As a business owner or marketer, you know the importance of standing out in a crowded marketplace and capturing the attention of your target audience. With the rise of digital media, animation has become a powerful tool to achieve this. Whether it’s a short explainer video or a complex brand animation, the right use of animation can help you communicate your message in a way that is both engaging and memorable.

But creating effective animation requires more than just technical skill. To truly stand out, you need a deep understanding of the principles that drive good animation.

This is where the 12 principles of animation come in. Developed by the pioneers of Disney animators, these principles are a proven blueprint for creating high-quality animations that captivate and engage your target audience.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the 12 principles of animation in detail and show you how to apply them to your branding and marketing efforts.

Whether you’re looking to create animations that sell products, tell stories, or simply build brand recognition, this guide will provide you with the knowledge and inspiration you need to succeed.

So, let’s dive in and learn how to harness the power of animation for your business!

The 12 Principles of Animation: An Overview

The “12 principles of animation” are a set of guidelines that have been developed by the pioneers of Disney animators. These principles serve as a roadmap for creating animations that are both engaging and effective in communicating a story or message.

Here are the 12 principles of animation that we will cover in this blog post.

  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. Arc

  8. Secondary Action

  9. Timing

  10. Exaggeration

  11. Solid Drawing

  12. Appeal

The 12 principles of animation provide a foundation to create fundamentally sound animation, whether it be hand-drawn or computer-generated. By putting the 12 principles of animation into practice, businesses and brands can create fundamentally sound animations that are both visually engaging and effective in communicating their message.

Whether it’s through the use of straight lines to convey motion or by demonstrating physical principles through a bouncing ball, animation can be a powerful tool in helping businesses and brands captivate their target audience and achieve their marketing and branding goals.

In the following sections, we will explore each of the 12 principles in greater detail and show you how to apply them to your animation projects.

1. Squash and Stretch

The principle of squash and stretch refers to the concept of stretching and squashing objects to give them a sense of weight and elasticity. This adds a level of realism to animation and helps convey the physical properties of an object.

2. Anticipation

Anticipation refers to the act of preparing the audience for a significant event or action in an animation. This could be a character tensing up before a jump or a ball winding up before being thrown. Anticipation creates tension and increases the impact of the action that follows.

3. Staging

Staging is about presenting the scene in a way that is clear, convincing, and dramatic. This involves positioning characters and objects in a way that creates a clear focus, hierarchy, and sense of space.

4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose

Straight-ahead action is a more spontaneous and improvisational approach to animation, while pose-to-pose involves planning out keyframes and then filling in the action between them. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and the choice of which to use often depends on the individual project.

5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action

Follow-through refers to the way that objects or appendages continue moving after the main action has stopped while overlapping action involves having multiple actions occur simultaneously to create a sense of chaos or complexity. These principles help add a sense of realism and energy to animation.

6. Slow In and Slow Out

Slow in and slow out refers to the idea of easing into and out of actions, making them feel more natural and believable. This is achieved by slowing down the beginning and end of action while moving more quickly in the middle.

7. Arc

The principle of arc refers to the idea that most actions in the real world follow a naturally curved path. This includes movements like swinging a golf club, throwing a ball, or nodding your head. By incorporating arcs into animation, the movement feels more natural and believable.

8. Secondary Action

Secondary action refers to adding additional movements to an animation to reinforce or emphasize the main action. This could be something as simple as a character blinking while speaking, or as complex as adding a series of gestures to emphasize a point.

9. Timing

Timing refers to the number of frames or drawings used to complete an action and the pace at which they are displayed. This has a significant impact on the feel and emotion of animation and must be carefully considered to achieve the desired effect.

10. Exaggeration

Exaggeration refers to the idea of taking something real and amplifying it for comedic or dramatic effect. This could be anything from making a character’s eyes bulge out in surprise to making an object move faster than it would in real life.

11. Solid Drawing

Solid drawing refers to the concept of creating objects and characters that have a sense of weight, mass, and volume. This helps create a sense of realism and makes it easier for the audience to understand and relate to the objects on the screen.

12. Appeal

Appeal refers to the level of likeability and empathy that an audience feels towards a character or object in an animation. This is often achieved through a combination of design, movement, and personality, and is a crucial element in creating successful animation.

Also read: 10 Best Practices on How to Storyboard an Animation

Leveraging the Principles of Animation for Effective Branding and Marketing

Animation has become a powerful tool for businesses and brands to communicate their message and engage with their target audience. By incorporating the 12 principles of animation into their work, businesses, and brands can create animations that are both memorable and impactful.

