Subject: Elective III: Animation Techniques

Subject Code: 20CEU28A

UNIT-1

History of Computer Animation-Fundamentals of Animation: Animation

principles and history - Animation process -
Importance of drawing in animation context-Types of animation-Animation
software tools.

1.1 Fundamentals of Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or
model positions to create an illusion of movement
Animation is an event of drawing, each drawing is called a “frame”
It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of
vision. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion
picture or a video.
What is the definition of animation?

The simulation of movement created by a series of pictures is animation. But

how it actually works is a bit more complicated than that. Before we get to the
various types of animated motion pictures, let's start with an animation
definition.

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

Somewhere between themotionless world of still images and the real-time

worldof videoimages lies the flip-book world of computer animation. All of the
animated sequences seen in educational programs, motion CAD renderings,
and computer games are computer-animated (and in many cases, computer-
generated) animation sequences.

Traditional cartoon animation is little more than a series of artwork cells, each
containing a slight positional variation of the animated subjects. When a large
number of these cells is displayed in sequence at a fast rate, the animated
figures appear to the human eye to move.

A computer-animated sequence works in the same manner. A series of images

is created of a subject; each image contains a slightly different perspective on
the animated subject. When these images are displayed (played back) in the
proper sequence and at the proper speed (frame rate), the subject appears to
move.
Computerized animation is actually a combination of both still and motion
imaging. Each frame, or cell, of an animation is a still image that requires
compression and storage. An animation file, however, must store the data for
hundreds or thousands of animation frames and must also provide the
information necessary to play back the frames using the proper display mode
and frame rate.

Animation file formats are only capable of storing still images and not actual
video information. It is possible, however, for most multimedia formats to
contain animation information, because animation is actually a much easier
type of data than video to store.

The image-compression schemes used in animation files are also usually much
simpler than most of those used in video compression. Most animation files
use a delta compression scheme, which is a form of Run-Length Encoding that
store and compresses only the information that is different between two
images (rather than compressing each image frame entirely).

RLE is relatively easy to decompress on the fly. Storing animations using a

multimedia format also produces the benefit of adding sound to the animation.
Most animation formats cannot store sound directly in their files and must rely
on storing the sound in a separate disk file which is read by the application that
is playing back the animation.

Animations are not only for entertaining kids and adults. Animated sequences
are used by CAD programmers to rotate 3D objects to observedifferent
perspectives; mathematical data collected by an aircraft or satellite may be
rendered into an animated fly-by sequence. Movie special effects benefit
greatly by computer animation.
Types of animation techniques ANIMATION is nothing more than an optical
illusion – a way of tricking our eyes into thinking that lots of static pictures are
one moving image. Since the success of sites such as YouTube, simple shorts
can be attempted by anyone, and stop-motion animations with everyday
objects are some of the most popular and artistic videos.

An animation course will enable one to develop any simple animation with
more sophisticated materials. The basic processes and techniques are the
same for all animation, and because of the wide range of applications,
animation graduates are in high demand.
1. Traditional animation
2. 2. 2D animation
3. 3D animation
4. Typography Animation
5. Clay animation
6. Sand Animation
7. Flip book Animation
8. Stop-motion animation.
1) Traditional animation: Traditional animation involves animators drawing by
hand for each and every frame. If we love the feel of pencils on a paper, then
the traditional approach is very fascinating. Traditional animation is creating
the drawings one by one on the frame. 2D animation involves creating
numerous drawings then feeding into a plastic cell, hand painting them and
creates the animated sequence on a painted background image.
It is used by advertising companies to screen pre-production of advertisement
where several sequential images were drawn by hand and screen to create the
illusion of movement.
Simple animation is invented before films, there were early forms of animated
pictures. The zoetrope, for example, is a wheel with a number of static pictures
around the inside so that they appear to move when the wheel spins.
Flipbook animation is very similar, and places pictures on every page of a book
so that it creates an optical illusion when the pages are flipped quickly.
Both of these don’t need a camera, object animation and chuckimation
involves filming regular inanimate objects, such as Lego or action figures, and
animating them using stop-motion or offcamera hand-movement. Pixilation
uses people as stop-motion characters in a similar way.

