Animation Principles Universal Reference

Dylan Tarre built this as a reference for Disney's 12 principles of animation, structured so you can use it whether you're starting out or working at an advanced level. Each principle gets a core concept, beginner application, advanced technique, and key insight. It's handy when you're implementing motion design or animations and need to quickly check what makes something feel right versus mechanical. The format is clean and you can scan it fast during actual work. With 42 stars on GitHub, it seems to have found an audience among developers doing animation work who want the fundamentals without digging through full textbooks.

GitHub stars: 70
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill 'Animation Principles - Universal Reference' --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Animation Principles - Universal Reference

Disney's 12 principles work at every skill level. Here's each principle with scalable depth.

1. Squash and Stretch

Core idea: Objects deform to show motion and impact. Beginner: Ball flattens when it hits ground. Advanced: Volume must remain constant. Facial animation uses micro-squash for expression. Key insight: Even "rigid" objects can use the principle through camera shake or motion blur.

2. Anticipation

Core idea: Prepare the viewer for action. Beginner: Crouch before jump. Advanced: Anticipation size controls audience expectation. Absence creates surprise. Key insight: Every action that needs to read clearly needs setup.

3. Staging

Core idea: Present one clear idea at a time. Beginner: Put important things where viewers will look. Advanced: Silhouette test, negative space, compositional psychology. Key insight: Confusion is never the viewer's fault.