Animation Methods
Traditional Animation
The most traditional form of animation is 2D hand drawn. The process consists of drawing frames that when put together will create the illusion of movement. This can be done physically or digitally using animation software. Frames can be drawn and scanned or just drawn digitally, and then coloured digitally. I've used Adobe Flash before to animate,where I've drawn digitally using a graphics tablet but a more industry standard software is Toon Boom Harmony.
Collage Animation
Collage animation is a style using a mix of photos, images and clippings. Collage animation can be done using software like Photoshop but can also be done physically by scanning or taking pictures of the set. Its made through stop-motion which is an animation technique where something is moved, a frame is taken, and then moved again. These frames are then sequenced in an editing software like After Effects or Sony Vegas. Physically, an object is moved and then a photo is taken,but digitally a layer is moved and that image is saved.
3D Animation
3D animation is a digital style made using 3D models and environments. It's also known as CGI which stands for Computer Generated Imagery. This style can also be used in realistic environments and is extremely common in films today as its able to do things practical effects can't or are too expensive to make. Models are created in a software and are given many joints for expressive movement are textured so its not a solid colour. The models are moved and a frame is taken much like 2D or stop-motion. Motion capture is another process where a person's movements are recorded using a suit and this movement is applied to a model. Programs like Blender, Cinema 4D or Pixar's RenderMan are examples of software used.
Claymation
Claymation is made often with plasticine clay. Objects and characters are sculpted with it or another malleable material on a wire frame skeleton. Everything is animated using stop-motion,so each object/character is photographed after being moved and these are the frames that get sequenced. It's a very long process as many things are often moved at a time and are ran at 24 frames per second,so it might be difficult to judge how much something needs to be moved in each frame so there are tens of thousands of stops for films.
The most traditional form of animation is 2D hand drawn. The process consists of drawing frames that when put together will create the illusion of movement. This can be done physically or digitally using animation software. Frames can be drawn and scanned or just drawn digitally, and then coloured digitally. I've used Adobe Flash before to animate,where I've drawn digitally using a graphics tablet but a more industry standard software is Toon Boom Harmony.
Collage Animation
Collage animation is a style using a mix of photos, images and clippings. Collage animation can be done using software like Photoshop but can also be done physically by scanning or taking pictures of the set. Its made through stop-motion which is an animation technique where something is moved, a frame is taken, and then moved again. These frames are then sequenced in an editing software like After Effects or Sony Vegas. Physically, an object is moved and then a photo is taken,but digitally a layer is moved and that image is saved.
3D Animation
3D animation is a digital style made using 3D models and environments. It's also known as CGI which stands for Computer Generated Imagery. This style can also be used in realistic environments and is extremely common in films today as its able to do things practical effects can't or are too expensive to make. Models are created in a software and are given many joints for expressive movement are textured so its not a solid colour. The models are moved and a frame is taken much like 2D or stop-motion. Motion capture is another process where a person's movements are recorded using a suit and this movement is applied to a model. Programs like Blender, Cinema 4D or Pixar's RenderMan are examples of software used.
Claymation
Claymation is made often with plasticine clay. Objects and characters are sculpted with it or another malleable material on a wire frame skeleton. Everything is animated using stop-motion,so each object/character is photographed after being moved and these are the frames that get sequenced. It's a very long process as many things are often moved at a time and are ran at 24 frames per second,so it might be difficult to judge how much something needs to be moved in each frame so there are tens of thousands of stops for films.
Great research Alex, can you give lots of visual examples and maybe names of animation studios who use certain styles, add some AV links to help explain too.
ReplyDeleteMrs McD-H