12 Principles of Animation: Timing

The last principle, according to my personal chronological order, is Timing. With timing, texture to the movement of characters in order to assert a meaning to an action, depending on how many frames have been used to execute it. In other words, the same action but with a different number of frames elaborating upon it (as it all has to do with a variety of slow and fast actions) creates a different meaning, a different purpose of said action. However, timing requires experience to be effective, and it takes a while for animators to master the technique to their fullest benefit. Furthermore, timing can also define the weight of objects, as the momentum of the movement elaborates on inertia, which can be altered with timing. For example, if a character were to turn his head to the right suddenly, there would be less frames for the movement, while if he did so if he were scared (slowly), there would be more frames.

Tom and Jerry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykSSxb--LqQ

Tom, upon hearing the vacuum, turns around slowly (more frames), exhibiting his fearful emotions. If it were to be done quickly, different timing, the effect would not be established.