History of Animation
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Introduction to Animation by Sagar Kanojia What is Animation? Working with the person next to you, write a definition of animation. You cannot use any resources (dictionary, Internet, etc). You must come up with the definition by yourselves. You will be sharing your definition with the rest of the class. Write your definition in your notes. What is Animation? Animation is the art of creating a series of differing images that create the appearance of movement when played in rapid succession over time. Websters: The act or process of imparting life, spirit or motion. Art in movement The art of movement Movement Movement makes static drawings come alive. It is the quality of the movement (the life) that matters, not the quality of a particular image or drawing or frame of film. Whether it is a drawing or a lump of clay, the animator places life and meaning into the material by making it move! What does it take to be an Animator? A fascination with the way things move. Sharp observational skills A willingness to be an actor! Problem solving skills Lots of patience A little bit of perseverance! How do pictures move? A trick of the human eye and the brain Obviously, the images don’t actually move! The illusion of movement is created by a physiological phenomenon called persistence of vision. Persistence of Vision Light is captured by the eye The image is focused upon the retina (at the back of the eye). • The brain reads and interprets the image. • The brain retains the image slightly longer than it is actually registered on the retina. Timeline: A History of Animation 1828 – The Thaumatrope A simple mechanical toy that created the illusion of movement was made popular by Paul Roget. 1844 - Theatre Optique, Paris Emil Reynaud opens his Theatre Optique in Paris. The Praxinoscope实 用镜contained mirrors placed on an inside column that reflected out the sequential drawings that were on the inside of the drum. He was able to project 80 frames without changing reels and could project 10 to 15 minute "films". But the advent of film drove him out of business and in 1910 he threw all his equipment into a river and died destitute in a sanatorium in 1918. 1893 - The Kinetoscope投 映机 Thomas Edison invents the Kinetisocope. Reels of celluloid were stretched over a set of wheels that passed in front of a viewing window. Only one viewer at a time could watch. 1894 – First Copyrighted Film Thomas Edison copyrights the first motion picture, The Record Of A Sneeze. Thomas Edison opens his Kinetiscope Parlor in New York. 1906 – First example of Frame-By- Frame Animation James Stuart Blackton makes Humorous Phases Of Funny Faces. This film is usually considered the first known example of animation as some of the drawn sequences are shot frame-by-frame. Blackton used a combination of blackboard and chalk drawing and cutouts to achieve animation. Play Movie 1914 – Gertie the Dinosaur Winsor McCay's Gertie The Dinosaur was the first major triumph in character animation (it is still a marvelous film). It was shown as a film in the theaters and also as a multimedia event on stage with McCay interacting with the animated Gertie. Play Movie 1920 – Felix The Cat Felix The Cat, the most popular character and series of this period, is created by Otto Messmer of Sullivan's studio. 1926 – Adventures of Prince Achmed Adventures Of Prince Achmed, a one-hour shadow puppet film was released. This film is considered to be the oldest surviving feature-length animated film. Play Movie 1928 – Mickey Mouse is born! Steamboat Willy, starring a little mouse named Mickey, opens in New York in November 1928. It is the first successful animated film with sound. It made Mickey Mouse a star and launched the Disney Studios. Play Movie 1932 – Animation Wins an Oscar Flowers And Trees, by Disney Studios, won the first Academy Award for Animation. This film was the first to use three strip Technicolor in animation. Line & Cell Animation becomes the standard animation technique for the next 60 years! Play History of Disney 1993 – Stop-Motion Animation Nightmare Before Christmas, by Tim Burton, is released. A departure from traditional cell animation. Uses stop-motion object animation. Play Movie 1994 – A Billion Dollar AnimationThe Lion King is released by Disney. This animated film made over $1 billion in theaters. It became a world-wide phenomenon! 