Method of creating moving pictures
2D computer animation moving at 10 frames per second (FPS)
The
bouncing ball
animation above consists of these six frames repeated indefinitely.
Animation
is a filmmaking technique by which
still images
are manipulated to create
moving images
. In
traditional animation
, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (
cels
) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the
entertainment industry
. Many animations are
computer animations
made with
computer-generated imagery
(CGI).
Stop motion animation
, in particular
claymation
, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.
Animation is contrasted with
live-action film
, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many moviemakers have produced
films that are a hybrid of the two
. As CGI increasingly
approximates photographic imagery
, filmmakers can easily
composite
3D animations into their film rather than using
practical effects
for showy
visual effects
(VFX).
General overview
[
edit
]
Computer animation
can be very detailed
3D animation
, while 2D computer animation (which may have the look of traditional animation) can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth, or faster
real-time renderings
. Other common animation methods apply a
stop motion
technique to two- and three-dimensional objects like
paper cutouts
,
puppets
, or
clay figures
.
A
cartoon
is an animated film, usually a
short film
, featuring an
exaggerated visual style
. The style takes inspiration from
comic strips
, often featuring
anthropomorphic animals
,
superheroes
, or the adventures of human protagonists. Especially with animals that form a natural predator/prey relationship (e.g. cats and mice, coyotes and birds), the action often centers on
violent
pratfalls
such as falls, collisions, and explosions that would be lethal in real life.
The illusion of animation?as in motion pictures in general?has traditionally been attributed to the
persistence of vision
and later to the
phi phenomenon
and
beta movement
, but the exact neurological causes are still uncertain. The illusion of motion caused by a rapid succession of images that minimally differ from each other, with unnoticeable interruptions, is a
stroboscopic effect
. While
animators
traditionally used to draw each part of the movements and changes of figures on transparent cels that could be moved over a separate background, computer animation is usually based on programming paths between
key frames
to maneuver digitally created figures throughout a digitally created environment.
Analog
mechanical animation media that rely on the rapid display of sequential images include the
phenakisticope
,
zoetrope
,
flip book
,
praxinoscope
, and film.
Television
and
video
are popular electronic animation media that originally were analog and now operate
digitally
. For display on computers, technology such as the
animated GIF
and
Flash animation
were developed.
In addition to short films,
feature films
,
television series
, animated GIFs, and other media dedicated to the display of moving images, animation is also prevalent in
video games
,
motion graphics
,
user interfaces
, and
visual effects
.
The physical movement of image parts through simple mechanics?for instance, moving images in
magic lantern
shows?can also be considered animation. The mechanical manipulation of three-dimensional puppets and objects to emulate living beings has a very long history in
automata
. Electronic automata were popularized by
Disney
as
animatronics
.
Etymology
[
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]
The word "animation" stems from the Latin "anim?ti?n", stem of "anim?ti?", meaning "a bestowing of life".
[2]
The earlier meaning of the English word is "liveliness" and has been in use much longer than the meaning of "moving image medium".
History
[
edit
]
Before cinematography
[
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]
Long before modern animation began, audiences around the world were captivated by the magic of moving characters. For centuries, master artists and craftsmen have brought puppets,
automatons
,
shadow puppets
, and fantastical
lanterns
to life, inspiring the imagination through physically manipulated wonders.
[3]
In 1833, the
stroboscopic
disc (better known as the
phenakisticope
) introduced the principle of modern animation, which would also be applied in the
zoetrope
(introduced in 1866), the
flip book
(1868), the
praxinoscope
(1877) and
film
.
Silent era
[
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]
When
cinematography
eventually broke through in the 1890s, the wonder of the realistic details in the new medium was seen as its biggest accomplishment. It took years before animation found its way to the cinemas. The successful short
The Haunted Hotel
(1907) by
J. Stuart Blackton
popularized
stop-motion
and reportedly inspired
Emile Cohl
to create
Fantasmagorie
(1908), regarded as the oldest known example of a complete
traditional (hand-drawn) animation
on standard cinematographic film. Other great artistic and very influential short films were created by
Ladislas Starevich
with his puppet animations since 1910 and by
Winsor McCay
with detailed hand-drawn animation in films such as
Little Nemo
(1911) and
Gertie the Dinosaur
(1914).
