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Animation
Animation refers to the process of bringing pictures to motion by drawing, designing, creating the layout, and preparing a presentation that runs slightly altered graphics in the background. The pictures used for animation can be caught through any digital media, such as a camera or a mobile phone. A person who creates animations is called animator. He/she use various computer technologies to capture the pictures and then to animate these in the desired sequence. He create animations using a sequence of images of still objects/drawings. Here, every succeeding image in the presentation is slightly different from the previous one, thus giving the viewers a sense of motion when running at a considerate speed. Animation is of two broad types, 2D and 3D. It is very famous in the arts and entertainment industry. Apart from this, animation is also helpful for developing websites, creating motion graphics, generating special effects, etc. Key benefits of animation Among the key benefits of using animated objects you will be sure to find these: Animation helps deepen visual understanding better than traditional diagrams. Animation omits unnecessary verbiage and visuals. It allows you to communicate ideas quickly and sharply. Animation is a cost-saving communication strategy. It educates & engages the audience through entertainment. It also provides real to life scenarios faced in daily life during learning, and so many other activities. Types of Animation Different types of animation have been developed for different situations at various stages of evolution and are used as a powerful medium of expression. Traditional animation (cel animation or hand-drawn animation) More traditional animation is the oldest form made by Disney or similar. Here, the animator creates all the frames in the animation sequence. These frames are hand- drawn. Therefore, the animator must be a great artist. The series moves one after the other exceptionally quickly, which creates the effect of movement. They created drawings on a vast drafting table with lights in the past. Even nowadays, these animations are made using computers or tablets, if special artistry should be added to the process. Traditional is most often 2D animation. Aladdin, The Lion King , and other earlier cartoons are the best examples of this. 2D animation 2D animation can fall under traditional animation like most early Disney movies — Pinocchio , Beauty and the Beast , etc. But there is something called Vector-based animation that can be 2D without being traditional.
This is a vector animation. An animation is often created using Flash or similar. This type is popular due to the availability of technology. Here too, the animator may create frame-by-frame series. In addition, we may create rigs for characters. In addition, there are tools for dragging and applying special effects and so much more. Images with familiar formats like JPG, GIF, BMP, are pixel images. These images cannot be enlarged or shrunk without affecting image quality. Vector graphics don’t need to worry about resolution. Vectors are characterized by pathways with various start and end points, lines connecting these points to build the graphic. Shapes can be created to form a character or other image. Vector-based animation uses mathematical values to resize images, so motion is smooth. They can re-use these creations so the animator doesn’t need to keep drawing the same characters over and over again. Animator can move around these vectors and animate that way. 3D animation Today, 3D or computer animation is the most common type. But just because computers have stepped in instead of actual drawings, it’s not necessarily easier. The computer is just another tool, and 3D animation is still a long, intense process. In 3D animated movies, the animator uses a program to move the character’s body parts around. They set their digital frames when all of the parts of the character are in the right position. They do this for each frame, and the computer calculates the motion from each frame. Animators adjust and tweak the curvatures and movements their characters make throughout. From Toy Story in 1995 to today’s Coco , 3D animation has become the dominant style in animated films. 3D animation is also unique in that, unlike 2D or other traditional methods, the character’s entire body is always visible. If a character turns to the side, the animator only needs to draw the side profile in 2D animation, but in 3D, the entire body still needs to be visible. So again, even though computers are being used, with new technology comes with way more considerations. Motion graphics This is for moving graphic elements or text creatively. Commercials, logos, movie titles, television commercials use these types of animation. This requires an understanding of composition and camera movements. Motion Graphics are pieces are digital graphics that create the illusion of motion usually for ads, title sequences in films, but ultimately exist to communicate something to the viewer. They’re often combined with sound for multimedia projects. They’re a type of animation used mostly in business, usually with text as a main player. Stop Motion Stop motion encompasses claymation, pixelation, object-motion, cutout animation, and more. But the basic mechanics are similar to the traditional style like a flipbook. However, instead of drawings, stop motion adjusts physical objects in each frame.
