From drawing to animation: the bridge few people mention

Animation is drawing that moves in time. One of the twelve principles is called solid drawing: every frame must be a correct drawing on its own, with proper volume, balance and form. Software will not give you this; a trained eye will.

That is why at university, before we ever reach the software, we spend months on basic drawing, anatomy and perspective. The portraits I draw in pencil are training for the same eye that must later make movement believable.