The twelve principles of animation: the alphabet of movement
A tour of the rules Disney’s studio set out that still underpin every believable movement.
March 2026 · 1 min read
In the 1930s, the animators at Disney’s studio set out twelve principles that still underpin how animation is taught, from hand-drawn 2D to today’s 3D. They are not tricks but a description of how our eye reads real movement.
The first four are worth memorising: squash and stretch, which gives objects weight; anticipation, which prepares the viewer for a move; staging, which guides attention; and slow in and slow out, which lets no motion begin abruptly.