1995 – Computer Animated Film Toy Story, is the first computer animated feature film released and it takes in more money at the box office than any other film in 1995. Play Movie Traditional animation(2D, Cel, Hand TraditionalDrawn) animation, sometimes referred to as cel animation, is one of the older forms of animation, in it the animator draws every frame to create the animation sequence. Just like they used to do in the old days of Disney. If you’ve ever had one of those Flip-books when you were a kid, you’ll know what I mean. Sequential drawings screened quickly one after another create the illusion of movement. There are four basic techniques used in animation. These are: Drawn animation. Model animation Stop motion animation. Computer animation or computer generated imagery (CGI) Stop motion is an animation technique that physically manipulates an object so that it appears to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a fast sequence. Dolls with movable joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning. Stop motion animation using plasticine is called clay animation or "clay-mation". Not all stop motion requires figures or models; many stop motion films can involve using humans, household appliances and other things for comedic effect. Stop motion can also use sequential drawing in a similar manner to traditional animation, such as a flip book. Stop motion using humans is sometimes referred to as pixilation or pixilate animation. Model animation Model animation is a form of stop motion animation designed to merge with live action footage to create the illusion of a real-world fantasy sequence. Techniques Many types of models have been created and developed and are mainly depended on the budget of the film: Clay Models: Unlike most clay figures used for animation, clay models have an inner metal skeleton designed to allow them realistic movements and expressions Model animation Build-Up Models: these type of models are more expensive and detailed than clay models. they are made by building up pieces of foam on a metal skeleton it to create a body, and then either brushing on several layers of liquid latex on top, or casting soft rubbery skins and attaching then to the padded armature. Model animation "Casted" Models: this type of models are the most expensive type used in the industry and are longer-lasting than the other types. these models start as clay sculptures that on top of them a 2 (or more) part mold is made in order to reproduct all the details of it. then the mold parts are assembled with an armature inside of them, and are filled with a liquid material (foam latex, silicone rubber, urethan foam, etc.) that then forms a soft rubbery "flesh" over the skeleton. Traditional animation(2D, Cel, Hand TVPaintDrawn) A french animation software, TVPaint is the all-in-one 2D animation software you’ll ever need. It’s definitely more robust and complex than Photoshop, but it’s also much pricier. This software is for professional animators and studios. Traditional animation(2D, Cel, Hand ToonDrawn) Boom Harmony Toon Boom offers a user friendly set of animation programs that has advanced rigging systems, effects and camera tools. It is vector based, but the more advanced version also has the option for bitmap drawing. 2D Animation (Vector-Based) 2D animation is the term often used when referring to traditional hand drawn animation, but it can also refer to computer vector animations that adopts the techniques of traditional animation. Vector-based animations, meaning computer generated 2D animations,uses the exact same techniques as traditional animation, but benefits from the lack of physical objects needed to make traditional 2D animations, as well as the ability to use computer interpolation to same time. 2D Animation (Vector-Based) Animation is different from other parts. Its language is the language of caricature. Our most difficult job was to develop the cartoon’s unnatural but seemingly natural anatomy for humans and animals. Walt Disney 2D Animation (Vector-Based) There are four basic techniques used in animation. These are: Drawn animation. Model animation stop motion animation. Computer animation or computer generated imagery (CGI) 2D Animation (Vector-Based) Adobe Animate (Formerly known as Flash) Probably the most popular 2D animation software out there. Animate has a long lineage of animation making, dating back to the early days of internet video publishing. It is vector based, very intuitive to use (as are most of Adobe’s programs) and relatively inexpensive. It’s great for getting started with 2D animation, and though it’s not meant for professional animation production (unlike Toon Boom Harmony) you can still get amazing results with it. 2D Animation (Vector-Based) Adobe After Effects An interesting choice for 2D animation. After effects gives you great controlwhen creating rigs for 2D, and using the puppet tool is very convenient and intuitive and it to be a great choice if you’re already comfortable with the Adobe environment, but that’s a matter of preference. Since it’s an editing software it’s great to be able to edit and color correct in the same place you animate, and while it’s not the traditional way the pipeline works, it could save some time.