What are some tips and tricks for animating animal characters with realistic anatomy and behavior?

1 Study your reference

The first and most important tip is to study your reference. Observe how animals move, interact, and express themselves in different situations. You can use videos, photos, books, or even visit a zoo or a wildlife park to see them in person. Pay attention to the details, such as the shape and size of their bones, muscles, fur, feathers, scales, etc., and how they affect their silhouette and motion. Also, notice how their eyes, ears, mouth, and tail convey their emotions and intentions.

2 Use layers and breakdowns

The second tip is to use layers and breakdowns to create your animation. Layers allow you to separate different parts of the body and animate them independently. For example, you can animate the torso, head, legs, and tail on separate layers, and then blend them together. Breakdowns are the key poses that define the transitions between the extremes. They help you to create smooth and natural arcs, overlaps, and follow-throughs. For example, you can use breakdowns to show how the spine bends, the legs stretch, and the tail swings as the animal runs.

3 Apply the 12 principles

The third tip is to apply the 12 principles of animation to your animal characters. These are the basic guidelines that help you to create believable and appealing animation. They include squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, straight ahead and pose to pose, follow through and overlapping action, slow in and slow out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal. For example, you can use squash and stretch to show the elasticity and weight of the animal's body, anticipation to show the preparation for an action, and secondary action to show the subtle movements of the fur or feathers.