What is animation

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• What is animation?

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• What is animation?

Animation is the illusion of motion created by
the consecutive display of images of static
elements. The word animation literally means
to give life to.
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• The persistence of vision

The persistence of vision is a principle that
states that either our brain or the retina of our
eyes temporarily retain the image of what we have
just seen. Without this principal, we would not
be able to witness the illusion of an unbroken
connection in a series of images.
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• The Origins of Animation
• In 1600 B.C Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II built a
  temple with 110 columns each decorated with a
  painted figure of the goddess Isis. As a chariot
  rode past, the figure would appear to move.
• In 1878, Edward Muybridge became famous for using
  multiple cameras to capture motion. His images
  are still being used as reference by animators
  today.

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• The Origins of Animation
• In 1906 James Stuart Blackton and Thomas Edison
  Created Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. The
  first combination of drawings and photography.
  Blackton is considered the first to create
  drawings that live thus giving life to a new
  art form.

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• Categories of Animation

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• Categories of Animation
• Frame-Based traditional 2-D animation,
  stop-motion animation.

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• Categories of Animation
• Frame-Based traditional 2-D animation,
  stop-motion animation.
• Key-Frame traditional 3-D animation, flash
  animation, computer assisted animation.

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• Categories of Animation
• Frame-Based traditional 2-D animation,
  stop-motion animation.
• Key-Frame traditional 3-D animation, flash
  animation, computer assisted animation.
• Motion Capture (MoCap) Special effects, etc.

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• Frame-Based Animation

Commonly referred to as traditional animation,
frame-based animation is a type of animation in
which the illusion of movement is created by
gradually changing the state of an image one
frame at a time. Popular films which exhibit the
use of frame-based animation include The Lion
King, The Nightmare before Christmas, Ghost in
the Shell, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
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• Frame-Based Animation 3 ways to animate

• Straight ahead - An animator starts an animation
  at a particular point and then begins animating
  the scene letting the drawing lead the way.

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• Frame-Based Animation 3 ways to animate

• Straight ahead - An animator starts an animation
  at a particular point and then begins animating
  the scene letting the drawing lead the way.
• Pose to Pose An animator first creates the most
  important drawings in the animations. These
  drawings are known as keys. Keys are the
  positions of the object in its most extreme
  state. After all of the keys are created, the
  animator then goes in and fills in with the rest
  of the drawings. These additional drawings are
  known as in-betweens.

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• Example of pose-to-pose animation.

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• Frame-Based Animation 3 ways to animate

• Straight ahead - An animator starts an animation
  at a particular point and then begins animating
  the scene letting the drawing lead the way.
• Pose to Pose An animator first creates the most
  important drawings in the animations. These
  drawings are known as keys. Keys are the
  positions of the object in its most extreme
  state. After all of the keys are created, the
  animator then goes in and fills in with the rest
  of the drawings. These additional drawings are
  known as in-betweens.
• Combination of Straight ahead and Pose to Pose
  This method allows the animator to animate
  freely, while taking advantage of a structured
  workflow.

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• Key-Frame Animation

Commonly referred to as computer animation,
Key-frame animation is a type of animation in
which the animator creates keys in a way similar
to pose-to-pose animation. The computer then
calculates the difference between keys and moves
the object appropriately between keys. Popular
films which exhibit the use of key-frame
animation include Finding Nemo, Shrek, Jurassic
Park, Spirited Away.
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• Key-Frame Animation advantages and disadvantages

• Advantages
• the object to be animated need not be re-drawn
  every frame.
• Non-linear animation techniques allow for
  greater control of the animation.
• Advanced 3-D animation programs allow the
  animator to produce highly realistic life-like
  animations not possible with frame-based
  animation techniques.

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• Key-Frame Animation advantages and disadvantages

• Advantages
• the object to be animated need not be re-drawn
  every frame.
• Non-linear animation techniques allow for
  greater control of the animation.
• Advanced 3-D animation programs allow the
  animator to produce highly realistic life-like
  animations not possible with frame-based
  animation techniques.
• Disadvantages
• Overcoming the computer like feel can be
  rather difficult.
• Organic animations such as water flowing,
  clothing wrinkling, trees blowing in the wind,
  etc. Can be quite difficult and even impossible
  in some cases.
• Computer animation requires that the animator
  not only be good with a pencil, but good with a
  keyboard as well.

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• Motion Capture Animation

Commonly referred to as mocap, motion capture
animation is a type of animation in which the
information needed to create the final piece is
captured digitally in real-time with an actor
playing the role of the animated
character. Popular films which exhibit the use
of motion capture animation include King Kong,
The Polar Express, Final Fantasy The Spirits
Within
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• To mocap or not to mocap

• Advantages
• Fewer man hours to create an animation.
• Finer nuances of character behavior (a.k.a.
  secondary movement) can be easily and quickly
  captured.
• Capable of capturing highly realistic human
  movement.

