Timing, spacing, squash & stretch
Bouncing Ball
The ball speeds up as it falls, flattens on impact, and stretches on the rebound. Frames bunch near the top of each arc and spread out near the ground.
Animation Examples
The best way to understand movement is to watch it closely and take it apart. Each example below is a small, looping exercise you can study to see how motion is constructed frame by frame — and which animation principle makes it work. When one clicks, open the tutorials to go deeper, then rebuild it yourself in the editor.
Preserving volume
Squash & Stretch
A shape squashes wide on landing and stretches tall as it leaves the ground, while its overall mass stays constant so it never looks like it grows or shrinks.
Key poses & looping
Walk Cycle
A repeating stride built from four key poses — contact, down, passing and up — with the body bobbing up and down as the weight shifts from foot to foot.
Fast timing & holds
Blink
A blink is over in just a few frames. The eye holds open, the lid snaps shut and reopens quickly — a compact lesson in how fast timing reads on screen.
Anticipation & squash and stretch
Jump
A crouch winds up the action (anticipation), the body stretches as it leaps, then squashes as it lands — three ideas working together in one move.
Gravity, ease-in & impact
Falling Object
An object accelerates under gravity, so its spacing widens as it drops, then it squashes on impact and settles. A clear demonstration of ease-in.
Overlapping action & offset timing
Simple Wave
Each element starts its motion a fraction after the one before it. That small offset is what turns a row of parts into a flowing, travelling wave.
Arcs & in-betweens
Character Turn
A turn rotates along a curved path rather than snapping between two views. The in-between frames trace that arc so the motion feels smooth and three-dimensional.
Ready to build one yourself?
Pick an exercise, open the editor, and recreate it frame by frame. Studying an animation is good; rebuilding it is how it sticks.