What is animation? It is nothing but a method of tricking us into thinking that many static pictures are just one single image, an optical illusion. With the success of sites like YouTube, simple animations can be made by anyone. The most popular and artistic videos are stop-motion animations which are made with everyday things. Going for a course in animation will help you develop this skill set with more sophisticated materials.
For animation. The process and technique for animations are the same as the field of play is wide in applications, animation graduates are a hot property. If you’re just getting started in the interesting field of animations, below are the different types of animations you need to know about.
1) Simple animations –
Before the invention of film, early forms of animated pictures were the thing. The best example is the zoetrope which is a wheel that has many static pictures which appear to be in motion when the wheel spins. A similar example is the Flipbook, where the position of the pictures on the pages are slightly different which creates an illusion when the pages are quickly flipped. Although they don’t need a camera. Object animation and chuckimation are two different types that require a camera to film inanimate moving objects like LEGO or other action figures and use stop motion or off-hand movement for their animation. Pixilation is also a type of animation that has a similar method of using people as stop-motion.
2) Traditional Animation –
Also, called hand-drawn animation or cel animation for the majority of the 20th Century. A lot of amazing animated movies were created using this method. This was a really long process as about a thousand pictures were drawn on cels or acetate sheets, with one being slightly different from the previous one. An individual cell was photographed on a separate frame of the film so that the animation was moving after the film reel was played. This technique was in high demand in the later 80s and early 90s and was used in films such as Space Jam and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
A lot of artistic skills and styles are required to carry out traditional animation. The most recognized and amazingly realistic works are Disney’s films. Many cartoon programs like ‘The Flinstones” used an interesting pop-art style that was in demand at the time it was started. Rotoscoping is another animation style where live-action recordings are used as a template.
Animation is a very fluid field where any type of art can be turned into animations.
3) Computer Animation –
The revolutionary technology of computers took the world of animation by storm. Computer animation has a wide range of techniques. Different forms of computer animation have been around since the 1960s, it came into the picture in the 1990s when it started being used with traditional animation. It is more convenient to use, and it is quite faster compared to traditional animation. Computer animation can be categorized into two types, 2D and 3D.
To create Digital 2D, various programs can be used, like Flash, After Effects, Cel Action, and TV Paint. It depends on the level of complexity, from simple stick figure animations to the entire map. Similar to traditional animation, different layers can be used to build up pictures. Anything can be displayed, from backgrounds and landscapes to characters and crowds. Due to its lack of depth, it’s not being used anymore, although it still contributes to advertising and desktop publishing.
Digital 3D animations have more depth in them. Maya is a powerful tool that can be used to make 3D animations. An animator will often start with a simple design and later build on its keyframing to set the position of the character, similar to traditional animation. Although they don’t need to perform the process on every frame, doing it on the important ones only will do. The animators can be very realistic in their approach and can be really artistically sound to come up with a character. Different animators will specialize in facial movements and speech rather than the entire character.
4) Stop Motion –
It is a simple but time-consuming form of animation. The objects in the picture are physically manipulated. There are two types of animations, Object animations, and pixelation. They use the Stop Motion even without proper equipment. Although special stop motion models have been used for special effects, like in 1933, which was widely popular for the ape, not to forget movies like the Star Wars films and The Terminator for using aliens and machines.
It is very similar to traditional animation regarding technique. Stop Motion does stand to be a popular form of animation with a good twelve features in production currently. Animators prefer to work with stop motion for artistic reasons, as it is difficult to create models digitally.
So these were the types of animations that were or are being used. To become an animator, you will have to take up a course or post-graduate degree for the job. Animation is ever-changing and this course will really benefit you. Hope this post was helpful. Thanks for reading.