Traditional 2D Animation
Flick Book:
A flip book is a book that contains a number of pictures that gradually change from page to page so that when the pages are turned at a fast pace the pictures appear to animate. The flip book is a very old form of animation as it first appeared in 1868; it relies on the persistence of vision to create the illusion of continuous motion. They played a very important role in the development of animation but now they are regarded as the simplest form of animation.
Hand-cel Animation:
Hand-cel animation is a technique where each frame is drawn by hand; it used to be very popular until the development of computer animation. The first hand-cel animations were in the form of giant story boards that would be recorded scene by scene and put together. In the early days of animation there was no sound but once that had been discovered animators also has to record sounds and synchronise it to the animation. There was a lot of cartoons in the 30's that used this technique like Popeye the Sailor Man. It was a very long process drawing every frame and especially for full-length features like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Claymation:
Claymation is a form of stop motion animation in which each animated object is usually made from plasticine clay or other malleable substances. Like cel animation and stop motion each frame is recording digitally then put together to form an animation. This technique was and still is very popular today because it gives the animation such a unique look. Famous films like Wallace and Gromit were made using this technique, much like modern kids show Bob the Builder. This technique isn't only used for children's productions though as it was used to make Adult Swims Robot Chicken (which is very inappropriate for children).
Stop Frame:
Stop frame is an animation technique used to make an object appear as if it's moved on its own. It works by taking photographs of frames in which the object has been moved slightly each time creating the illusion of movement when it's all been put together. Claymation is linked very closely to stop frame because they take pictures of the objects being morphed slightly each time; however other objects can be used in stop frame like dolls, humans or everyday objects. The first stop frame production was created in 1902 and was titled Fun in a Bakery Shop. After that stop frames were very common and the technique has been used ever since. One of the most recent stop frame films was Fantastic Mr Fox which became a huge success.
Rotoscoping:
Rotoscoping is an animation technique where animators trace over the footage of live-action or animated films frame by frame. The name rotoscoping came from the projection equipment (rotoscope) they originally used to re-draw over the scenes; however now computers have replaced the need for one. Max Fleischer invented this technique 1915 using it in his series Out of the Inkwell. The technique has since been developed and has been used to create such well known features like Looney Tunes, Flash Gordon and the music video for Aha's Take on Me.
Digital Techniques for 2D Animation
2D Bitmap Graphics:
2D bitmap graphics are computer generated digital images that have been formed from 2D models (e.g. text, geometric models). The development of 2D bitmap graphics began in the 50's and were widely used in raster-based devices later. These graphics are made up of pixels which means the size cannot be altered because it creates blurriness. 2D graphics are mainly used for logos and other not detailed graphics; this is because 2D bitmaps can't handle the coding for a detailed image.
2D Vector Graphics:
2D Vector graphics also use geometrical primitives like lines and shapes to create images however the points between each line of a vector defines the position. Vectors are best suited for images with more details because when the image is enlarged the quality stays the same unlike the bitmap.
Tweening:
Tweening is a term used to describe a technique used in Adobe Flash Professional to connect two key frames together. Tween comes from the words 'in between' so it describes the process in which an animator connects two different scenes. There are a number of different tweens; the classic tween (uses older animation method), the motion tween (uses motion editor & motion paths), and the shape tween (morphing two separate vector shapes together). Tweening is a very useful method because it speeds the animating process up because the animator doesn't have to waste time creating in-between frames. The tweening technique does it for you by making the frames run smoothly.
Key Frames:
Key frames are frames in an animation that define the start and end points of a transition. A number of key frames have to be created to define the illusion of movement but with Adobe Flash Professional the tweens are placed in between the key frames to create a smooth transition.
Onion Skinning:
Onion skinning is a term used in 2D computer graphics when creating animations to see a number of frames at the same time. Traditionally, individual frames were drawn on thin onionskin paper above a light source then the animator would place the previous and next drawings underneath it so they could draw the tween to give a smooth motion. In the present onion skinning is done in computer software by making frames translucent and putting them on top of one another. This technique has also been used to create motion blurs like in The Matrix when they dodge bullets.
Animated GIFS:
GIFS are a bitmap image format that was introduced in the late 80's; it allows 8 bits per pixel allowing it to chose from 256 colours. This format supports animations and is pretty much only used for this purpose. It is unsuitable to be used for colour photo's because it is only suitable for simple graphics with solid areas. GIFS were disregarded not so long ago but in the present era there has been a craze of animated GIFS. A number of sites can view animated GIFS and the most popular now is https://www.tumblr.com/. However, Myspace used to be widely used and that had hundreds of GIFS displayed on the site.
Application Software
Flash:
Adobe Flash Professional is an application software used to create animation and multimedia content. It is very interactive and can be used on a number of devices (e.g. PC, tablet, TV, smartphones). The software can be used to create a number of things including web applications, games, movies and mobile phone content.
Anime Studio:
Anime Studio is an application software used to create animations; it has a number of systems that allows the user to create professional looking animations. It has a bone rigging system, frame-by-frame animation system, animation timeline, a physics engine, auto trace for your own artwork, vector based art, audio importers and 2D or 3D spaces. This software is almost like a game engine because it simplifies everything for the animator; everything is made faster when using the Anime Studio.
Toon Boom Studio:
The Toon Boom Studio is somewhat similar to the Anime Studio in the way that it makes animating very simple. It already has physics systems, rigid body systems and more already coded into the application.
