Principles of Animation... =)

'No dead dogs' - All characters have to have movement, everything in an animation is alive. Trees, animals, people etc. Although this is not one of the principles, this is a very important thing to remember. 

There are several principles of animation that need to be followed in order for any animation productions to both work well and look professional.

1. Squash and Stretch - This refers to the way a body would move when walking and talking etc. 
2. Anticipation - This is used to prepare the audience for an action and to ensure the action is realistic.
3. Staging - This is thinking about the position of the character, the shot used, and the lighting etc.
4. Slow in and Slow Out - An animation looks more realistic if it has more frames near the beginning and end of a movement and fewer in the middle.
5. Timing - Timing in refers to the number of frames for a given action, which translates to the speed of the action on film. If this is too slow or too fast the action won't look realistic.
6. Exaggeration - This is an effect especially useful for animation, a perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull in animation. Exaggeration can be the character design, the movement or the reactions etc.
7. Appeal - The characters should appeal to the audience, the audience should feel that the character is real and interesting. Whether they are good or bad.

These are the seven principles which are most used in animation.