Whether used to explain a product or service, promote a brand message, or simply entertain an audience, animation offers a range of benefits that can help businesses and brands achieve their marketing goals.

Here are the benefits of applying the principles of animation techniques for your marketing efforts.

1. Captivating the Audience’s attention

In a crowded and fast-paced digital world, capturing and holding the attention of your target audience is a critical component of successful branding and marketing. The use of animation can play a key role in achieving this goal.

By incorporating the 12 principles of animation, businesses, and brands can create animations that are both memorable and impactful, helping to increase engagement and establish a stronger emotional connection with their audience.

The principles of animation, such as squash and stretch, anticipation, and staging, allow businesses and brands to create animations that are visually appealing and engaging. These principles help to bring life and character to animated characters, making them more relatable and interesting to the audience. This, in turn, helps to capture the audience’s attention and keep them engaged throughout the animation.

2. Communicating Complex Ideas

When it comes to educating target audiences on new products and services, communicating complex information can be a challenge. But with character animation, businesses and brands can simplify these concepts, bringing them to life and making them more easily accessible and understandable for their audience.

Animation is an effective way to communicate complex ideas, as it provides businesses and brands with a visual medium to convey information engagingly and memorably. With the help of animated characters, visual aids, and creative storytelling, businesses and brands can present complex information in a way that is both easy to understand and entertaining to watch.

3. Building Brand Recognition and Awareness

Animation can play a vital role in increasing brand recognition and building brand awareness. By creating unique and memorable animations that align with their brand messaging, businesses and brands can differentiate themselves from their competitors and establish a stronger connection with their target audience.

Disney animation has been a prime example of how animation can bring a brand’s messaging and values to life, creating a memorable and impactful experience for the audience. With its visually captivating and emotionally engaging storytelling, Disney animation has not only entertained millions of viewers but has also established strong brand recognition and awareness.

The use of vivid characters, dynamic movements, and engaging storylines in Disney animation showcases how animation can be an effective tool for businesses and brands to increase brand recognition and build brand awareness.

Examples of the 12 Principles of Animation Technique in Brand Marketing

Let’s take a look at some of the brands that use the 12 principles of animation techniques in their campaigns.

1. Nike

Nike’s “Write the Future” campaign used the principles of anticipation, staging, and follow-through to create an exciting and captivating advertisement showcasing the brand’s products.

2. Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Factory” campaign used the principles of squash and stretch, exaggeration, and appeal to create a whimsical and memorable advertisement that emotionally connected with its audience.

3. Apple

Apple’s iconic “Think Different” campaign used the principle of slow in and slow out to create a smooth and stylish animation that effectively communicated the brand’s messaging.

4. Samsung

Samsung’s “The Next Big Thing is Here” campaign used the principle of timing and spacing to create a fast-paced and dynamic advertisement showcasing the brand’s products.

5. Old Spice

Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign used the principle of an exaggeration to create a humorous and memorable advertisement that captured the audience’s attention.

In addition to these specific examples, the principles of animation can also be used to improve the overall quality and effectiveness of branding and marketing content. This includes everything from product demonstrations to explainer videos, and even social media content.

By taking the time to understand the 12 principles of animation and how they can be applied to branding and marketing, businesses and brands can create animated content that stands out and effectively communicates their message. Whether you’re a marketing professional, creative, or business owner, incorporating these principles into your work can have a significant impact on the success of your campaigns.

Also read: How Much Does Animation Cost? Check This Out!

Take Your Branding and Marketing to the Next Level with Superpixel

In today’s digital age, computer animation has become a crucial tool for businesses and brands looking to stand out and effectively communicate their message to their target audience.

With its captivating ability to hold attention, simplify complex ideas, and enhance brand recognition, computer animation is a versatile and powerful tool that can help businesses and brands achieve their marketing and branding objectives.

At Superpixel, we understand the importance of animation in branding and marketing, and we are dedicated to helping businesses and brands create animations that effectively communicate their message and connect with their target audience.

Our team of experienced animators and designers has the expertise and knowledge to bring your brand’s story to life, using the 12 principles of animation to create animations that are engaging, memorable, and impactful.

From 2D and 3D animation to corporate videos, infographics, and explainers, we have the expertise and experience to achieve your business needs. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to stand out in a crowded market and achieve your marketing goals.

Contact us today to learn more!