12 Principles of Animation
4. Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose
The 12 principles of animation are guidelines created by ex-Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. They were made to teach animators how to create lifelike characters. This post will explain one principle.
Straight ahead action and pose-to-pose are two different ways of animating movement. With straight ahead action, the animator draws one frame, then the next, and so on until the scene is complete. With the pose-to-pose approach, the animator draws a few frames throughout the scene to get the timing and motion right, then goes back and fills in missing frames.
So if I animate a character throwing a ball with pose-to-pose, I’d draw a frame of him pulling back, then one of the ball leaving his hand, then one with the ball in the air. After this is done, I’d draw all the frames that go in-between. With straight ahead action, I’d draw from beginning to end.
The benefit to straight ahead action is that it often results in a smoother motion. The issue is that it’s hard to plan ahead, and sometimes proportions can get messed up. With pose-to-pose it’s easier to keep things uniform, but you sacrifice some fluidity.