[4]
During the 1910s, the production of animated "
cartoons
" became an industry in the US.
Successful producer
John Randolph Bray
and animator
Earl Hurd
, patented the
cel animation
process that dominated the animation industry for the rest of the century.
Felix the Cat
, who debuted in 1919, became the first fully realized animal character in the history of American animation.
[8]
American golden age
[
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]
In 1928,
Steamboat Willie
, featuring
Mickey Mouse
and
Minnie Mouse
, popularized film with synchronized sound and put
Walt Disney
's studio at the forefront of the animation industry. Although
Disney Animation's
actual output relative to total global animation output has always been very small, the studio has overwhelmingly dominated the "aesthetic norms" of animation ever since.
[9]
The enormous success of Mickey Mouse is seen as the start of the
golden age of American animation
that would last until the 1960s. The United States dominated the world market of animation with a plethora of cel-animated theatrical shorts.
[10]
Several studios would introduce characters that would become very popular and would have long-lasting careers, including
Walt Disney Productions
'
Goofy
(1932) and
Donald Duck
(1934),
Fleischer Studios
/
Paramount Cartoon Studios
'
Out of the Inkwell
'
Koko the Clown
(1918),
Bimbo
and
Betty Boop
(1930),
Popeye
(1933) and
Casper the Friendly Ghost
(1945),
Warner Bros. Cartoon Studios
'
Looney Tunes
'
Porky Pig
(1935),
Daffy Duck
(1937),
Elmer Fudd
(1937?1940),
Bugs Bunny
(1938?1940),
Tweety
(1942),
Sylvester the Cat
(1945),
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner
(1949),
MGM cartoon studio
's
Tom and Jerry
(1940) and
Droopy
,
Universal Cartoon Studios
'
Woody Woodpecker
(1940),
Terrytoons
/
20th Century Fox
's
Mighty Mouse
(1942), and
United Artists
'
Pink Panther
(1963).
Features before CGI
[
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]
In 1917, Italian-Argentine director
Quirino Cristiani
made the first feature-length film
El Apostol
(now
lost
), which became a critical and commercial success. It was followed by Cristiani's
Sin dejar rastros
in 1918, but one day after its premiere, the film was confiscated by the government.
[12]
After working on it for three years,
Lotte Reiniger
released the German feature-length
silhouette animation
Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed
in 1926, the oldest extant animated feature.
[
citation needed
]
[13]
In 1937,
Walt Disney Studios
premiered their first animated feature (using the Rotoscope technique invented by Max Fleischer in 1915)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
, still one of the highest-grossing traditional animation features as of May 2020
[update]
.
[14]
[15]
The Fleischer studios followed this example in 1939 with
Gulliver's Travels
with some success. Partly due to foreign markets being cut off by the Second World War, Disney's next features
Pinocchio
,
Fantasia
(both 1940), Fleischer Studios' second animated feature
Mr. Bug Goes to Town
(1941?1942) and Disney's feature films
Cinderella
(1950),
Alice in Wonderland
(1951) and
Lady and the Tramp
(1955) failed at the box office. For decades afterward, Disney would be the only American studio to regularly produce animated features, until
Ralph Bakshi
became the first to also release more than a handful features. Sullivan-Bluth Studios began to regularly produce animated features starting with
An American Tail
in 1986.
[
citation needed
]
Although relatively few titles became as successful as Disney's features, other countries developed their own animation industries that produced both short and feature theatrical animations in a wide variety of styles, relatively often including
stop motion
and
cutout animation
techniques. Soviet
Soyuzmultfilm
animation studio, founded in 1936, produced 20 films (including shorts) per year on average and reached 1,582 titles in 2018. China, Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic, Italy, France, and Belgium were other countries that more than occasionally released feature films, while Japan became a true powerhouse of animation production, with its own recognizable and influential
anime
style of effective
limited animation
.
[
citation needed
]
Television
[
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]
Animation became very popular on television since the 1950s, when television sets started to become common in most developed countries. Cartoons were mainly programmed for children, on convenient time slots, and especially US youth spent many hours watching
Saturday-morning cartoons
. Many classic cartoons found a new life on the small screen and by the end of the 1950s, the production of new animated cartoons started to shift from theatrical releases to TV series.
