So, what are the 12 Basic Principles of Animation and why should you care about them? The goal of the principles is to bring life and excitement to any animation – to take the mediocre and make it exceptional. Originally created by Disney animators for hand drawn animation, these are principles that anyone hoping to create quality animations should know and use.
HISTORY
Long ago, probably before you or I knew the meaning of the word “animation,” two of the great original Disney animators, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, compiled a book based on their many years of experience in pioneering the art form. “The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation,” is still considered to be the “gospel” of the animation industry, and gave the world its first official introduction to the 12 Basic Principles of Animation.
While they were originally meant for hand-drawn animation, these principles are still greatly beneficial in computer animation, whether you are animating a character or a logo. So, here they are, along with some ways in which they apply specifically to After Effects.
THE PRINCIPLES:
1. SLOW IN/SLOW OUT
We’ll get the easiest one out of the way first! We know that objects don’t immediately spring into motion at full speed, or come to dead stops; they accelerate and decelerate. Most After Effects users are already familiar with this principle, thanks to the built-in “Easy Ease In/Out” functions.
Straight out of the box, hitting “F9” with a keyframe selected (or right-clicking to pull up the context menu) is a big step toward creating fluid movement, but there are other tools that can take this to the next level as well. I prefer, and strongly recommend, Ease and Wizz by Ian Haigh.