AnimateIt

Animation 101 refers to foundational educational courses, tutorials, or bootcamps designed to teach absolute beginners the core rules, tools, and technical workflows of animation. Depending on the medium or platform you are looking into, “Animation 101” covers a few highly recognized frameworks and software options: 🎭 The 12 Principles of Animation

Almost every introductory animation class begins with the 12 Principles of Animation, famously standardized by Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas:

Squash and Stretch: Gives objects a sense of weight and flexibility. Anticipation: Prepares the audience for a major action. Staging: Arranging elements to make the narrative clear.

Straight Ahead vs. Pose to Pose: Drawing frame-by-frame vs. drawing key frames first.

Follow Through and Overlapping: Actions continuing after the character stops.

Slow In and Slow Out: Gradual acceleration and deceleration. Arcs: Natural actions that typically follow curved paths.

Secondary Action: Smaller movements supporting the main action.

Timing: The spacing and number of frames used for an action.

Exaggeration: Pushing a movement past reality for stylistic effect.

Solid Drawing: Creating a three-dimensional illusion on a 2D canvas.

Appeal: Creating charisma and visual interest in a character. 💻 Common Beginner Softwares & Tools

Introductory bootcamps and classes generally teach the basics using one of these entry-level platforms:

Stop-Motion: Tools like I Can Animate / Animate It! (originally created in partnership with Aardman Animations) introduce users to frame capturing, time-lapses, and onion skinning.

2D Vector Animation: Industry-standard spaces like Adobe Animate or Toon Boom Harmony teach timeline layering, bone rigging, and keyframing.

Puppet & Character Animation: Classes like Adobe Character Animator 101 teach users how to turn raw graphic illustrations into expressive puppets using motion tracking and live recording. 📚 Essential Introductory Learning Resources

If you are looking to teach yourself, these are widely considered the gold standards for beginners:

The Animator’s Survival Kit: Written by Richard Williams, this book is universally recommended in university and online “101” courses as the definitive manual.

Online Platforms: Digital course aggregators like Skillshare and specialized training sites like 2D Animation 101 offer structured step-by-step videos spanning storyboarding, asset setup, and rendering.

Watch an introductory guide on stop-motion framework mechanics to understand timeline editing and frame capture workflows: How to use Animate It! YouTube · Sep 11, 2012

Are you looking to learn a specific style of animation (like 2D, 3D, stop-motion, or web UI animation), or are you trying to find a specific software tool or course named AnimateIt? Let me know so I can point you to the right resource! Animate It! – Kudlian Software