This paper is about a 2 1/2-D animation system, termed RUFIAS (from RUbbery FIgure Animation System), that is utilized for the creation of computer animation sequences which have the look and feel of traditional hand-drawn animation productions. RUFIAS provides a user interface where various basic methods of animation specification are provided, of which an approximated dynamic motion specification technique and motion curve based animation are the most important, and where various character drawing methods are provided, of which parameterized outline drawing and free-form skeleton object drawing are the most important. RUFIAS is implemented on state-of-the-art graphics workstations, allowing an interactive (as well as real-time) creation of animation sequences by means of direct manipulation.