: Giving an object flexibility and the illusion of weight as it reacts to gravity.
: Ensuring motion follows natural, curved paths rather than robotic straight lines. The Evolution: From Paper to Pixels Animation The Mechanics of Motion
The story of animation mechanics is a transition from the to the mathematical . The #1 Animation Principle (How To In-Between) : Giving an object flexibility and the illusion
This discovery laid the groundwork for the Twelve Basic Principles of Animation later codified by Disney. These principles are the fundamental "mechanics" that make a character feel like it has weight and volume: Animation The Mechanics of Motion