What is Animation?
“Animation is a method of photographing successive drawings, models, or even puppets, to create an illusion of movement in a sequence. Because our eyes can only retain an image for approx. 1/10 of a second, when multiple images appear in fast succession, the brain blends them into a single moving image. In traditional animation, pictures are drawn or painted on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed. Early cartoons are examples of this, but today, most animated movies are made with computer-generated imagery or CGI.”
(Maio, 2020)
When it comes to animation, there are numerous different styles in which an artist could present their work. Below are just some of them which I would potentially use for my project.
2D Animation
This type of animation is where characters, storyboards and backgrounds are drawn in two-dimensional environments (Renderforest Staff, 2020). Notable examples of this type of animation includes, The Simpsons, Looney Tunes, Classic Disney, etc.
Example of 2D animation – The Bare Necessities (from The Jungle Book)
3D Animation
This type of animation is when the images appear three-dimensional, and require you to be able to digitally model a character, sculpt it and give it a skeleton in order to rig it to move. This type of animation is often used to create short films, full-length films, TV commercials and many other things too (Renderforest Staff, 2020). Some notable examples of this type of animation include, Toy Story, Frozen, How to Train Your Dragon, the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and many more.
Example of 3D Animation – How to Train Your Dragon (2010) – Learning To Fly Scene (5/10)|Movieclips
Whiteboard animation
This type of is often used for explainer video animations and allows audiences to focus on the content due to the minimalist design of the style (Renderforest Staff, 2020).
Example of Whiteboard Animation- Stop Motion|Whiteboard Animation: The Marker Maker
Rotoscoping Animation
This type of animation is when animators trace over footage within a software using a rotoscoping tool (Renderforest Staff, 2020). Some examples of this type of animation include Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and Fantasia.
Example of Rotoscoping Animation – Alice in Wonderland Behind The Scenes – Live Action Reference (1951) HD
Stop Motion Animation
This type of animation is a technique that requires animators physically to manipulate objects to make them seem as if they are moving on their own (Renderforest Staff, 2020). The character and objects are moved a little bit before a photo is taken, this process is then repeated multiple times in order to create a sequence and animation. Some notable examples that used this animation technique include, The Corpse Bride, Coraline and The Teddy Bears.
Stop Motion Animation – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride main song – Remains of the Day
Cutout Animation
This form of animation is another form of stop motion animation. Paper cutouts are moved under the camera lens in order to illustrate the narrative (Renderforest Staff, 2020).
Example of Cutout Animation – “Coco” – Paper Cut Out Animation
Clay Animation
This again is another form of stop motion animation in which the characters and setting is made from clay and moved in increments in order to create the animation. The process of creating this type of animation is very time consuming and requires a lot of hard work (Renderforest Staff, 2020). Some examples of this type of animation include, Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and Early Man.
Example of Clay Animation – Chicken Run (2000) – Official Trailer [HD]
After researching into the different types of animation styles available, I think that I will use 2D animation for my project. I think that this style of animation will allow me to be a lot more creative with my animation educational videos and advance my skills in the digital discipline. For my project last semester I worked on creating a 3D character, and so I think it will be interesting this semester to see the difference first hand between creating a character and animation in 2D compared to 3D. My next step in my research now will be to explore the different softwares I could use in order to create my 2D animation, and which would be best for my project.
Bibliography
Alyssa Maio (2020) What is Animation? Definition and Types of Animation [Blog].18 November. Available from: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-animation-definition/ [Accessed 23 February 2021]
ChickenRunMovie (2013) Chicken Run (2000) – Official Trailer [HD]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEOfT7hUcDs&ab_channel=ChickenRunMovie. [Accessed 23 February 2021]
DisneySingItVideos (2011) The Bare Necessities (from The Jungle Book). Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08NlhjpVFsU&ab_channel=DisneySingItVideos [Accessed 23 February 2021]
FandangoNOW Extras (2012) Alice in Wonderland Behind The Scenes – Live Action Reference (1951) HD. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWwO-h7ZSlw&ab_channel=FandangoNOWExtras [Accessed 23 February 2021]
Headexplodie (20140 “Coco” – Paper Cut Out Animation. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6-6ENTl7o&ab_channel=Headexplodie. [Accessed 23 February 2021]
Jonny Lawrence (2010) Stop Motion|Whiteboard Animation: The Marker Maker. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vZ0iqUS6sg&ab_channel=JonnyLawrence [Accessed 23 February 2021]
Movieclips (2018) How to Train Your Dragon (2010) – Learning To Fly Scene (5/10)|Movieclips. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDyEERuK31Y&ab_channel=Movieclips [Accessed 23 February 2021]
Ray (2011) Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride main song – Remains of the Day. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4p9WKnDQzQ&ab_channel=Ray [Accessed 23 February 2021]
Renderforest Staff (2020) 10 Animation Styles: Which One is Your Favorite? [Blog]. 3 August. Available from: https://www.renderforest.com/blog/10-animation-styles [Accessed 23 February 2021]