How to Test Whether Squash and Stretch Improves a Character Action

Pick a short action with a clear event to communicate, such as landing from a jump, pushing a heavy object, or recoiling after contact. Write down what you want a viewer to notice. For a landing, that might be “the character’s feet hit the ground, the body absorbs the impact, and the character settles.” This gives you a specific question to test instead of asking whether the animation simply looks better.

Squash and stretch can support a sense of a character’s material and movement, but it works alongside other principles such as timing, staging, anticipation, and follow-through. Disney Animation describes these as principles used together in character performance. An academic discussion of the principles also cautions against applying them as a formula without considering the character and the action. Disney Animation’s filmmaking process, The Uses and Abuses of Cartoon Style in Animation

Create two versions from the same animation. In version A, keep the body shape unchanged. In version B, add squash or stretch only where it serves the action. Match the camera, framing, character, background, pose timing, and playback speed. Avoid changing the anticipation, impact pose, or follow-through between versions: if you change several things at once, you will not know which change affected the result.

For a first pass, export short clips and label them with neutral names such as A and B. Show them in randomized order to a few people who have not heard your explanation. This is a practical comparison method, not a formal research study; a small group can reveal obvious confusion, but it cannot establish a universal preference.

Ask viewers to describe what happened, without suggesting the answer. For example: “What did the character just do?” and “Which moment felt like the contact?” Note whether people identify the intended action and event consistently. Then ask which version made the action easier to read, and what specifically they noticed. Separate clarity from preference: someone may like the more elastic version while still finding the action harder to follow.

Observe where eyes go and whether the deformation obscures the face, hands, feet, or contact point. Microsoft’s overview of animation principles notes that staging directs attention, timing helps communicate an action’s nature and weight, and exaggeration needs balance. Those points support a useful diagnostic: if the added shape change attracts attention away from the action’s key pose, it may be undermining the intended staging. Microsoft’s Animation Principles

Watch both versions at the speed and size where the animation is intended to be seen. First play each clip once without pausing. Then replay and inspect the impact or strongest deformation frame. A pose that looks appealing when held still may be too brief, too extreme, or visually unclear in motion. Microsoft’s overview describes timing as a factor in how an action reads and notes that movement can draw attention; judging only a paused frame misses that timing context. Microsoft’s Animation Principles

If the action is meant to read at a small size, include that size in the comparison. You can also temporarily view a silhouette to check whether the changed contour clarifies the body’s compression or extension. Treat this as a diagnostic rather than a pass-or-fail rule: silhouette alone may hide useful facial expression or surface detail.

Inspect the deformed pose from the camera angle used in the shot. Does the body still feel like the same character? Does the deformation suggest the intended flexibility, or does the form appear to change material unexpectedly? A research paper on stylized skeletal animation describes squashy and floppy effects as artist-controlled deformations that can stylize physical-looking motion; it supports treating their amount and placement as artistic choices rather than a universal preset. Velocity Skinning for Real-time Stylized Skeletal Animation

Compare the result with the character’s established style and with nearby actions. A broad deformation may suit a highly elastic character but feel inconsistent in a restrained performance. The Animation Studies article discusses how animation principles interact with style and argues that squash and stretch can communicate different qualities depending on the movement phrase. The Uses and Abuses of Cartoon Style in Animation

If viewers understand the action equally well in both versions, squash and stretch may be adding style or texture without improving clarity. Keep it only if that expressive contribution is useful. If the deformed version is less clear, try reducing the amount, shortening the deformation, or moving it so it coincides more clearly with the action’s force or release. Change one variable at a time and compare again.

If viewers disagree, look for a pattern in their descriptions. Some may read the deformation as impact while others see it as a wobble or a change in the character’s material. That suggests a specific revision: clarify the contact pose, adjust timing, or make the deformation more consistent with the character’s style. Do not assume that increasing the squash will solve ambiguity; the staging or action itself may need attention.

Keep the change when the intended action remains easy to identify and the deformation adds a useful cue, such as compression at impact or extension during a fast movement. Revise it when it competes with the key pose, makes the character’s shape hard to track, or suggests an unintended action. Remove it when it adds no useful cue for this shot or conflicts with the chosen style.

The comparison does not prove that one version will work for every audience or screen. It gives you evidence about this action, in this presentation, from the viewers you asked. Record the version, the intended cue, the questions you asked, and the recurring observations. That creates a concrete basis for the next adjustment and keeps the decision tied to what the shot needs to communicate.

• Animation — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Uses and Abuses of Cartoon Style in Animation — Animation Studies
• Animation Principles — Microsoft Learn
• Velocity Skinning for Real-time Stylized Skeletal Animation — arXiv