Computer Animation: Computer technology revolutionised the animation

world. Computer animation includes a very wide range of techniques. Whilst
forms of computer animation have been around since the 1960s, it came into
general use in the 1990s when animators began using it alongside traditional
animation.
It is more controllable and faster than traditional animation.Computer
animation can be broken down into two main types: Digital 2D can be created
using computer programs such as Flash, After Effects, Cel Action and TV Paint.
These programs have varying levels of intricacy – from simple stick-person
animation figures, to entire worlds. Just as in traditional animation, 2D
animation can use different layers to build up pictures. It can show anything
from backgrounds and landscapes, to multiple characters and crowds.
Digital 2D animation is not used for artistic purposes as much anymore, due to
the lack of depth, but is still used in advertising and desktop publishing. It is
also the basis of many graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that we use every day,
including Mac OS and Microsoft Windows.
Digital 3D uses programmes such as Maya to create animation with more
depth. An animator will often create a very simple version (skeleton) for a
digital character (Avar) and build up from this with digital muscles, skin, hair,
pores etc. The animator will use keyframing to set the Avar’s position, just as
they would in traditional animation. However, they don’t need to do it on
every frame, but just key ones – the computer programs then fill in the
movement between the key frames to create a full animation.
Digital animation can be very realistic, and animators can be very artistically
skilled to create a character. Some animators will specialise – for example,
facial animators just work on the facial movements and speech of a character,
rather than the whole thing.
Stop motion: Stop motion comes in many forms: Object animation and
pixilation can use the stop-motion technique without specialist equipment, but
special stop-motion models are mostly been used for special effects in live-
action films. Other forms of stop-motion use artistic materials to create the
physical objects. The earliest known animated feature-film used cut-out
animation, where flat pictures are physically cut out of paper or fabric and
animated.

1.2Principles of Animation Disney's twelve basic principles of

animation were introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank
Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation.

The principles are based on the work of Disney animators from the 1930s
onwards, in their quest to produce more realistic animations. The main
purpose of these principles was to produce an illusion that cartoon characters
adhered to the basic laws of physics, but they also dealt with more abstract
issues, such as emotional timing and character appeal.

The book has been referred as the "Bible of animation", Though originally
intended to apply to traditional, hand-drawn animation, the principles still
have great relevance for computer animation as well.

The 12 principles of animation 1. Squash and stretch. 2. Anticipation. 3.

Staging. 4. straight ahead action and pose to pose. 5. Follow through and
overlapping action. 6. Slow in and slow out. 7. Arc. 8. Secondary action. 9.
Timing 10. Exaggeration 11. Solid drawing 12. Appeal

1. Squash and stretch: The squash and stretch principle is considered the most
important of the 12 principles of animation. When applied, it gives animated
characters and objects the illusion of gravity, weight, mass and flexibility.
When a bouncing rubber ball is tossed into the air: the ball stretches when it
travels up and down and squishes when it hits the ground. When using squash
and stretch, it's important to keep the object's volume consistent. So, when we
stretch something, it needs to get thinner, and when we squash something, it
needs to get wider.
fig: Squash and stretch

2. Anticipation: Anticipation helps to prepare the viewer for what's about to

happen. When applied, it has the effect of making the object's action more
realistic.
Consider how it might look if we were to jump in the air without bending our
knees, or perhaps to throw a ball without first pulling our arm back. It would
appear very unnatural. In the same way, animating movements without a
flicker of anticipation will also make the motion seem awkward, stale and
lifeless.

3. Staging: Staging in animation is a lot like composition in artwork. What we

mean by that is, we should use motion to guide the viewer's eye and draw
attention to what's important within the scene. Keep the focus on what's
important within the scene, and keep the motion of everything else of non-
importance to a minimum.

4. straight ahead action and pose to pose: There are two ways to handle
drawing animation: straight ahead and pose to pose. Straight ahead action
involves drawing frame-by-frame from start to finish. If we are looking for
fluid, realistic movements, straight ahead action is our best bet. With the pose-
to-pose technique, we draw the beginning frame, the end frame, and a few key
frames in-between. Then we go back and complete the rest. This technique
gives us more control within the scene and allows you to increase the dramatic
effect of the motion.
5. Follow through and overlapping action: When objects come to a standstill
after being in motion, different parts of the object will stop at different rates.
Similarly, not everything on an object will move at the same rate. This forms
the essence of the fifth of Disney's principles of animation. If the character is
running across the scene, their arms and legs may be moving at a different rate
from their head. This is overlapping action. Likewise, when they stop running,
their hair will continue to move for a few frames before coming to rest – this is
follow through. These are important principles to understand if we want the
animation to flow realistically.
6. Slow in and slow out: The best way to understand slow in and slow out is to
think about how a car starts up and stops. It will start moving slowly, before
gaining momentum and speeding up. The reverse will happen when the car
brakes. In animation, this effect is achieved by adding more frames at the
beginning and end of an action sequence. Apply this principle to give the
objects more life.
7. Arc: When working in animation, it's best to stick with the laws of physics.
Most objects follow an arc or a path when they're moving, and our animations
should reflect that arc. For example, when we toss a ball into the air, it follows
a natural arc as the effects of the Earth's gravity act upon it.

