Exaggeration – The Tenth Principle | Principles Of Animation

EXAGGERATION – In this topic, we will now discuss and learn the tenth principle of the 12 principles of animation, exaggeration.

The 12 principles were introduced by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, both of which are Disney animators who wrote this in their book called The Illusion of Life: Disney.

The tenth principle, by dictionary definition, refers to a statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is or the action of making statements that represent something as better or worse than it really is.

In relation to animation, according to AnimationMentor, suggest that an action can be way MORE than what is implied. This aims to create the perfect imitation of reality and it depends on the audience whether they seek realism or a stylized one.

For example, a person would emote more than he/she used to. The level of exaggerating should also apply to the nature of things since it is harder to overdo it than the other way around.

We can use some of the 12 principles in order to achieve this principle. Here are the following:

Squash and Stretch
- Of course, the first principle can be used by squashing and stretching the object literally but you have to mind the proportions
Staging
- One example you can do to combine the two principles are increasing or decreasing the amount of negative space around a character.
Arcs
- Doing so will make the character more grounded and at times you create arcs where they never were in your reference.
Secondary Action
- Doing so will enhance the intensity of the action.
Timing
- This makes a great impact on your animation. Like secondary action, the quick or slow timing can enhance emotional intensity.

Here is a simplified video of the tenth principle, again by Alan Becker, the creator of the famous “Animator vs Animation” series.