# exaggerated-clarity

This skill helps make key animation moments easier to read. Use it to shape comedy, action, or story beats where subtle motion may get lost.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 496 installs · ★ 129
- Author: dylantarre
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/HEAD/skills/02-by-thinking-style/exaggerated-clarity/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2025-12-30
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/exaggerated-clarity

## What it does

The skill gives guidance on pushing poses, facial expressions, timing, and motion so a character’s intent comes across clearly. It applies animation principles through deliberate exaggeration, including stronger silhouettes and sharper differences between fast action and stillness.

For motion that feels unclear, it recommends making poses bolder, holding extreme positions longer, and cutting busy secondary movement. If the result feels too cartoony, it suggests reducing squash and stretch and allowing more time for the motion to settle. Keep the scene’s internal logic and the character consistent; exaggeration should clarify the action, not turn it into parody.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill exaggerated-clarity -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/exaggerated-clarity/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/exaggerated-clarity/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill exaggerated-clarity -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/exaggerated-clarity/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill exaggerated-clarity -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/exaggerated-clarity/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install dylantarre/animation-principles exaggerated-clarity
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/exaggerated-clarity/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill exaggerated-clarity -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles --path skills/02-by-thinking-style/exaggerated-clarity
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/exaggerated-clarity/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill exaggerated-clarity -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/HEAD/skills/02-by-thinking-style/exaggerated-clarity/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- make a character pose read clearly in silhouette
- separate a quick action from a held pose
- show emotion through expression and reaction
- trim distracting secondary movement
- tone down squash and stretch in cartoony motion

## Example prompts
- Make this pose read more clearly without changing the character’s personality.
- Suggest timing for a strike with a long windup and a brief action.
- This motion feels unclear; suggest which poses to push and what secondary movement to remove.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 67901d871a0266d1.

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```text
---
name: exaggerated-clarity
description: Use when motion needs to read clearly and powerfully—broad comedy, action highlights, important story beats, or any moment that must unmistakably communicate to the audience.
---

# Exaggerated Clarity

Think like a stage actor projecting to the back row. Subtlety is lost at speed. Your job is to make every intention unmistakable—amplify truth until it can't be missed.

## Core Mental Model

Before animating any key moment, ask: **Would this read from 50 feet away?**

Animation isn't reality—it's reality turned up to 11. Exaggeration isn't lying; it's telling the truth louder. Real life is too subtle for the screen.

## The 12 Principles Through Amplification

**Exaggeration** — The principle itself. Push every quality further than reality. Happy becomes ecstatic. Sad becomes devastated. Fast becomes blurred with speed.

**Staging** — Exaggeration needs clear framing. Silhouette tests: does the pose read as a black shape? If the attitude is unclear in silhouette, push the pose further.

**Squash & Stretch** — The most visible tool of exaggeration. Compress more than physics allows. Stretch beyond anatomy. The impossibility creates impact.

**Anticipation** — Exaggerated windup demands exaggerated payoff. Big anticipation sets up audience expectations—then exceed them.

**Timing** — Contrast creates clarity. Super-fast action against held poses. The extremes are what register. Middle speeds blur together.

**Solid Drawing** — Exaggerated proportions must still feel solid. A character stretched to absurdity should still have convincing mass. Volume creates believability within impossibility.

**Appeal** — Bold choices are appealing. Audiences respond to confidence. Timid exaggeration reads as mistake; committed exaggeration reads as style.

**Follow Through & Overlapping Action** — Exaggerate the delay. Let secondary elements trail dramatically. Hair that whips, clothes that swirl—push the physics of follow-through.

**Secondary Action** — Amplify supporting details. If a character is nervous, make their foot tap comically fast. Secondary action underscore primary emotion.

**Arcs** — Exaggerated motion follows exaggerated arcs. Wide sweeping curves for broad gestures. The bigger the arc, the more readable the motion.

**Slow In & Slow Out** — Extreme easing creates snap. Very slow buildup, instant action, extended settle. Contrast in timing is exaggeration in the time domain.

**Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose** — Exaggeration usually works better pose-to-pose. Plan your extreme poses, then push them 30% further before connecting them.

## Practical Application

**Exaggeration Scales:**
- Realistic: 100% (reference)
- Feature animation: 120-150%
- Broad comedy: 150-200%
- Squash-stretch animation: 200-300%
```
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