subject: Animation Techniques Explained In Simple Words [print this page] Animated movies attract many people and gain more popularity than ordinary movies. The principal reason is their ability to take us to a world of fantasy. We see the manifestation of our fantasies in animated movies and hence we are attracted more to those movies. The pleasing characters and their pleasing movements appeal more than real characters do. Animated movies are loved by people of all age groups. Making an animated movie is a painstaking experience and hence needs a longer time than the time needed for making ordinary movies. A small error in any part could become a serious flaw and affect the movie badly. There are a lot of complex things happening behind the screen in the process of production of animated movies or shows. Lets know about some of the animation techniques.
Stop-motion
Stop-motion is a kind of animation in which each move of the show is photographed. Every minor movement of the characters is photographed separately. These photographs are strung together in order to make the tiny movements appear as actions. It is a time consuming process as the toys and other puppets have to be arranged in a different way for each movement and photographed. Though it is called as the simplest form of animation, it is a complex process which needs more accuracy and attention. A few movies made using this technique are Fantastic Mr. Fox, ParaNorman, and Frankenweenie.
Cutout and Collage Animation
Cutout and Collage Animation is the kind of animation in which the pictures are cut out from magazines or newspapers. The pictures are then arranged as a scene and each movement is reflected by rearranging the pictures in the required way. Some characters, the background, and some things are drawn out. This is similar to the stop-motion technique, the only difference being the usage of collage techniques to prepare the set. The photographs for each movement are arranged and the animation is produced.
Rotoscoping
The next technique is rotoscoping. It is used to capture realistic movements of people in order to reflect real human movements. Usually there are no lip movements shown in this technique. The movement of arms and legs are the major focus. Some of the movies produced using this technique are American Pop, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Fantasia, Fire & Ice, Cinderella, Flashbeagle, and more.
Cel Animation
This is the kind of animation technique that is used to make cartoons. Cel is a special kind of transparent paper used to draw animation. It is a time consuming process and a greater degree of concentration is needed than for the other techniques. A dope sheet is created to keep track of the frames to be arranged in a particular order. The animation frames are drawn and streamed together to generate actions. Every artist draws a part of the frame and frames are created for different miniscule movements of the characters. Each frame thus drawn is photographed in the order according to the dope sheet and the photographs are streamed.
Computer Generated Imagery
This is a 3D form of animation and is gaining more popularity lately. This technique is not only used for making a whole film but also for small effects in other types of films. There are various types of software applications available to create a 3D animation. These applications have made it so easy that anyone can make an animated film or show at home. Shaders, modeling techniques, and textures are also used to give a realistic look to the scenes. Some movies produced using this technique are Toy Story, Up, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles, among others.
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