Hanna-Barbera Productions
was especially prolific and had huge hit series, such as
The Flintstones
(1960?1966) (the first
prime time
animated series),
Scooby-Doo
(since 1969) and Belgian co-production
The Smurfs
(1981?1989). The constraints of American television programming and the demand for an enormous quantity resulted in cheaper and quicker
limited animation
methods and much more formulaic scripts. Quality dwindled until more daring animation surfaced in the late 1980s and in the early 1990s with hit series, the first cartoon of
The Simpsons
(1987), which later developed into
its own show
(in 1989) and
SpongeBob SquarePants
(since 1999) as part of a "renaissance" of American animation.
[
citation needed
]
While US animated series also spawned successes internationally, many other countries produced their own child-oriented programming, relatively often preferring
stop motion
and
puppetry
over cel animation. Japanese
anime
TV series became very successful internationally since the 1960s, and European producers looking for affordable cel animators relatively often started co-productions with Japanese studios, resulting in hit series such as
Barbapapa
(The Netherlands/Japan/France 1973?1977),
Wickie und die starken Manner/小さなバイキング ビッケ (Vicky the Viking)
(Austria/Germany/Japan 1974),
Maya the Bee
(Japan/Germany 1975) and
The Jungle Book
(Italy/Japan 1989).
[
citation needed
]
Switch from cels to computers
[
edit
]
Computer animation
was gradually developed since the 1940s. 3D wireframe animation started popping up in the mainstream in the 1970s, with an early (short) appearance in the sci-fi thriller
Futureworld
(1976).
[16]
The Rescuers Down Under
was the first feature film to be completely created digitally without a camera.
[17]
It was produced using the
Computer Animation Production System
(CAPS), developed by
Pixar
in collaboration with
The Walt Disney Company
in the late 1980s, in a style similar to traditional cel animation .
[18]
[19]
[20]
The so-called 3D style, more often associated with computer animation, became the dominant technique following the success of Pixar's
Toy Story
(1995), the first computer-animated feature in this style.
[21]
Most of the cel animation studios switched to producing mostly computer-animated films around the 1990s, as it proved cheaper and more profitable. Not only the very popular 3D animation style was generated with computers, but also most of the films and series with a more traditional hand-crafted appearance, in which the charming characteristics of cel animation could be emulated with software, while new digital tools helped developing new styles and effects.
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
Economic status
[
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]
In 2010, the animation market was estimated to be worth circa US$80 billion.
By 2020, the value had increased to an estimated US$270 billion.
[29]
Animated feature-length films returned the highest
gross margins
(around 52%) of all
film genres
between 2004 and 2013.
Animation as an art and industry continues to thrive as of the early 2020s.
[31]
[32]
[33]
Education, propaganda and commercials
[
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]
The clarity of animation makes it a powerful tool for instruction, while its total malleability also allows exaggeration that can be employed to convey strong emotions and to thwart reality. It has therefore been widely used for other purposes than mere entertainment.
[34]
During World War II, animation was widely exploited for propaganda.
Many American studios
, including Warner Bros. and Disney, lent their talents and their cartoon characters to convey to the public certain war values. Some countries, including China, Japan and the United Kingdom, produced their first feature-length animation for their war efforts.
[
citation needed
]
Animation has been very popular in television commercials, both due to its graphic appeal, and the humour it can provide. Some animated characters in commercials have survived for decades, such as
Snap, Crackle and Pop
in advertisements for Kellogg's cereals.
[35]
Tex Avery
was the producer of the first
Raid
"
Kills Bugs Dead
" commercials in 1966, which were very successful for the company.
[36]
Other media, merchandise and theme parks
[
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]
Apart from their success in movie theaters and television series, many cartoon characters would also prove lucrative when licensed for all kinds of merchandise and for other media.
Animation has traditionally been very closely related to
comic books
. While many comic book characters found their way to the screen (which is often the case in Japan, where many
manga
are adapted into
anime
), original animated characters also commonly appear in comic books and magazines. Somewhat similarly, characters and plots for
video games
(an interactive form of animation that became its own medium) have been derived from films and vice versa.
