Principles of Design

Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. 

 

Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually the artist will make one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. 

 

Movement is the path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. Such movement can be directed along lines, edges, shape, and color within the work of art.  

 

Pattern is the repeating of an object or symbol all over the work of art 

 

Repetition works with pattern to make the work of art seem active. The repetition of elements of design creates unity within the work of art.  

 

Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well with each other. When drawing the human figure, proportion can refer to the size of the head compared to the rest of the body. 

 

Rhythm is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement. Rhythm creates a mood like music or dancing. To keep rhythm exciting and active, variety is essential. 

 

Variety is the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention and to guide the viewer’s eye through and around the work of art.  

 

Unity is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the work of art, which creates a sense of completeness.  

 

(Programs used: Microsoft Paint) 

(Source: The Principles of Design, The Getty Museum Education) 

 

 

12 Principles Of Animations

Here are the 12 Principles of Animation with a small description.

[1] Squash and stretch: The most important principle is "squash and stretch", the purpose of which is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to drawn objects.
[2] Anticipation: Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for an action, and to make the action appear more realistic.

[3] Staging: Its purpose is to direct the audience's attention, and make it clear what is of greatest importance in a scene

[4] Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose: "Straight ahead action" means drawing out a scene frame by frame from beginning to end, while "pose to pose" involves starting with drawing a few key frames, and then filling in the intervals later.

[5] Follow Through and Overlapping Action: Follow through and overlapping action is a general heading for two closely related techniques which help to render movement more realistically, and help to give the impression that characters follow the laws of physics, including the principle of inertia.


[6] Slow In and Slow Out: The movement of the human body, and most other objects, needs time to accelerate and slow down. For this reason, animation looks more realistic if it has more drawings near the beginning and end of an action, emphasizing the extreme poses, and fewer in the middle.

[7] Arc: Most natural action tends to follow an arched trajectory, and animation should adhere to this principle by following implied "arcs" for greater realism.

[8] Secondary Action: Adding secondary actions to the main action gives a scene more life, and can help to support the main action.

[9] Timing: Timing refers to the number of drawings or frames for a given action, which translates to the speed of the action on film.

[10] Exaggeration: Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for animation, as perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull in cartoons. The level of exaggeration depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style, like a caricature or the style of an artist.

[11] Solid drawing: The principle of solid drawing means taking into account forms in three-dimensional space, giving them volume and weight.

[12] Appeal: Appeal in a cartoon character corresponds to what would be called charisma in an actor. A character who is appealing is not necessarily sympathetic – villains or monsters can also be appealing – the important thing is that the viewer feels the character is real and interesting.

Thanks for reading! :)
(Source: Wikipedia, Animation.in, MIT AIM)

Welcome to My Blog! (My first post)

A Very Warm Welcome to everyone reading this post! My name is Zakaria Ridouh and im in 6 period 2D Animation. My number is #18. This blog link is: (http://zaks2dblog.blogspot.com/)
Thanks for stopping by to check out my 2D Animation Blog for the awesome class conducted by Bryan Farley (Check out his extraordinary pics at http://www.bryanfarley.com/).
My favorite Disney Character: Donald Duck
This is officially my fist blog post. I will be posting about animation on this blog. Thanks for passing by!
The Quote of the day: "Nature abhors a vacuum."