graphic design: basic animation

'UN SACRE MARIAGE'

1) Official selection of the 2014 Zlin Film Festival.

2) Best animated picture of the 2014 Quebec Student Film Festival.

3) Official Selection of the 2013 Ottawa International Animation Festival.

3) Winner of the 'Jury's Special Mention' Award of the Laval University's 2013 BASA Animation Festival.

WHAT IS BASIC ANIMATION?

Animation is the process of creating motion and shape change. Illusion by means of the rapid display of a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion as in motion pictures in general is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon. Animators are artists who specialize in the creation of animation.

Animations can be recorded on either analogue media, such as a flip book, motion picture film, video tape, or on digital media, including formats such as animated GIF, Flash animation or digital video. To display animation, a digital camera, computer, or projector are used along with new technologies that are produced.

Animation creation methods include the traditional animation creation method and those involving stop motion animation of two and three-dimensional objects, such as paper cutout, puppets and clay figures. Images are displayed in a rapid succession, usually 24, 25, 30, or 60 frames per second.

Many television shows today use animation and animation gives them that more of a unique look, allowing them to do more than what they could do with actors.

BASIC TYPE OF ANIMATION

Stop-Motion

Stop-motion is basically a type of animation in which inanimate objects are used. Inanimate objects are moved and captured (a photo is taken). Then they are moved a bit and a shot is taken, this goes on till a motion is complete. Then all the photos are played in a sequence and we see an animation, an illusion of life. Some examples of stop-motion movies are The Adventures of Prince Achmed, The Corpse Bride and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

EXAMPLE :-

2D Animation

2D animation can be basically divided into two main categories. One is cel animation, which is classical animation. This is the way all old 2D movies were made, but due to the advent of computer technology the other category of 2D animation which is computer generated has become very popular. Cel animation is done by drawing frame-by-frame. This means on paper, drawings are created and then these drawings are captured by a camera. An animation clip is created using photos of these drawings. Some examples of classical cel animation are Disney's Steamboat Willie, Aladdin and Pinocchio. Some of the computer generated animation series are The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory and The Jetsons.

EXAMPLE :-

3D Animation

3D animation is dominating when it comes to full-length feature films. 3D animation is basically created using a software which allows to create models and animate them in a 3D environment, on three axis X, Y, and Z, while for 2D animation there are only two axis. In 2D animation you cannot look at a character in various angles by rotating it, but in 3D animation this is possible.3D animation is completely done using software. Maya and 3D Max are two of the most popular 3D animation software. There is also Blender which is easier to understand. Blender is simple software and easy to grasp, while to comprehend Maya and Max you will need a lot of practice. There is also another type of animation which is called motion capture. However, motion capture is actually not a type of animation but a mix medium of live action and 3D animation. In this medium basically a motion is captured and then rendered using a software, to give an effect of an animation clip.

EXAMPLE :-

WHAT IS THE TOOL IN ANIMATION.

EWC presenter

The EWC Presenter is not just an animation and multimedia presentation tool. It is any designer's dream application. It walks you through the whole process of creating stylish animations through its extremely simple user interface and a long list of animation effects.

You can start off with a blank slide and design it from the scratch or choose from a wide range of templates tailor-made for different industries and users. You can add different objects to your slides by using drag-and-drop functions and add a variety of animation effects, from a dropdown list, to your text content, images and objects. And just in case you face any difficulty in understanding this simple application, you can refer to its detailed tutorial videos that will guide you at each step of creating your animations.

The EWC Presenter is an HTML5 based application that runs smoothly on all major mobile and desktop platforms, so you don't have to worry about any device compatibility issues for your animations.

Make web video

Make Web Video is a specialized online tool for creating high quality animations and HD video presentations in a matter of minutes. It can create highly complex animations in very quick time that would otherwise take hours to design. Users can choose from a number of animation design templates and activate them by adding text content to the templates.

Since Make Web Video is a completely web-based application, users do not need to download any software and can simply create their animations in their internet browsers. This is not an entirely free tool but the amount of time it saves and the quality of output it produces makes it a very good deal indeed.

Vcasmo

Combine HD images, sound clips and videos to create stunningly beautiful presentations and animations through Vcasmo. Vcasmo creates extremely high quality animations that are perfect for corporate and business presentations.

It's an HTML5 based application that is compatible with all major mobile platforms and allows embedding presentations into any blog or website. It is available both as a free and paid service.

Go animate

Go Animate is an ideal tool for creating highly engaging and attractive animations for students, teachers and corporate professionals. It is a comprehensive online animation and video presentation solution that makes animation designing an extremely enjoyable experience. It offers a wide range of pre-designed animations tailored for different industries and users. It has a very simple user interface and is ideal for creating high quality animations in quick time.