[37]
Some of the original content produced for the screen can be used and marketed in other media. Stories and images can easily be adapted into children's books and other printed media. Songs and music have appeared on records and as streaming media.
[
citation needed
]
While very many animation companies commercially exploit their creations outside moving image media,
The Walt Disney Company
is the best known and most extreme example. Since first being licensed for a children's writing tablet in 1929, their
Mickey Mouse
mascot has been
depicted on an enormous amount of products
, as have many other Disney characters. This may have influenced some
pejorative use of Mickey's name
, but
licensed Disney products
sell well, and the so-called
Disneyana
has many avid collectors, and even a dedicated
Disneyana Fan Club
(since 1984).
[38]
Disneyland
opened in 1955 and features many attractions that were based on Disney's cartoon characters. Its enormous success spawned several other
Disney theme parks and resorts
.
Disney's earnings
from the theme parks have relatively often been higher than those from their movies.
Awards
[
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]
As with any other form of media, animation has instituted awards for excellence in the field. Many are part of general or regional film award programs, like the China's
Golden Rooster Award
for
Best Animation
(since 1981). Awards programs dedicated to animation, with many categories, include
ASIFA-Hollywood
's
Annie Awards
, the
Emile Awards
in Europe and the
Anima Mundi
awards in Brazil.
[39]
[40]
[41]
Academy Awards
[
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]
Apart from
Academy Awards
for
Best Animated Short Film
(since 1932) and
Best Animated Feature
(since 2002), animated movies have been nominated and rewarded in other categories, relatively often for
Best Original Song
and
Best Original Score
.
Beauty and the Beast
was the first animated film nominated for
Best Picture
, in 1991.
Up
(2009) and
Toy Story 3
(2010) also received Best Picture nominations, after the academy expanded the number of nominees from five to ten.
[42]
Production
[
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]
The creation of non-trivial animation works (i.e., longer than a few seconds) has developed as a form of
filmmaking
, with certain unique aspects.
Traits common to both live-action and animated
feature-length films
are labor intensity and high production costs.
The most important difference is that once a film is in the production phase, the
marginal cost
of one more shot is higher for animated films than live-action films.
It is relatively easy for a director to ask for one more
take
during
principal photography
of a live-action film, but every take on an animated film must be manually rendered by animators (although the task of rendering slightly different takes has been made less tedious by modern computer animation).
It is pointless for a studio to pay the salaries of dozens of animators to spend weeks creating a visually dazzling five-minute scene if that scene fails to effectively advance the plot of the film.
Thus, animation studios starting with Disney began the practice in the 1930s of maintaining story departments where
storyboard artists
develop every single scene through
storyboards
, then handing the film over to the animators only after the production team is satisfied that all the scenes make sense as a whole.
While live-action films are now also storyboarded, they enjoy more latitude to depart from storyboards (i.e., real-time improvisation).
[
citation needed
]
Another problem unique to animation is the requirement to maintain a film's consistency from start to finish, even as films have grown longer and teams have grown larger. Animators, like all artists, necessarily have individual styles, but must subordinate their individuality in a consistent way to whatever style is employed on a particular film.
Since the early 1980s, teams of about 500 to 600 people, of whom 50 to 70 are animators, typically have created feature-length animated films. It is relatively easy for two or three artists to match their styles; synchronizing those of dozens of artists is more difficult.
This problem is usually solved by having a separate group of visual development artists develop an overall look and palette for each film before the animation begins. Character designers on the visual development team draw
model sheets
to show how each character should look like with different facial expressions, posed in different positions, and viewed from different angles.
On traditionally animated projects,
maquettes
were often sculpted to further help the animators see how characters would look from different angles.
Unlike live-action films, animated films were traditionally developed beyond the synopsis stage through the storyboard format; the storyboard artists would then receive credit for writing the film.
In the early 1960s, animation studios began hiring professional screenwriters to write screenplays (while also continuing to use story departments) and screenplays had become commonplace for animated films by the late 1980s.
[
citation needed
]
Techniques
[
edit
]
Traditional
[
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]
Traditional animation
(also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation) was the process used for most animated films of the 20th century.
The individual frames of a traditionally animated film are photographs of drawings, first drawn on paper.