Anticipation is used in animation to set the audience up for an action that is about to happen, and is required to sell believable movements. An easy way to think about this is before a baseball player pitches the ball, they first need to move their entire body and arm backward to gain enough energy to throw the ball forward. So, if an animated person needs to move forward, they first must move back. Or, if a character is reaching for a glass on a table, they must first move their hand back. This not only gets up their momentum, but it lets the audience know this person is about to move. Other cases where anticipation is used include when a character looks off screen when someone is arriving, or when a character’s attention is focused on something they are about to do.
4. Ease In and Ease Out As any object moves or comes to a stop, there needs to be a time for acceleration and deceleration. Without ease in and ease out (or slow in and slow out), movements become very unnatural and robotic. As a car moves away from a stop, it doesn’t just reach full speed in an instant. It must first gain speed. As it comes to a stop, it doesn’t go from sixty to zero in the blink of an eye. Instead, it slows down until it reaches a complete stop. The same must be accomplished in animation and the easiest way to accomplish ease in and ease out is to utilize the principle of spacing. As a character stands up from a sitting position, the spacing of each pose will be closer together at the start so that they can ease into the movement. As they stand up, they will ease out of the movement by spacing the poses further apart at the end of the action. Without this acceleration and deceleration of actions, everything would be very abrupt and jerky. 5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action Follow through is the idea that separate parts of the body will continue moving after the character has come to a stop. As a character comes to a stop from a walk, the arms may continue forward before settling in a down position. This could also be the case with articles of clothing. Overlapping action (also called “drag” or “lead and follow”) is very similar in that it means different parts of the body will move at different times. An example of overlapping action is when a character raises their arm up to wave: The shoulder will move first, then the arm, and then the elbow, before the hand lags behind a few frames. You can also see this when a blade of grass waves in the wind. The base moves first and then the rest of the grass follows behind at different rates, giving it that waving motion. Additionally, characters who are remaining still need to display some sort of movement (blinking eyes, breathing, etc.) to prevent the animation from becoming “dead.” This is called “moving hold.” 6. Arcs Everything in real life typically moves in some type of arcing motion. Since it's unnatural for people to move in straight lines, you should adhere to this principle of animation to ensure you get smooth, realistic movements. The quicker something
moves, the flatter the arc and the broader the turn. The only time something would move in a perfectly straight line is a robot. If a character is turning his head, he will dip his head down during the turn to create an arcing motion. You also want to ensure that more subtle things move in arcs. For example, when a character walks, even the tips of their toes should move in a rounded, arcing motion.
7. Exaggeration Exaggeration is used to push movements further, adding more appeal to an action, and should always be implemented to some degree. Exaggeration can be used to create extremely cartoony movements including physical alterations or supernatural elements. Or, exaggeration can be incorporated with a little more restraint for more realistic actions. But, even then you can still use exaggeration to make a more readable or fun movement while still staying true to reality. So, if a character is preparing to jump off a diving board, you can push them down just a little bit further before they leap off. Alternatively, you can use exaggeration in the timing to enhance different movements or help sell the weight of a character or object. 8. Solid Drawing In 2D animation, solid drawing is about creating an accurate drawing in terms of volume and weight, balance, shadow, and the anatomy in a pose. With 3D animation , animators need to think about how to pose out your 3D character rig to ensure there is correct balance and weight, as well as a clear silhouette. Avoid “twinning,” which is creating a mirrored pose across to the other side (both arms on hips or both hands in pockets) because this creates a rather boring and unappealing pose. 9. Appeal This principle can really come down to adding more appeal (charisma) in many different areas of your animation, such as in posing. The most obvious example, however, is appeal in the character design because you want to have a character that the audience can connect with or relate to, whereas a complicated or confusing character design can lack appeal. You can find areas on the character to push and exaggerate in order to create a more unique design that will stick out in your audience’s memory. One example is to simply exaggerate the jawline or push the youthfulness in the eyes. Either of these can help create more appeal. Keep in mind that appeal is also required for villains. 10. Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose Straight ahead action is a very spontaneous and linear approach to animating and is animated from start to finish, frame by frame. With this, you’ll create each pose of the animation one after the other. So, if your character is landing on the ground after jumping in the air, you would create the poses where he is standing, then the poses where he is beginning to kneel down, and then completely crouched. In other words,
