The 12 principles of animation number 9#: follow through and overlapping

When a character stops the whole character doesn't come to a stand still some parts have to catch up like clothing, hair, arms this is called follow thorough this can be seen in many games like fable 3 where the hair bounces in the air while running. on the other hand is overlapping is when a character changes direction so the clothes and hair have to catch up this can be seen in assassin creed 3 when the characters clothing has to catch up with the player while running and jumping.

The 12 principles of animation number 8#: secondary action

a secondary action is an action which is caused by the first action for example jumping into the sea being the first action and the secondary action being the water bubbles going upwards through the water. an example is when princess peach in super smash bros brawl jumps her skirt becomes bigger to give a realistic action.

The 12 principles of animation number 7#: staging

staging is used to present an idea or scene to the audience which is clear to understand and may even direct the audience attention to whats most important. A good example of this is tomb raider as the environment is open and vast that the player is allowed to explore as the main objective of the game.

The 12 principles of animation number 6#: slow-in slow-out

when a action starts begins then starts to mold into the next action then the next action starts if that makes sense. the animator can then use slow-in and slow-out can then be used to soften the action allowing it to be a smooth and realistic action but it can also be used to create and dramatic or comical scene.

Character design: what I found out #1

Lajos Egri wrote a book called "The art of dramatic writing" which covers the basis of the bone structure for a character by following his check list it will influence their behavior.
check list:

• Physiology-sex,age, height, weight, appearance, district and physique
• Sociology- occupation, education, family life, friends, enemies and hobbies
• psychology- moral standards, goals, temperament, obsessions and intelligence

by using this the character become realistic when behaving towards events and towards characters.

  

The 12 principles of animation number 5#: Exaggeration

Exaggeration in animation can have two very different effects on the character or action. the first is the comical effect which is caused by distorting real life drawings a good example of this is "raving rabbids" Wii party game as the player can customize their rabbid by screwing their heads or blowing up their ears to exaggerate their look. On the other hand it can also give other the personality of the character more clearly as well as their mood which can be more interesting than real-life; an example of this is "The Sims" games as the Sims exaggerate their feelings to make their stories more interesting 

The 12 principles of animation number 4#: arcs

an arc is the edge of a section of a circle, if you were to follow the arc it would create a full circle. An example of this in reality is pendulum.
a good example is in kingdom hearts when the protagonist (Sora)  attacks with his keyblade, he uses an arc movement to allow his attack the furthest reach in his field of vision. this also is a good example if anticipation.
bad example: Tetris because when the pieces are being rotated they don't arc they just turn but by not arcing it does not waste time in game play when the pieces are falling down fast. 

The 12 principles of animation number 3#: squash and stretch

squash and stretch is used to give an object a feeling of realism by using gravity upon it, a easy example to understand is when a ball gets squashed when it hits the floor and stretches back to its original form as it heads away from the ground. another example that relates to games is how a character can squash and stretch when jumping, running, walking etc.  

The 12 principles of animation number 2#: anticipation

anticipation is all about getting ready for an action for example when someone is about to kick a ball they lift there foot aim then kick the ball making it move. a good example is when you are about to slash somebody with your weapon in fable 3 as the character throws their arm back in to a position where they gain strength as the player we know whats going to happen next. in games the anticipation has to be instant to when the player presses the button or else it can look instantaneous instead of believable.
on the other hand final fantasy XIII while in exploration mode the jumping animation seems like an exaggerated hop instead of realistic jump due to the lack of anticipation. 
anoth example i recently found was a glitch when climbing in assassin creed 3 the anticipation for the character to climb sometimes upwards sometimes misses a action to make it realistic

the 12 principles of animation: number 1# appeal

the characters have to be appealing to the audience for the audience to take an interest in them; there are several ways to make a character appealing the extremes being really cute like the cats in the kinectimals game for the Xbox 360, to being sardonic or eerie like the little sitters in the Bioshock game.
a screenshot from the kinectimals game
concept art of a little sister from bioshock