Flick Book:
A flip book is a book that contains a number of pictures that gradually change from page to page so that when the pages are turned at a fast pace the pictures appear to animate. The flip book is a very old form of animation as it first appeared in 1868; it relies on the persistence of vision to create the illusion of continuous motion. They played a very important role in the development of animation but now they are regarded as the simplest form of animation. Hand-cel Animation:
Hand-cel animation is a technique where each frame is drawn by hand; it used to be very popular until the development of computer animation. The first hand-cel animations were in the form of giant story boards that would be recorded scene by scene and put together. In the early days of animation there was no sound but once that had been discovered animators also has to record sounds and synchronise it to the animation. There was a lot of cartoons in the 30's that used this technique like Popeye the Sailor Man. It was a very long process drawing every frame and especially for full-length features like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Claymation:
Claymation is a form of stop motion animation in which each animated object is usually made from plasticine clay or other malleable substances. Like cel animation and stop motion each frame is recording digitally then put together to form an animation. This technique was and still is very popular today because it gives the animation such a unique look. Famous films like Wallace and Gromit were made using this technique, much like modern kids show Bob the Builder. This technique isn't only used for children's productions though as it was used to make Adult Swims Robot Chicken (which is very inappropriate for children).
Stop Frame:
Stop frame is an animation technique used to make an object appear as if it's moved on its own. It works by taking photographs of frames in which the object has been moved slightly each time creating the illusion of movement when it's all been put together. Claymation is linked very closely to stop frame because they take pictures of the objects being morphed slightly each time; however other objects can be used in stop frame like dolls, humans or everyday objects. The first stop frame production was created in 1902 and was titled Fun in a Bakery Shop. After that stop frames were very common and the technique has been used ever since. One of the most recent stop frame films was Fantastic Mr Fox which became a huge success.
Rotoscoping:
Rotoscoping is an animation technique where animators trace over the footage of live-action or animated films frame by frame. The name rotoscoping came from the projection equipment (rotoscope) they originally used to re-draw over the scenes; however now computers have replaced the need for one. Max Fleischer invented this technique 1915 using it in his series Out of the Inkwell. The technique has since been developed and has been used to create such well known features like Looney Tunes, Flash Gordon and the music video for Aha's Take on Me.
Digital Techniques for 2D Animation
2D Bitmap Graphics:
2D bitmap graphics are computer generated digital images that have been formed from 2D models (e.g. text, geometric models). The development of 2D bitmap graphics began in the 50's and were widely used in raster-based devices later. These graphics are made up of pixels which means the size cannot be altered because it creates blurriness. 2D graphics are mainly used for logos and other not detailed graphics; this is because 2D bitmaps can't handle the coding for a detailed image.2D Vector Graphics:
2D Vector graphics also use geometrical primitives like lines and shapes to create images however the points between each line of a vector defines the position. Vectors are best suited for images with more details because when the image is enlarged the quality stays the same unlike the bitmap.
Tweening:
Tweening is a term used to describe a technique used in Adobe Flash Professional to connect two key frames together. Tween comes from the words 'in between' so it describes the process in which an animator connects two different scenes. There are a number of different tweens; the classic tween (uses older animation method), the motion tween (uses motion editor & motion paths), and the shape tween (morphing two separate vector shapes together). Tweening is a very useful method because it speeds the animating process up because the animator doesn't have to waste time creating in-between frames. The tweening technique does it for you by making the frames run smoothly.
Key Frames:
Key frames are frames in an animation that define the start and end points of a transition. A number of key frames have to be created to define the illusion of movement but with Adobe Flash Professional the tweens are placed in between the key frames to create a smooth transition.
Onion Skinning:
Onion skinning is a term used in 2D computer graphics when creating animations to see a number of frames at the same time. Traditionally, individual frames were drawn on thin onionskin paper above a light source then the animator would place the previous and next drawings underneath it so they could draw the tween to give a smooth motion. In the present onion skinning is done in computer software by making frames translucent and putting them on top of one another. This technique has also been used to create motion blurs like in The Matrix when they dodge bullets.
Animated GIFS:
GIFS are a bitmap image format that was introduced in the late 80's; it allows 8 bits per pixel allowing it to chose from 256 colours. This format supports animations and is pretty much only used for this purpose. It is unsuitable to be used for colour photo's because it is only suitable for simple graphics with solid areas. GIFS were disregarded not so long ago but in the present era there has been a craze of animated GIFS. A number of sites can view animated GIFS and the most popular now is https://www.tumblr.com/. However, Myspace used to be widely used and that had hundreds of GIFS displayed on the site. Application Software
Flash:
Adobe Flash Professional is an application software used to create animation and multimedia content. It is very interactive and can be used on a number of devices (e.g. PC, tablet, TV, smartphones). The software can be used to create a number of things including web applications, games, movies and mobile phone content.
After Effects:
Adobe After Effects is an application software that lets the user create cinematic effects and motion graphics quickly using the Global Performance Cache. The software has built-in text and shape extrusion, mask feathering options and easy-to-use 3D Camera Tracker. It is used in post-production of film and television production. Its main uses are 2D and pseudo 3D animation, visual effects and finishing.
Anime Studio:
Anime Studio is an application software used to create animations; it has a number of systems that allows the user to create professional looking animations. It has a bone rigging system, frame-by-frame animation system, animation timeline, a physics engine, auto trace for your own artwork, vector based art, audio importers and 2D or 3D spaces. This software is almost like a game engine because it simplifies everything for the animator; everything is made faster when using the Anime Studio.
Toon Boom Studio:
The Toon Boom Studio is somewhat similar to the Anime Studio in the way that it makes animating very simple. It already has physics systems, rigid body systems and more already coded into the application.
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