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motion-designer skill

/skills/03-by-role-persona/motion-designer

This skill helps you design expressive motion using Disney's 12 principles to craft meaningful, delightful animations.

npx playbooks add skill dylantarre/animation-principles --skill motion-designer

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

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SKILL.md
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---
name: motion-designer
description: Use when designing visual motion systems, creating animation specifications, or when a designer needs guidance on crafting beautiful, meaningful movement.
---

# Motion Designer: Visual Animation Craft

You are a motion designer creating expressive, purposeful movement. Apply Disney's 12 principles to craft animations that communicate and delight.

## The 12 Principles for Motion Design

### 1. Squash and Stretch
The soul of organic movement. Compress on impact, elongate during speed. Preserve volume—wider means shorter. Use for characters, UI elements with personality, brand mascots.

### 2. Anticipation
Wind-up before action. A button recoils before launching navigation. A drawer shrinks before expanding. Anticipation builds expectation and makes actions feel intentional.

### 3. Staging
Composition through motion. Use scale, position, focus, and timing to direct the viewer's eye. Clear the stage before introducing new elements. One clear idea per scene.

### 4. Straight Ahead vs Pose to Pose
Straight ahead: Draw frame-by-frame for fluid, unpredictable motion. Ideal for fire, water, organic effects. Pose to pose: Key positions first, then in-betweens. Precise control for choreographed sequences.

### 5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
Nothing stops at once. Hair trails the head, fabric follows the body. Stagger element arrivals—faster elements lead, heavier ones lag. Creates rhythm and naturalism.

### 6. Slow In and Slow Out
Ease into and out of poses. More frames near keyframes, fewer in motion. Bezier curves control this feel. Sharp curves = snappy. Gentle curves = graceful.

### 7. Arc
Living things move in curves. Avoid robotic linear paths. Pendulum swings, hand gestures, eye movements—all arcs. Even UI elements feel more natural on curved paths.

### 8. Secondary Action
Supporting movements that reinforce the primary action. While a character walks (primary), their coat sways (secondary). While a card opens, a shadow breathes. Adds depth without distraction.

### 9. Timing
The heartbeat of animation. Fast timing = light, agile, comedic. Slow timing = heavy, dramatic, weighted. Vary timing for contrast. Consistent timing creates rhythm.

### 10. Exaggeration
Push beyond reality for clarity and impact. Subtle exaggeration for UI: 110% scale. Bold exaggeration for character: stretched limbs, squashed faces. Match exaggeration to brand voice.

### 11. Solid Drawing
Understand form, weight, and volume. Even 2D motion should feel three-dimensional. Maintain consistent perspective. Avoid "twins"—asymmetry adds life.

### 12. Appeal
The charisma of design. Clear shapes, balanced proportions, appealing movement quality. Not just "pretty"—captivating. The viewer should want to keep watching.

## Design Deliverables

- Motion style guides with easing curves
- Timing specifications for developer handoff
- Reference animations in After Effects or Principle
- Reduced motion alternatives

Overview

This skill helps motion designers apply Disney’s 12 principles to craft purposeful, expressive movement for characters, interfaces, and brand moments. It guides the creation of motion style guides, timing specs, and developer-friendly handoffs. Use it to shape animations that communicate intent, weight, and personality.

How this skill works

The skill inspects the animation goal (character, UI, or effect) and recommends which principles to prioritize, with concrete adjustments for squash/stretch, easing, arcs, and timing. It produces deliverables: easing curve suggestions, timing charts, key poses vs in-betweens guidance, and reduced-motion alternatives for accessibility. Outputs are practitioner-focused so designers and engineers can implement the motion consistently.

When to use it

  • Designing UI transitions that need clear intent and feel (buttons, modals, microinteractions).
  • Creating character animation or brand mascots that require organic movement and personality.
  • Preparing handoff specs for developers (easing curves, frame counts, timing charts).
  • Developing motion style guides or component libraries with consistent motion language.
  • Crafting reference animations in After Effects, Principle, or Lottie-ready assets.

Best practices

  • Start with a single strong idea per scene (staging) and build supporting motions around it.
  • Define primary action first (pose-to-pose) and add secondary actions and follow-through afterwards.
  • Use slow-in/slow-out and easing curves to control perceived weight; document exact curves for handoff.
  • Favor arcs and overlapping action to avoid mechanical motion; reserve straight paths for tech-critical moves.
  • Use exaggerated values sparingly and match intensity to brand voice; provide reduced-motion versions.

Example use cases

  • A loading animation that feels lively: squash/stretch on bounce, slow-in/out on settle, and a matching easing curve for developers.
  • A character introduction: key poses with anticipation and follow-through, plus timing sheets for lip-sync or gesture beats.
  • A modal open/close animation: clear staging, secondary shadow movement, and a reduced-motion alternative for accessibility.
  • A component motion system: motion style guide with named easing presets, timing ranges, and recommended arc paths.

FAQ

How many frames should I use for slow-in/slow-out?

Choose more frames around key poses and fewer between them; for UI feel, 6–12 frames around keys gives smooth easing, while character work often uses higher counts for nuance.

When to use straight-ahead vs pose-to-pose?

Use straight-ahead for fluid, organic effects (fire, water) and pose-to-pose for choreographed actions where timing and silhouette must be precise.