Animating in 2D

•         Disney's Twelve Basic Principles of Animation is a set of principles of animation introduced by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation (This is a great resource if you are interested in animating)(Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas are two of Disney's Nine Old Men; Disney's core animators known as Animation Legends). Johnston and Thomas based their book on the work of the leading Disney animators from the 1930s onwards, and their effort to produce more realistic animations. 
• 
  
•         The main purpose of the principles was to make an illusion of characters who's movements follow the basic laws of physics, but they also dealt with more abstract issues, such as emotional timing and character appeal.

The 12 Principles

1. Squash and Stretch
2. Anticipation
3. Staging
4. Straight ahead action and pose to pose
5. Follow through and overlapping action
6. Slow in and slow out
7. Arcs
8. Secondary Action
9. Timing
10. Exaggeration
11. Solid Drawing
12. Appeal