ANIMATION

S.BALAMURUGAN
ASST.PROF (Sr.G)
DEPARTEMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
SRM UNIVERSITY

CONTENTS
ANIMATION
CONVENTIONAL, COMPUTER AND

ENGINEERING ANIMATION
TYPES AND TECHNIQUES

What is Animation?

Definition:
A collection of static images joined together
and shown consecutively so that they appear to
move.

Group all the shapes, shrink them and then position them in a series of
slides to test your animation.

Press PAGE DOWN to sequence through the next few slides. You will see
how the bird animates. With just two frames, you can get pretty cool
looking animations.

Animation and Frame Rates

TV video builds 30 entire frames or pictures every

second.
Movies are shot at a shutter rate of 24 frames per
second, but using projections tricks the flicker is
increased to 48.
On some projectors each frame is shown 3 times
before the next frame, for a total of 72 flickers per
second which helps eliminate the flicker effect.
Cel Animation plays at 24 frames per second.

Animation Techniques
Computers have taken a great deal of
handwork out of the animation and
rendering process.
And commercial films such as Jurassic Park,
Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, and Shrek
have utilized the power of the computers.

TRADITIONAL ANIMATION
Also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation.
Begins with a storyboard.
A preliminary soundtrack is recorded.
Penciled drawings are made by lead animators of
keyframes.
Pencil tests are prepared.
Artists called in-betweeners draw the frames between
the keyframes.
The drawings are traced onto cels and painted.
Finally, they are photographed.

COMPUTER ASSISTED ANIMATION

The computer is used to make the animation process

quicker and easier.

Usually involves 2-D images
Can be hand-drawn and scanned into the computer.
Can be drawn directly into the computer using graphics
tablets.
The images are positioned into keyframes containing the
most important movements.
Tweening is then performed by the computer to create
images between keyframes.

Computer Assisted Animation

Even though computers are now used

extensively, many traditional steps are still

used.

Storyboarding
Pencil Testing
Keyframes
Tweening

Computer Generated Animation

All images, objects and animation are

created on the computer.

Typically uses 3-D images.
Adds two steps to the animation process.
Modeling process of creating a wireframe
structure of the 3-D objects and scenes.
Rendering process of applying colors,
textures, shadows, transparency, etc. to create
the final image or animation.

3-D Graphics and Animation

3-D animations are more complex.
Creating 3-D animations involves modeling, animation,

and rendering.
Modeling is creating broad contours and structure of 3-D
objects and scenes.
Animation is determining the motions of the objects..
Rendering involves determining colors, surface textures, and
amounts of transparency of objects.

Computer Generated Animation

Motion capture can be used to create

animation.
Actors wear special suits that allow the
computer to capture their movements.
The movements can then be applied to
computer-generated graphics.

Examples:
The Polar Express
Avatar

Bridging the Traditional and

Computer Eras
Traditional animation is defined as the process of

creating the illusion of motion by viewing a series of

individual drawings successively.

Computer animation is creating a digital scene by

digitally recording cells, sorting them on an electronic

storyboard, and displaying them electronically in
succession.

Overview: Traditional Animation

Early 2D Animation: Used traditional

techniques
Early 3D Animation: Neglected traditional
techniques.
Understanding the 11 Fundamental
principles of traditional animation
techniques is essential to producing good
computer animation.

1. Squash and Stretch

Teaches basic

mechanics of
animation.
Defines rigidity of

material.
Important in facial

animation.

Squash and Stretch Cont.

Can relieve the

disturbing effect of
strobing.

2. Timing and Motion

Gives meaning to movement.

Proper timing is critical to making ideas
readable.

Examples:
1. Timing: tiny characters move quicker than
larger ones.
2. Motion: can define weights of objects.

3. Anticipation
Preparation for an action
Example:
Goofy prepares to hit a baseball.

4. Staging
A clear presentation of an idea.
Some Techniques:
1. Use motion in a still scene or use of static movement
in a busy scene.
2. Use of silhouettes (to the side)

5. Follow Through and

Overlapping Action
1. Follow Through
Termination part of an action.
Example: after throwing a ball
2. Overlapping Action
Starting a second action before the first has completed.
Example: Luxo Jr.s hop with overlapping
action on chord.

6. Straight Ahead Action and

Pose-to-Pose Action
1. Straight Ahead
Animator start from first drawing in the scene and
draw all subsequent frames until the end of scene.
2. Pose-to-Pose
Animator plans actions, draws a sequence of poses, in
between frames etc.

7. Slow in and Out

Spacing of inbetween
frames to achieve
subtlety of timing and
movement.

1. 3d keyframe comp. Systems

uses spline interpolation to
control the path of an object.
2. Has tendency to overshoot at
extremes (small # of frames).

8. Arcs
Visual path of action for natural movement.
Makes animation much smoother and less

stiff than a straight line.

9. Exaggeration
Accentuating the essence of an idea via

the design and the action.

Needs to be used carefully.
Example: Luxo Jr. made
smaller to give idea of a
child.

10. Secondary Action

Action that results directly from another action.
Used to increase the complexity and interest of a

scene.

Example:
Body movement is the primary
action, facial expression is the
secondary action

11. Appeal
Refers to what an audience would like to see.
Character cannot be too simple (boring) or too

complex.
Examples:
Avoid mirror symmetry,
assymmetry is interesting.

Animation File Formats

Software
Director
Animator Pro
Studio Max
SuperCard and Director
Windows Audio Video Interleaved
Macintosh
Motion Video
CompuServe
Flash
Shockwave

File Format
.dir & .dcr
.fli
.max
.pics
.avi
.qt & .mov
.mpeg
.gif
.swf
.dcr

THANK YOU