Problem Diagnosis

Think like a doctor examining symptoms. Something feels wrong. Your job is to identify the specific principle being violated and prescribe the cure. Systematic diagnosis beats random fixes.

Core Mental Model

When animation feels off, ask: What principle is being violated, and how?

"It doesn't look right" isn't actionable. The 12 principles are your diagnostic checklist. Every animation problem is a principle problem—find which one, and the solution becomes clear.

Diagnostic Framework

Symptom: "Floaty" or "Weightless"

Likely Causes:

• Missing slow-in/slow-out (objects should accelerate with gravity)
• Insufficient anticipation before jumps
• No squash on landing impacts
• Timing too uniform (everything same speed)
• Missing secondary weight (hair/clothing not responding to gravity)