In the real world, the basic laws of physics were first described by Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. In the world of animation, however, we owe the laws of physics to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Working for the Walt Disney Company in its heyday of the 1930s, these two animators came up with the 12 basic principles of animation, each of which can be used to produce the illusion of characters moving realistically in a cartoon.
Which is why the 12 Basic Principles of Animation are so important. Thomas’ and Johnston’s 12 principles have now been turned into a wonderful animated primer, thanks to motion artist Cento Lodigiani. Using just a cartoon cube, Lodigiani makes the 12 principles of animation–from squash and stretch to secondary action-immediately understandable, regardless of your training.
