The Tribune

Whether it is movies, cartoons, short films or advertisements, humans love watching animated characters on screen. Animation creates an entirely different world for the viewers. But do you realise how much work goes into creating these animation films?

Animation, in the shape of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Tom and Jerry and others, has been around for a long time. To become an animator, you have to possess a basic understanding of how body parts work in a given space. For those who are entirely new to the field of animation, the process involves creating some sort of movement by showing a series of pictures in quick succession to give the illusion of movement. For the inexperienced, here are the most well-known styles of animation and what they involve.

Traditional Animation

Traditional animation is a long process. Each frame is painstakingly drawn. Whether the frame showcases the movement of a finger or a change in facial expression, each movement has a set of frames. This tedious process is used in old school animated movies. Watch an old Disney favourite to see how accurately each frame was drawn for the end product to look this great.

2D Animation

The vector-based 2D animation is similar to traditional animation. However, this style of animation is created using computer programs such as Flash. Animators using this process have the option of not drawing each frame individually. They can instead opt to move only a body part or object in the frame to show movement.

3D Animation—Computer Based

Have you ever been wowed by the on-screen graphics in a movie? That is 3D animation. 3D animation requires a unique set of technical skills. This technique is essentially like showing the movement of a puppet on screen, rather than showing movement through frames.

Motion Graphics Animation

This animation method is different from everything else since it involves moving graphical elements around. Animated logos, film titles, commercial ads and educational videos employ this method. More often than not, motion graphics involve using pieces of text to create an animation.

Stop Motion Animation

If you are someone who possesses an infinite amount of patience, stop motion animation may be the thing for you. Falling under this category is claymation; Lego figure animation; cut-outs; and pixelation. Stop motion requires photographing an object in a sequence of pictures. Even the slightest movement gets its own shot. To ensure there is fluidity in the animation and no hard breaks, the animator has to ensure each movement is captured in a proper order.

The history of animation is quite fascinating. Animation is not the art of making drawings move, but the art of drawing movement. Based on the persistence of vision, animation - like all film - is an illusion of fluid movement when, in fact, it is a series of static drawings moving so quickly, 24 frames a second, that they give the appearance of movement.

Technology advances have opened up new frontiers in the field of animation. However, each technique has remained unique in its own way. Until we meet again, fill your life with memories rather than regrets. Enjoy life and stay on top of your game

NB: Columnist welcomes feedback at deedee21bastian@gmail.com

ABOUT COLUMNIST: Deidre M Bastian is a professionally-trained graphic designer/ marketing co-ordinator and certified life coach with qualifications of MSc, BSc and ASc, She has trained at institutions such as: Miami Lakes Technical Centre, Success Training College, College of The Bahamas, Nova Southeastern University, Learning Tree International, Langevine International and Synergy Bahamas.