it is bouncy. The principles of timing animation has to do with how many frames you are drawing between your key frames. If a object is to move slower you need more drawing frames. If a object is to move faster you would need least drawing frames. "