12 Principles of Animation
6. Ease In, Ease Out
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.
Ease in, ease out (also called slow in, slow out) is the technique of giving an object more frames at both the beginning and end of a motion. This results in a movement that is slow, then fast, then slow again. This is done because in reality things usually need a second to accelerate and slow down. A car doesn’t immediately hit top speed when you press the gas, and it can’t stop on a dime. Ease in, ease out is a way to translate this into animation. So more frames are drawn at the start and end of a motion, and fewer frames are drawn in the middle.