8. Secondary action: Secondary actions are used to support the main action
going on within a scene. Adding secondary actions help add more dimension to
the characters and objects. For instance, the subtle movement of a character’s
hair as they walk, or perhaps a facial expression or a secondary object reacting
to the first. This secondary action should not distract from the primary one.

9. Timing: We apply what we see in the natural world to our animations. In this
case, the focus is on timing. If we move an object more quickly or slowly than it
would naturally move in the real world, the effect won't be believable. Using
the correct timing allows us to control the mood and the reaction of the
characters and objects.
10. Exaggeration: Too much realism can ruin an animation, making it appear
static and boring. Instead, add some exaggeration to our characters and
objects to make them more dynamic. Find ways to push the limits just beyond
what's possible, and our animations will pop.
11. Solid drawing: We need to understand the basics of drawing. This includes
knowing how to draw in three-dimensional space and understanding form and
anatomy, weight and volume, and lights and shadows. Whenwe can push the
limits, it's important to remain consistent. If our world has wonky doors and a
warped perspective, keep that perspective throughout the entire animation.
Otherwise, things will fall apart.
12. Appeal: Our characters, objects, and the world in which we live should
appeal to the viewer. This includes having an easy-to-read design, solid
drawing, and a personality. There is no formula for getting this right, but it
starts with strong character development and being able to tell our story
through the art of animation.
Problems and Limitations of Animation: Beyond the problem of split attention,
psychologists have identified four major challenges when people watch and
learn from animated graphics as compared to the static graphics of the same
data:
1. Attention: In any visually rich display, like an animated map where many
things can happen simultaneously, readers are often unsure of where to look
or what to do. Potential solutions include guided tours, short tutorials, and
voice over.
2. Disappearance: By its very nature animated maps changequite dramatically
from moment to moment. As a result, there is a possibility that the map reader
will miss important information or cues. Because of disappearance, many basic
map reading tasks can be very difficult, such as estimating the size of symbols
or areas, matching colours to a legend, comparing one symbol to another, or
reading text labels.
3.Complexity: With the astonishing level of computing and video processing
power available today in the basic desktop computer, coupled with the size
and complexity of digital databases, it is entirely possible to make an animated
map that simply overwhelms users with data and 'saturates' their visual
processing.
4. Confidence: Early testing has shown that even though people mostly like to
lookat animated maps, they are sometimes less confident of the knowledge
they acquire from the animation than from static graphics. In response to this
blanket concern, others have pointed out that people have far more exposure
and experience using static maps. Thus, there is naturally a learning curve to
animated maps that needs to be understood before we can conclude they do
not work.

Many cartographers will confess that they make animated maps because 'they
look cool' and, to their credit, the public seems to enjoy watching these maps.
Today, animated maps seem to be all around us, from the weather channel, to
NASA press releases about lost planetary probes, to nightly television news
stories that begin with an animated map that zooms in from space to some
foreign locale, thus, connoting an air of (1) currency, (2) powerful panoptical
surveillance, and (3) scientific authority to whatever may follow.
Animated maps suitability over static alternatives is unclear since both are
easier to make and ponder since they do not change.
'For what kind of map reading tasks animated maps are useful, and when they
should be avoided?' Like any form of representation, they have their strengths
and weaknesses that researchers are working to understand.
Animated maps should not be seen as replacementto static maps, but it acts as
complimentary. They broaden our representational possibilities.

1.3 HISTORY OF ANIMATION

While it’s unclear when and where animation first came to life, the concept of
storytelling has been around for centuries.

From shadow puppetry in about 200 A.D., to the magic lantern in the 1650s,
the first real image projector — telling a story through motion has been
happening forever.

But it was in 1832 when the Phénakisticope was invented by Joseph Plateau
that the first widespread animation device came into place. Using the
persistence of vision principle, it created a fluent illusion of motion. When
multiple images blend into a single moving image in the brain it’s called
persistence of vision.

Animation is a graphic representation of drawings to show movement within

those drawings. A series of drawings are linked together and usually
photographed by a camera. The drawings have been slightly changed between
individualized frames so when they are played back in rapid succession (24
frames per second) there appears to be seamless movement within the
drawings.

Early animations, which started appearing before 1910, consisted of simple

drawings photographed one at a time. It was extremely labour intensive as
there were literally hundreds of drawings per minute of film.
In 1834, William George Horner created a similar motion picture projector,
putting the drawings inside of a drum that turned in a circular fashion. This was
one of the biggest innovations that laid the foundation for projecting film.
Horner originally named it the Daedatelum, or “wheel of the devil” but French
inventor, Pierre Desvignes, renamed his own version after the Greek word for
“things that turn,” or the Zoetrope.

These early feats of animated motion carved out the path for the animated
movies we know today.

The Father(s) of Animation

History tells us that many different people were involved in creating
animation. There even seem to be two “firsts.”