Powtoon

PowToon is the perfect online application for creating storytelling animations, academic presentations and info graphics. It offers a variety of animation effects that users can activate by selecting from a dropdown list. To make things even simpler, PowToon has a number of free templates that can be used to create animations and presentations with minimum of effort. The quality of PowToon animations is immaculate and a number of leading brands use it for creating their animations and video presentations.

Mixeek

Mixeek is a very useful web based animation tool that can be used to create flawless animations with a wide range of effects. It is an online tool that is completely based on HTML5 and runs very smoothly on most browsers. Although it is not the simplest of animation tools available, but the options it offers are extremely flexible and its animation features are rarely found in other free tools.

Prezi

Prezi is a stylish online animation tool that creates beautiful presentations through unique animations and graphics. You can create stunning presentations with Prezi by adding images, videos, objects or simple text, and animating them using a wide range of effects. The finished presentations can also be shared directly from Prezi on all major social networks.

Prezi supports all the major mobile and desktop platforms and allows you to run your presentations as executable files as well. It comes both as a free and paid service, but even the free version has all the options you need.

Empressr

Empressr is an online multimedia presentation designing tool that offers a wide range of design templates and editing features along with a simple user interface.

It's a very good tool for corporate presentations and offers a variety of animation effects ideal for business presentations and meetings. It also lets you import content from websites like Flickr to further beatify your presentations. The finished presentations can be shared via email or by embedding into your website or blog.

Creaza

Creaza is an animation tool targeted specifically towards school children. It helps you design creative storytelling experiences through highly engaging animations and video presentations. It has 30 built in ready to use themes along with a number of editing tools that can be used to further enhance the look and feel of your animations.

12 PRINCIPLE ANIMATION

Squash and Stretch

The point of squash and stretch is to make the motions larger than life, rather than more swift, realistic, and sometimes unnoticed in passing observation. It is usually used when an object is affected by weight or gravity, and “stretch” (become elongated) when affected by momentum or other forces, in ways that are impossible in reality. A key principle of squash and stretch, however, is the fact that the object/character animated retains the same volume/apparent mass; it’s simply distorted into a different shape and/or configuration to give the impression of the forces acting.

Anticipation

Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for an action, and to make the action appear more realistic. A dancer jumping off the floor has to bend his knees first; a golfer making a swing has to swing.

Staging

Staging directs the audience to the story or idea being told. The importance is to make clear what is important in the scene whether it is an action, expression or mood. This can be the placement of the character within the frame, the use of light and shadow or the angle of the camera.

To begin with in the animation there is only one character on screen. The background is plain black in order to draw attention to the action and not confuse with what’s happening on the characters. Each character represents night and day respectively and the way they interact with each other is the main focus of the film.

Straight ahead action and pose to pose

These are two different approaches to the actual drawing process. “Straight ahead action” means drawing out a scene frame by frame from beginning to end, while “pose to pose” involves starting with drawing a few key frames, and then filling in the intervals later. “Straight ahead action” creates a more fluid, dynamic illusion of movement, and is better for producing realistic action sequences. On the other hand, it is hard to maintain proportions, and to create exact, convincing poses along the way. “Pose to pose” works better for dramatic or emotional scenes, where composition and relation to the surroundings are of greater importance. A combination of the two techniques is often used.

Follow Through and Overlapping Action

These closely related techniques help render movement more realistic, and give the impression that characters follow the laws of physics. “Follow through” means that separate parts of a body will continue moving after the character has stopped. “Overlapping action” is the tendency for parts of the body to move at different rates (an arm will move on different timing of the head and so on). A third technique is “drag”, where a character starts to move and parts of him take a few frames to catch up. These parts can be inanimate objects like clothing or the antenna on a car, or parts of the body, such as arms or hair. On the human body, the torso is the core, with arms, legs, head and hair appendices that normally follow the torso’s movement. Body parts with much tissue, such as large stomachs and breasts, or the loose skin on a dog, are more prone to independent movement than bonier body parts. Again, exaggerated use of the technique can produce a comical effect, while more realistic animation must time the actions exactly, to produce a convincing result.

Thomas and Johnston also developed the principle of the “moving hold”. A character not in movement can be rendered absolutely still; this is often done, particularly to draw attention to the main action. According to Thomas and Johnston, however, this gave a dull and lifeless result, and should be avoided. Even characters sitting still can display some sort of movement, such as the torso moving in and out with breathing.