To create the illusion of movement, each drawing differs slightly from the one before it. The animators' drawings are traced or photocopied onto transparent acetate sheets called
cels
,
which are filled in with paints in assigned colors or tones on the side opposite the line drawings.
The completed character cels are photographed one-by-one against a painted background by a
rostrum camera
onto motion picture film.
The traditional cel animation process became obsolete by the beginning of the 21st century. Today, animators' drawings and the backgrounds are either scanned into or drawn directly into a computer system.
Various software programs are used to color the drawings and simulate camera movement and effects.
The final animated piece is output to one of several delivery media, including traditional
35 mm film
and newer media with
digital video
.
The "look" of traditional cel animation is still preserved, and the
character animators
' work has remained essentially the same over the past 90 years.
Some animation producers have used the term "tradigital" (a play on the words "traditional" and "digital") to describe cel animation that uses significant computer technology.
Examples of traditionally animated feature films include
Pinocchio
(United States, 1940),
Animal Farm
(United Kingdom, 1954),
Lucky and Zorba
(Italy, 1998), and
The Illusionist
(British-French, 2010). Traditionally animated films produced with the aid of computer technology include
The Lion King
(US, 1994),
The Prince of Egypt
(US, 1998),
Akira
(Japan, 1988),
Spirited Away
(Japan, 2001),
The Triplets of Belleville
(France, 2003), and
The Secret of Kells
(Irish-French-Belgian, 2009).
Full
[
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]
Full animation
is the process of producing high-quality traditionally animated films that regularly use detailed drawings and plausible movement,
having a smooth animation.
Fully animated films can be made in a variety of styles, from more realistically animated works like those produced by the
Walt Disney studio
(
The Little Mermaid
,
Beauty and the Beast
,
Aladdin
,
The Lion King
) to the more 'cartoon' styles of the
Warner Bros. animation studio
. Many of the
Disney animated features
are examples of full animation, as are non-Disney works,
The Secret of NIMH
(US, 1982),
The Iron Giant
(US, 1999), and
Nocturna
(Spain, 2007). Fully animated films are often animated on "twos", sometimes on "ones", which means that 12 to 24 drawings are required for a single second of film.
Limited
[
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]
Limited animation
involves the use of less detailed or more stylized drawings and methods of movement usually a choppy or "skippy" movement animation.
Limited animation uses fewer drawings per second, thereby limiting the fluidity of the animation. This is a more economic technique. Pioneered by the artists at the American studio
United Productions of America
,
limited animation can be used as a method of stylized artistic expression, as in
Gerald McBoing-Boing
(US, 1951),
Yellow Submarine
(UK, 1968), and certain
anime
produced in Japan.
Its primary use, however, has been in producing cost-effective animated content for media for television (the work of Hanna-Barbera,
Filmation
,
and other TV animation studios
) and later the
Internet
(
web cartoons
).
Rotoscoping
[
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]
Rotoscoping
is a technique patented by
Max Fleischer
in 1917 where animators trace live-action movement, frame by frame.
The source film can be directly copied from actors' outlines into animated drawings,
as in
The Lord of the Rings
(US, 1978), or used in a stylized and expressive manner, as in
Waking Life
(US, 2001) and
A Scanner Darkly
(US, 2006). Some other examples are
Fire and Ice
(US, 1983),
Heavy Metal
(1981), and
Aku no Hana
(Japan, 2013).
[
citation needed
]
Live-action blending
[
edit
]
Live-action/animation
is a technique combining hand-drawn characters into live action shots or live-action actors into animated shots.
One of the earlier uses was in
Koko the Clown
when Koko was drawn over live-action footage.
Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created a series of
Alice Comedies
(1923?1927), in which a live-action girl enters an animated world. Other examples include
Allegro Non Troppo
(Italy, 1976),
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(US, 1988),
Volere volare
(Italy 1991),
Space Jam
(US, 1996) and
Osmosis Jones
(US, 2001).
[
citation needed
]
Stop motion
[
edit
]
Stop motion
is used to describe animation created by physically manipulating real-world objects and photographing them one frame of film at a time to create the illusion of movement.
There are many different types of stop-motion animation, usually named after the materials used to create the animation.