2. Entertainment Industry The entertainment industry is using animation very extensively for various purposes. Perhaps, computer graphics are most widely for entertainment as compared to any other purpose. Varying animation services are used for entertainment in a range of platforms such as TV, media, internet and even on the smartphones. Several top animation companies are providing animation services in the entertainment industry. Several animation series and movies are created for children as well as the adult audience that can be enjoyed as normal movies. Apart from movies, a range of cartoons and TV series are created to target a wider audience including all age groups. Animation programs are being created for entertainment as well as teaching important life lessons and moral values. Some well-known studios like Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks are primarily involved with making animated cartoon movies. 3. Advertisement Industry Benefits of animation in the advertising industry are quite astounding. Advertisements are always required to be creative and connecting to the real world. Animation plays an important role in making effective commercials to easily capture the imagination of the audience and luring the audience to purchase the product being advertised. The rapidly growing use of the internet has given birth to a new platform where animated advertisements are used extensively and target audiences of all age groups. The animation is being used for TV advertising for a long time. Animations make advertisements inspiring and funny and always captures the imagination of the end customer. 4. Marketing Animations add a lot of creativity to the marketing of any organization. It also enables any organization to reach out to more demographics. Any animated demonstration of a product is attentive and provides instant benefits. Animation can be a great conversion medium. 5. Scientific Visualization The animation is widely used to create accurate and representative scientific visualization. Animation can be used for the purpose of research as well as analytical studies. It can be effective used to create and demonstrate 3D models for a wide variety of objects for realistic visualizations. 6. Arts The animation is extensively used to demonstrate creative skills. For example, creative arts can be designed as a computer course. Courses can utilize animation to get the education across the class leveraging various presentations, models and diagrams. Making animation requires an animator to be creative and make animations that replicate the real world. 7. Gaming Industry The gaming industry is using animation extensively as compared to any other industry for sure. Any game today consists of 3d characters and all these characters are created using animation. Entirely gaming industry is dependent on these 3D animations. Every game is modelled and created using animation. A lot of modelling
practices like texturing, lighting and rigging are done by graphic professionals as required by clients. The animation is being used for video games, online games and use is increasing every day.
8. Simulations Animation simulations are used in areas where real-life training of an individual or group is dangerous or cannot be controlled. For instance, military training exercises or firefighting training are adequate examples for simulation animation. Simulations are also used for training fighter pilots as well as commercial airlines pilots without investing on machine and fuel as well as avoiding damage to any trainee. A lot of companies are using simulation to predict the outcome of a range of activities. 9. Retail Industry The retail industry is one of the most benefitted industry using animation. Animations are extensively by marketers to showcase the product to customers. 3D animation models and videos can incorporate the features and benefits of a product in a lucid manner. Use of animation in the retail industry is rising at a great velocity. Animations are being used to display microscopic features and display the object from multiple angles in an easy manner especially when such features are difficult to be photographed. 3D animations are especially beneficial in demonstrating product features. 10. Architecture and Engineering Industry 3D animation has helped the marketing mechanism of the real estate and engineering industry in a great manner. Proposed designs are required to be explained to potential customers in a simplified manner in Architecture projects. 3d animations in architecture can be designed quickly and involve reasonable costs. This makes animation very important for architecture. Interpretation process of the structure of the buildings is simplified with ease using animation. Construction companies can integrate all the intrinsic details of the proposed plans using animations.
