1. Identify the methods used to acquire media objects for
animation sequences
2. In This Chapter, you’ll learn on:
Select a series of images to convey a sequence
Acquire images based on specific time intervals
using a digital camera.
Acquire images from a video source based on a
specific action.
3. Animation
An animation is a sequence or series of images, or frames that is
displayed over time. Each frame varies slightly from the preceding
frame, creating the illusion of movement when the frames are
viewed in quick succession.
There are a few methods on how you can create an animation, and
there are certain technical names depending on the technique and
approach you used.
Frame with changes is known as a keyframe, the sequence of images
will form the animation
4. Traditional animation
Traditional animation (also called cel animation or hand-
drawn animation) was the process used for most
animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames
of a traditionally animated film are photographs of
drawings, which are first drawn on paper.
To create the illusion of movement, each drawing differs
slightly from the one before it. The animators' drawings
are traced or photocopied onto transparent acetate
sheets called cels, which are filled in with paints in
assigned colors or tones on the side opposite the line
drawings. The completed character cels are
photographed one-by-one onto motion picture film
against a painted background by a rostrum camera.
5. 2D animation
2D animation figures are created and/or edited on
the computer using 2D bitmap graphics or created
and edited using 2D vector graphics.
This includes automated computerized versions of
traditional animation techniques such as
interpolated morphing, onion skinning and
interpolated rotoscoping. 2D animation can be
created with software like Flash, Adobe Photoshop.
6. 3D animation
3D animation is digitally modeled and manipulated by
an animator. In order to manipulate a mesh, it is given a
digital skeletal structure that can be used to control the
mesh. This process is called rigging. Various other
techniques can be applied, such as mathematical
functions (ex. gravity, particle simulations), simulated fur
or hair, effects such as fire and water and the use of
motion capture to name but a few, these techniques fall
under the category of 3D dynamics. Well-made 3D
animations can be difficult to distinguish from live action
and are commonly used as visual effects for recent
movies. Toy Story (1995, USA) is the first feature-length film
to be created and rendered entirely using 3D graphics.
7. Drawn-on-film animation
Drawn-on-film animation or direct animation is also
known as animation without camera. This animation
technique where footage is produced by creating
the images directly on film stock, as opposed to any
other form of animation where the images or
objects are photographed frame by frame with an
animation camera.
8. Stop Motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a
physically manipulated object appear 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 continuous sequence. Clay figures are
often used in stop motion for their ease of
repositioning. Motion animation using clay is called
clay animation or clay-mation.
9. Some types of stop motion
Puppet animation typically involves stop-motion puppet
figures interacting with each other in a constructed
environment, in contrast to the real-world interaction in
model animation.
Clay animation, or Plasticine animation often
abbreviated as claymation, uses figures made of clay or
a similar malleable material to create stop-motion
animation.
Cutout animation is a type of stop-motion animation
produced by moving 2-dimensional pieces of material
such as paper or cloth.
Silhouette animation is a variant of cutout animation in
which the characters are backlit and only visible as
silhouettes