Computer software is widely available to create this type of animation; traditional stop-motion animation is usually less expensive but more time-consuming to produce than current computer animation.
- Stop motion
- Typically involves stop-motion puppet figures interacting in a constructed environment, in contrast to real-world interaction in model animation.
The puppets generally have an
armature
inside of them to keep them still and steady to constrain their motion to particular joints.
Examples include
The Tale of the Fox
(France, 1937),
The Nightmare Before Christmas
(US, 1993),
Corpse Bride
(US, 2005),
Coraline
(US, 2009), the films of
Ji?i Trnka
and the adult animated sketch-comedy television series
Robot Chicken
(US, 2005?present).
- Puppetoons
- Created using techniques developed by
George Pal
,
are puppet-animated films that typically use a different version of a puppet for different frames, rather than manipulating one existing puppet.
- Clay animation
or
Plasticine
animation
- (Often called
claymation
, which, however, is a
trademarked
name). It uses figures made of clay or a similar malleable material to create stop-motion animation.
The figures may have an
armature
or wire frame inside, similar to the related puppet animation (below), that can be manipulated to pose the figures.
Alternatively, the figures may be made entirely of clay, in the films of
Bruce Bickford
, where clay creatures morph into a variety of different shapes. Examples of clay-animated works include
The
Gumby
Show
(US, 1957?1967),
Mio Mao
(Italy, 1974?2005),
Morph
shorts (UK, 1977?2000),
Wallace and Gromit
shorts (UK, as of 1989),
Jan ?vankmajer
's
Dimensions of Dialogue
(
Czechoslovakia
, 1982),
The Trap Door
(UK, 1984). Films include
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
,
Chicken Run
and
The Adventures of Mark Twain
.
- Strata-cut animation
- Most commonly a form of clay animation in which a long bread-like "loaf" of clay, internally packed tight and loaded with varying imagery, is sliced into thin sheets, with the animation camera taking a frame of the end of the loaf for each cut, eventually revealing the movement of the internal images within.
- Cutout animation
- A type of stop-motion animation produced by moving two-dimensional pieces of material paper or cloth.
Examples include
Terry Gilliam
's animated sequences from
Monty Python's Flying Circus
(UK, 1969?1974);
Fantastic Planet
(France/Czechoslovakia, 1973);
Tale of Tales
(Russia, 1979),
Matt Stone
and
Trey Parker
the first cutout animation
South Park
(1992), the pilot episode of the adult television sitcom series (and sometimes in episodes) of
South Park
(US, 1997) and the music video Live for the moment, from Verona Riots band (produced by Alberto Serrano and Nivola Uya, Spain 2014).
- Silhouette animation
- A variant of cutout animation in which the characters are backlit and only visible as silhouettes.
Examples include
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
(
Weimar Republic
, 1926) and
Princes et Princesses
(France, 2000).
- Model animation
- Stop-motion animation created to interact with and exist as a part of a live-action world.
Intercutting,
matte
effects and split screens are often employed to blend stop-motion characters or objects with live actors and settings.
[92]
Examples include the work of
Ray Harryhausen
, as seen in films,
Jason and the Argonauts
(1963),
[93]
and the work of
Willis H. O'Brien
on films,
King Kong
(1933).
- Go motion
- A variant of model animation that uses various techniques to create
motion blur
between frames of film, which is not present in traditional stop motion.
The technique was invented by
Industrial Light & Magic
and
Phil Tippett
to create
special effect
scenes for the film
Star Wars: Episode V ? The Empire Strikes Back
(1980).
Another example is the dragon named "Vermithrax" from the 1981 film
Dragonslayer
.
- Object animation
- The use of regular inanimate objects in stop-motion animation, as opposed to specially created items.
- Graphic animation
- Uses non-drawn flat visual graphic material (photographs, newspaper clippings, magazines, etc.), which are sometimes manipulated frame by frame to create movement.
At other times, the graphics remain stationary, while the stop-motion camera is moved to create on-screen action.
- Brickfilm
- A subgenre of object animation involving using
Lego
or other similar brick toys to make an animation.
These have had a recent boost in popularity with the advent of video sharing sites,
YouTube
and the availability of cheap cameras and
animation software
.
[
citation needed
]
- Pixilation
- Involves the use of live humans as stop-motion characters.
