5 essential animation principles for motion design

The use of motion design animation is not only found in the entertainment industry, but also for businesses in showcasing content in more engaging and meaningful ways. Because of this, motion designers are highly demanded for their unique set of skills in producing quality animations and related videos. You just might be on the lookout for reflecting your art in creative ways. But, if you are serious about motion design, here are 5 essential animation principles you need to know about.

Slow in and slow ouT

In motion design, you will need to make sure that the objects you capture for your animation is reflect as realistically as possible. Depending upon the object, you will need to consider factors, such as the impact of lighting, shadows, physical descriptions, and a lot more. For this, you will have to ensure that the particular object has a high number of time frames at the start and end of the animation, and fewer in between. The object requires time to increase and decrease its speed. Therefore, the appropriate number of individual frames need to be positioned, for an accurate depiction of the object.

Choose proper timing

A key element of quality animations is choosing the right timing as it helps to depict the object in an almost realistic manner. Proper timing will help you reflect the correct weight and movement of your objects. In contrast, if you choose the wrong timeframe, it will impact the quality of your objects in a negative manner.

Say you want to show a leaf falling to the ground. If you choose the wrong timing, it can cause the leaf to fall too quickly, which would look odd and unrealistic. If you are designing business-centered animation for customers, you will also need to balance the flow of text in relation to that of the objects you choose to show in your animation.

Anticipate for realistic movements

Just as important timing is, so is anticipation. In this, the motion designer adds movements to an object to prepare the audience for a particular movement. For instance, to show a fighter throwing a punch with his right hand, the designer needs to show him moving his feet taking a particular position and twisting his shoulders and right hip backwards.

The quality of an object's anticipation is determined by how well it conforms to its speed. The better the anticipation, the smoother and fluid will be the animation.

Squash and Stretch

The natural effects of squash and stretch are the two most important principles in producing an accurate movement of an object. The purpose behind it is to give a natural feel of its weight and flexibility. This can best be described by an animation of a bouncing ball. When the ball hits the ground, it will include stretch to show the impact of the force. Adding these details is very important in enhancing the look and feel of the object.

Secondary action

A motion designer should also give emphasis on secondary actions. These are added to enhance primary actions. One example of this could be a fighter whose punch causes his arm muscles to vibrate or the ripples or how droplets of water bounce off from the ground during rain.