- Stretch and squash – This technique is the action of squashing and stretching a character or object. This technique materialises the object or character by giving the illusion of mass and flexibility.
- Timing and motion – This consists of giving meaning to the object. The timing or motion of an object can help the viewer grasp the weight of the object or speed of the action.
- Anticipation – This technique helps the viewer foreshadow or perceive a movement of a character or object. This could be an object teetering before falling or a character is winding up a punch. This is so the viewer and can easily follow the animation.
- Staging – This technique is the use of motion to guide the viewer attention across the scene. This means that an important part of the scene would be the most animated, so that’s the focus rather than the leaves or the birds in the background.
- Follow through and overlapping action – When parts of an object may be moving at different rates this is considered as overlapping and when a person stops, but the hair keeps moving this is called follow-through. This makes objects seem less stiff while moving and can be used to exaggerate speed.
- Straight ahead and pose-to-pose action – Straight ahead action is frame-by-frame animation where you draw each individual frame which usually is the best, but the longest process for animation. Then pose-to-pose you create an animation using keyframes where only necessary frames are done by use and in-between frames are created by the computer. This is an easier and more cost-effective method.
- Slow in and out – This is when an object moves slowly and gains momentum the more it moves. This is to simulate the action of gaining speed like a car and the same for when the car brakes it will slow out to simulate it coming to a halt. This is done by using more frames when they’re moving slowly and less the quicker it goes.
- Arcs – Arcs is when an object or character moves in an arc-like when the character jumps at an angle or when a ball is tossed. This simulates gravity pulling the object.
- Exaggeration – For this technique, you simply exaggerate a movement or action. This makes the animation seem more dynamic or interesting rather than static or boring.
- Secondary action – This is the action a character or object does be before the main action. It adds more dimensions to a scene, like a character may take a heavy step forward before punching to emphasise the power of the punch.
- Solid drawing – This action is keeping consistent in your drawing while animation. This is so the world stays constantly the same and immersive to the viewer. It is understanding how to draw in a 3D space and being consistent.
- Appeal – This is making sure that your world and animation is easy to read and understand for the viewer. This is important for the viewer to be able to read the design, so they can understand what’s going on.