This allows for a number of surreal effects, including disappearances and reappearances, allowing people to appear to slide across the ground, and other effects.
Examples of pixilation include
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb
and
Angry Kid
shorts, and the
Academy Award
-winning
Neighbours
by
Norman McLaren
.
Computer
[
edit
]
Computer animation
encompasses a variety of techniques, the unifying factor being that the animation is created digitally on a computer.
2D animation techniques tend to focus on image manipulation while 3D techniques usually build virtual worlds in which characters and objects move and interact.
3D animation can create images that seem real to the viewer.
2D animation
figures are created or edited on the computer using 2D
bitmap graphics
and 2D
vector graphics
.
This includes automated computerized versions of traditional animation techniques,
interpolated
morphing
,
onion skinning
and interpolated rotoscoping.
2D animation has many applications, including After Effects Animation,
analog computer animation
,
Flash animation
, and
PowerPoint animation
.
Cinemagraphs
are
still photographs
in the form of an
animated GIF
file of which part is animated.
Final line
advection
animation is a technique used in 2D animation,
to give artists and animators more influence and control over the final product as everything is done within the same department.
Speaking about using this approach in
Paperman
, John Kahrs said that "Our animators can change things, actually erase away the CG underlayer if they want, and change the profile of the arm."
3D animation is digitally modeled and manipulated by an animator. The 3D model maker usually starts by creating a 3D
polygon mesh
for the animator to manipulate.
A mesh typically includes many vertices that are connected by edges and faces, which give the visual appearance of form to a 3D object or 3D environment.
Sometimes, the mesh is given an internal digital skeletal structure called an
armature
that can be used to control the mesh by weighting the vertices.
This process is called rigging and can be used in conjunction with
key frames
to create movement.
Other techniques can be applied, mathematical functions (e.g., gravity, particle simulations), simulated fur or hair, and effects, fire and
water simulations
.
These techniques fall under the category of 3D dynamics.
Terms
[
edit
]
- Cel shading
is used to mimic traditional animation using computer software.
[118]
The shading looks stark, with less blending of colors. Examples include
Skyland
(2007, France),
The Iron Giant
(1999, United States),
Futurama
(1999, United States)
Appleseed Ex Machina
(2007, Japan),
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
(2002, Japan),
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(2017, Japan)
- Machinima
? Films created by screen capturing in video games and virtual worlds. The term originated from the software introduction in the 1980s
demoscene
, as well as the 1990s recordings of the
first-person shooter
video game
Quake
.
- Motion capture
is used when live-action actors wear special suits that allow computers to copy their movements into CG characters.
Examples include
Polar Express
(2004, US),
Beowulf
(2007, US),
A Christmas Carol
(2009, US),
The Adventures of Tintin
(2011, US)
kochadiiyan
(2014, India)
- Computer animation
is used primarily for animation that attempts to resemble real life, using advanced rendering that mimics in detail skin, plants, water, fire, clouds, etc.
Examples include
Up
(2009, US),
How to Train Your Dragon
(2010, US)
- Physically based animation
is animation using
computer simulations
.
[122]
Mechanical
[
edit
]
- Animatronics
is the use of
mechatronics
to create machines that seem animate rather than robotic.
- Audio-Animatronics
is a form of
robotics
animation, combined with 3-D animation, created by
Walt Disney Imagineering
for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks move and make noise (generally a recorded speech or song).
They are fixed to whatever supports them. They can sit and stand, and they cannot walk. An Audio-Animatron is different from an
android
-type robot in that it uses prerecorded movements and sounds, rather than responding to external stimuli. In 2009, Disney created an interactive version of the technology called Autonomatronics.
- Linear Animation Generator
is a form of animation by using static picture frames installed in a tunnel or a shaft. The animation illusion is created by putting the viewer in a linear motion, parallel to the installed picture frames.
- Chuckimation
is a type of animation created by the makers of the television series
Action League Now!
in which characters/props are thrown, or chucked from off camera or wiggled around to simulate talking by unseen hands.
- The
Magic Lantern
used mechanical slides to project moving images.
Christiaan Huygens
was thought to have invented the Magic Lantern in the mid 1600’s.
