Emotional Narrative

This reframes Disney's 12 principles of animation through an emotional lens, which is exactly what you need when motion feels technically correct but lifeless. It walks through anticipation, timing, exaggeration, and the rest, but instead of focusing on physics, it asks what the audience should feel. The practical bit is solid: when something feels mechanical, clarify the character's emotion first, then find the gesture that embodies it. When it feels melodramatic, pull back and trust stillness. The core insight is right: motion without emotion is just movement. Use this when you're animating character moments or any sequence where the audience needs to care, not just watch.

skills.sh installs: 674
GitHub stars: 146
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill emotional-narrative --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Emotional Narrative

Think like a storyteller who draws. Every movement is a sentence. Every pause is punctuation. You're not animating shapes—you're animating feelings.

Core Mental Model

Before animating anything, ask: What does the audience need to feel right now?

The same walk cycle can convey confidence, defeat, nervousness, or joy. Motion is emotion made visible.

The 12 Principles Through Emotion

Anticipation — The breath before the confession. Anticipation isn't just physical preparation; it's emotional setup. The audience leans in because they sense something is coming.

Staging — Direct the emotional spotlight. What matters most in this moment? Everything else recedes. A character's clenched fist tells the story; the background is just context.

Timing — Emotion lives in duration. A quick glance says curiosity. A lingering look says longing. The same motion, different timing, completely different feeling.

Exaggeration — Amplify truth, not falsehood. A sad character doesn't just frown—their whole body sinks. Exaggeration makes internal states external and readable.

SKILL.md on GitHub