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• To mocap or not to mocap

• Advantages
• Fewer man hours to create an animation.
• Finer nuances of character behavior (a.k.a.
  secondary movement) can be easily and quickly
  captured.
• Capable of capturing highly realistic human
  movement.
• Disadvantages
• The equipment necessary is quite expensive and a
  large dedicated studio space is often needed.
• mocap also does not easily capture finer details
  such as facial movement and finger movements.
  These details would need to be added seprately.
• Mocap works well for realistic human movement,
  but lacks the personality that an animator can
  bring to a scene.

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• What makes a good animator?

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• What makes a good animator?
• A good animator is
• 1. A good artist.

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• What makes a good animator?
• A good animator is
• A good artist.
• A good actor.

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• What makes a good animator?
• A good animator is
• A good artist.
• A good actor.
• A good observer.

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• What makes a good animator?
• A good animator is
• A good artist.
• A good actor.
• A good observer.
• Patient.

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• What makes a good animator?
• A good animator is
• A good artist.
• A good actor.
• A good observer.
• Patient.
• Open to accepting criticism.

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• Things to remember

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• Things to remember

• Draw Draw Draw.
• Draw constantly. Grab a sketchbook and head to
  the park. Sketch while watching T.V. and
  relaxing. Sketch between classes. A good
  animator is constantly working to improve his or
  her drawing skills.

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• Things to remember

• Draw Draw Draw.
• Draw constantly. Grab a sketchbook and head to
  the park. Sketch while watching T.V. and
  relaxing. Sketch between classes. A good
  animator is constantly working to improve his or
  her drawing skills.
• 2. Start Small and simple.
• Many beginners make the mistake of trying to take
  on to much at once. (elaborate sets and story,
  etc.) Start small and simple. Concentrate on
  just the animation, just the performance. Try
  creating a mood through movement. Then, slowly
  ease your way into more elaborate animations.

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• Things to remember

• Take the time needed to completely pre-visualize
  your animation BEFORE you begin work on the final
  piece.
• Storyboards, animatics, concept designs are all
  very important and very necessary. These methods
  of pre-visualization help an artist keep on track
  with the original concept and also serve to
  identify potential problems before they arise.

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• Things to remember

• Take the time needed to completely pre-visualize
  your animation BEFORE you begin work on the final
  piece.
• Storyboards, animatics, concept designs are all
  very important and very necessary. These methods
  of pre-visualization help an artist keep on track
  with the original concept and also serve to
  identify potential problems before they arise.

• A well built character makes the animation
  process simple and enjoyable.
• Build your characters carefully and accurately
  before you begin animating. Take into
  consideration the types of moment your character
  will be undergoing. The last thing you want is
  to interrupt the animation process by going back
  to make changes to the character so as to fix an
  issue that keeps you from moving forward in your
  animation.

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• Things to remember

• Before you begin animating, act out the scene
  yourself.
• It may seem silly, but acting out the scene
  helps an animator get into the head of the
  character. Recording the action is also helpful
  in capturing the movement that the character will
  be going through during the course of the
  animation.

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• Things to remember

• Before you begin animating, act out the scene
  yourself.
• It may seem silly, but acting out the scene
  helps an animator get into the head of the
  character. Recording the action is also helpful
  in capturing the movement that the character will
  be going through during the course of the
  animation.

• Grab a mirror.
• One of the most useful tools to an animator is a
  mirror. An artist uses a mirror to get an
  accurate view of how the face moves when speaking
  or emoting.

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• Things to remember

• 7. Get rid of all distractions.
• Remove yourself from friends, T.V., loud music,
  or any other possible distractions. An animator
  works best when he can concentrate solely on the
  task at hand.

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• Things to remember

• 7. Get rid of all distractions.
• Remove yourself from friends, T.V., loud music,
  or any other possible distractions. An animator
  works best when he can concentrate solely on the
  task at hand.

• Dont be afraid to rework your animation.
• An animation almost never works on the first
  pass. It often takes many
• passes at the same scene until it works just
  right. Pixar animators are
• usually expected to produce only 1-1/2 to 3
  seconds of finished animation
• a day.

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• Things to remember

• 9. Watch a lot of T.V.
• Cartoons, Animated features, films, musicals,
  etc. Watch a lot of T.V. And watch it actively.
  Observe how characters move, why they move the
  way they do, how external forces such as
  gravity, and wind, influence how the character
  moves. Study live action. Actors choose to
  walk, talk, dress a certain way to emphasize
  their characters personalities. Careful
  observation of how others choose to work can help
  make you a better animator.

• Save often.
• It is a common story. An artist is working hard
  on an animation that has taken him days to get to
  this point and then, without warning, the
  computer crashes. His file is corrupted, and
  days worth of work is gone in an instant.

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• Sources

• The Animators Survival Kit by Richard
  Williams
• The Library of Congress Online.
• Wikipedia.org
• Wikimedia.org/commons
• animationarchive.org