[127]
Other
[
edit
]
- Hydrotechnics
: a technique that includes lights, water, fire, fog, and lasers, with high-definition projections on mist screens.
[128]
- Drawn-on-film animation
: a technique where footage is produced by creating the images directly on
film stock
; for example, by
Norman McLaren
,
Len Lye
and
Stan Brakhage
.
- Paint-on-glass animation
: a technique for making animated films by manipulating slow drying
oil paints
on sheets of glass,
for example by
Aleksandr Petrov
.
[131]
- Erasure animation
: a technique using traditional 2D media, photographed over time as the artist manipulates the image. For example,
William Kentridge
is famous for his
charcoal
erasure films,
and
Piotr Dumała
for his auteur technique of animating scratches on plaster.
[133]
- Pinscreen animation
: makes use of a screen filled with movable pins that can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen.
The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The technique has been used to create animated films with a range of textural effects difficult to achieve with traditional cel animation.
- Sand animation
: sand is moved around on a back- or front-
lighted
piece of glass to create each frame for an animated film.
This creates an interesting effect when animated because of the light
contrast
.
- Flip book
: a flip book (sometimes, especially in British English, called a flick book) is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change.
Flip books are often illustrated books for children,
they also are geared towards adults and employ a series of photographs rather than drawings. Flip books are not always separate books, they appear as an added feature in ordinary books or magazines, often in the page corners.
Software packages and websites are also available that convert digital video files into custom-made flip books.
- Character animation
- Multi-sketching
- Special effects
animation
- 2.5D
Animation:
A mix of 2D and 3D animation elements that emphasize the illusion of depth utilizing the pseudo-3D effect.
[142]
During the 1970’s, the term “2.5D” started to gain recognition.
[143]
But its background comes from anime and manga during the 1920’s where theatrical stage productions were popular.
[144]
Stage adaptations of well-liked anime series featured live performances by voice actors called 2.5D.
[145]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"The definition of animation on dictionary.com"
.
- ^
"How Modern Animation Originated from Live and Stage Performances - studio9"
.
studio9.ie
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.
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.
Britannica
. 22 July 2023.
- ^
Cart, Michael (31 March 1991).
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.
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.
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from the original on 11 April 2014
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2022
.
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Furniss, Maureen
(2007). "Classical-era Disney Studio".
Art in Motion, Revised Edition
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:
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.
ISBN
9780861966639
.
JSTOR
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.
OCLC
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.
- ^
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Hollywood Cartoons American Animation in Its Golden Age
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ISBN
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.
- ^
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.
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2024
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Lewis, Maria (15 December 2020).
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.
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2023
.
- ^
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"
'Snow White' At 50: Undimmed Magic"
.
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.
Archived
from the original on 4 June 2014.
By now, it has grossed about $330 million worldwide ? so it remains one of the most popular films ever made.
- ^
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"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ? Releases"
.
Box Office Mojo
. Archived from
the original
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1987 release ? $46,594,212; 1993 release ? $41,634,471
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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12 October
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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- ^
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.
- ^
Donald H. House; John C. Keyser (30 November 2016).
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.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
support@baianat.com.
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.
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.
- ^
Staff, Animation Obsessive (19 May 2023).
"
'The Cow': Paint in Motion"
.
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.
- ^
"Piotr Dumała"
.
Culture.pl
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2024
.
- ^
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.
Medium
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"What is 2.5-Dimensional (2.5D) Culture?"
.
Google Arts & Culture
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17 April
2024
.
- ^
"What is 2.5D? The Look Dominating Animation and Video Games"
.
www.vfxapprentice.com
. Retrieved
17 April
2024
.
Sources
[
edit
]
Journal articles
[
edit
]
- Anderson, Joseph and Barbara (Spring 1993).
"Journal of Film and Video"
.
The Myth of Persistence of Vision Revisited
.
45
(1): 3?13. Archived from
the original
on 24 November 2009.
- Serenko, Alexander (2007).
"Computers in Human Behavior"
(PDF)
.
The Development of an Instrument to Measure the Degree of Animation Predisposition of Agent Users
.
23
(1): 478?95.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 19 October 2013.
Books
[
edit
]
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Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art
.
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.
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.
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.
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(2005).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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