Slow In Slow Out

The movement of the human body, and most other objects, needs time to accelerate and slow down. For this reason, animation looks more realistic if it has more drawings near the beginning and end of an action, emphasizing the extreme poses, and fewer in the middle. This principle goes for characters moving between two extreme poses, such as sitting down and standing up, but also for inanimate, moving objects, like the bouncing ball.

Arcs

Most natural action tends to follow an arched trajectory, and animation should adhere to this principle by following implied “arcs” for greater realism. This can apply to a limb moving by rotating a joint, or a thrown object moving along a parabolic trajectory. The exception is mechanical movement, which typically moves in straight lines.

As an object’s speed and momentum increases, arcs tend to flatten out in moving ahead and broaden in turns. In baseball, a fastball would tend to move in a straighter line than other pitches; while a figure skater moving at top speed would be unable to turn as sharply as a slower skater, and would need to cover more ground to complete the turn.

An object in motion that moves out of its natural arc for no apparent reason will appear erratic rather than fluid. Therefore when animating (for example) a pointing finger, the animator should be certain that in all drawings in between the two extreme poses, the fingertip follows a logical arc from one extreme to the next. Traditional animators tend to draw the arc in lightly on the paper for reference, to be erased later.

Secondary Action

Adding secondary actions to the main action gives a scene more life, and can help to support the main action. A person walking can simultaneously swing his arms or keep them in his pockets, he can speak or whistle, or he can express emotions through facial expressions. The important thing about secondary actions is that they emphasize, rather than take attention away from the main action. If the latter is the case, those actions are better left out. In the case of facial expressions, during a dramatic movement these will often go unnoticed. In these cases it is better to include them at the beginning and the end of the movement, rather than during.

Timing and Spacing

Timing refers to the number of drawings or frames for a given action, which translates to the speed of the action on film. On a purely physical level, correct timing makes objects appear to abide to the laws of physics; for instance, an object’s weight decides how it reacts to an impetus, like a push. Timing is critical for establishing a character’s mood, emotion, and reaction. It can also be a device to communicate aspects of a character’s personality

Spacing is the way to get from one kew pose to another, whether it’s fast and getting slower or other combinations of the movement speed.

Exaggeration

Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for animation, as perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull in cartoons. The level of exaggeration depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style, like a caricature or the style of an artist. The classical definition of exaggeration, employed by Disney, was to remain true to reality, just presenting it in a wilder, more extreme form. Other forms of exaggeration can involve the supernatural or surreal, alterations in the physical features of a character, or elements in the storyline itself. It is important to employ a certain level of restraint when using exaggeration; if a scene contains several elements, there should be a balance in how those elements are exaggerated in relation to each other, to avoid confusing or overawing the viewer.

Poses

Every poses in animation has to be solid, it has to guide the viewer eyes with the right line of action and flow lines. In every scene the poses has to have variety of intensity. To make a pose to be believable it also has to have the right weight distribution and the right staging of the characters to make it interesting to watch.

Appeal

Appeal means something that the audience will want to see. This is equivalent to charisma in a live actor. A scene or character should not be too simple (boring!) or too complex (can’t understand it). One principle to achieve this is to avoid mirror symmetry. Asymmetry tends to be more interesting and appealing.

CONCLUSION.

In this dissertation we presented the results of research spanning the fields of computer graphics and artificial life. With regard to computer graphics, we have proposed, implemented, and demonstrated an animation framework that enables the creation of realistic animations of certain natural ecosystems with minimal intervention from the animator. In our approach, the virtual creatures are self-animating, as are real animals and humans. Thus, the strength of our approach to animation lies in the fact that it turns the role of the animator from that of a graphical model puppeteer to that of an virtual nature cinematographer, a job not unlike that done by nature cinematographers of the National Geographic Society. Our artificial life approach has advanced the state-of-the-art of computer animation, as evidenced by the unprecedented complexity and realism of the behavioral animations that we have been able to achieve without key framing. With regard to artificial life, we have successfully modeled complete animals of nontrivial complexity. The convincing simulation results validate our computational models, which capture the essential features of all biological animals--biomechanics, locomotion, perception, and behavior.

INFOGRAPHIC

SKETCH

REPORT BASIC ANIMATION

What is animation?

Animation is the process of creating motion and shape change the illustration by means of the rapid display of a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion as in motion pictures in general is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon. Animators are artist who specialize in the creation of animation. Animations can be recorded on either analogue media, such as flip book, motion picture film, video tape, or on digital media, including formats such as animated GIF, Flash animation or digital video. To display animation, a digital camera, computer, or projector are used along with new technologies that are produced.

Sketches