The Father of American animation is James Stuart Blackton. Though a British

filmmaker, Blackton created the first animation in America and was one of the
first to use the stop motion technique.

In 1900, he is credited for creating the first-ever animated film called The
Enchanted Drawing.
The Enchanted Drawing : In 1906, he goes in to create a silent film where
drawings on a blackboard are captured using film at 20 frames per second. He
called it, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces.

French cartoonist, Emile Cohl created what is considered the first fully
animated movie ever made. In 1908, Fantasmagorie premiered in Paris is
considered as “The Father of Animation”.

In 1914, Earl Hurd created cel animation, thereby becoming a kind of founder
of the traditional style. This would, of course, revolutionize the entire industry
for the majority of the 20th century.

That same year, way before Mickey Mouse came into fruition, the first
animated short to have a distinguishable character is made by cartoonist,
Winsor McCay. A dancing “Gertie the Dinosaur” comes to life on screen.

Walt Disney took animation to a new level. He was the first animator to add
sound to his movie cartoons with the premiere of Steamboat Willie in 1928. In
1937, he produced the first full length animated feature film, Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs.

With the introduction of computers, animation took on a whole new meaning.

Many feature films of today had animation incorporated into them for special
effects. A film like Star Wars by George Lucas would rely heavily on computer
animation for many of its special effects. Toy Story, produced by Walt Disney
Productions and Pixar Animation Studios, became the first full length feature
film animated entirely on computers when it was released in 1995.
The History of Animation
1.4 Animation Process
Animation means giving life to any object in computer graphics. It has the
power of injecting energy and emotions into the most seemingly inanimate
objects. Computer-assisted animation and computer-generated animation are
two categories of computer animation. It can be presented via film or video.
The basic idea behind animation is to play back the recorded images at the
rates fast enough to fool the human eye into interpreting them as continuous
motion.
Animation can make a series of dead images come alive. Animation can be
used in many areas like entertainment, computer aided-design, scientific
visualization, training, education, e-commerce, and computer art.
Animation Techniques

Animators have invented and used a variety of different animation

techniques. Basically, there are six animation techniques.

Traditional Animation - frame byframe

Traditionally most of the animation was done by hand. All the frames in an
animation had to be drawn by hand. Since each second of animation requires
24 frames of film, the amount of efforts required to create even the shortest
of movies can be tremendous.

Keyframing

In this technique, a storyboard is laid out and then the artists draw the major
frames of the animation. Prominent changes will take place in Major frames.
They are the key points of animation.
In Keyframing the animator specifies critical or key positions for the objects.
The computer then automatically fills in the missing frames by smoothly
interpolating between those positions.

Procedural

In a procedural animation, the objects are animated by a procedure − a set of

rules − not by keyframing. The animator specifies rules and initial conditions
and runs simulation. Rules are often based on physical rules of the real world
expressed by mathematical equations.

Behavioural

In behavioural animation, an autonomous character determines its own

actions, at least to a certain extent. This gives the character some ability to
improvise, and frees the animator from the need to specify each detail of
every character's motion.
Performance Based MotionCapture

In Motion Capture technique, magnetic or vision-based sensors record the

actions of a human or animal object in three dimensions. A computer then
uses these data to animate the object.
This technology has enabled a number of famous athletes to supply the
actions for characters in sports video games. Motion capture is pretty popular
with the animators mainly because some of the commonplace human actions
can be captured with relative ease. However, there can be serious
discrepancies between the shapes or dimensions of the subject and the
graphical character and this may lead to problems of exact execution.

Physically Based Dynamics

Unlike key framing and motion picture, simulation uses the laws of physics to
generate motion of pictures and other objects. Simulations can be easily used
to produce slightly different sequences while maintaining physical realism.
Secondly, real-time simulations allow a higher degree of interactivity where
the real person can maneuver the actions of the simulated character.
In contrast the applications based on key-framing and motion select and
modify motions form a pre-computed library of motions. One drawback that
simulation suffers from is the expertise and time required to handcraft the
appropriate controls systems.

Key Framing

A keyframe is a frame where we define changes in animation. Every frame is a

keyframe when we create frame by frame animation. When someone creates
a 3D animation on a computer, they usually don’t specify the exact position of
any given object on every single frame. They create keyframes.
Keyframes are important frames during which an object changes its size,
direction, shape or other properties. The computer then figures out all the in-
between frames and saves an extreme amount of time for the animator. The
following illustrations depict the frames drawn by user and the frames
generated by computer.
Morphing

The transformation of object shapes from one form to another form is called
morphing. It is one of the most complicated transformations.A morph looks as
if two images melt into each other with a very fluid motion. In technical terms,
two images are distorted and a fade occurs between them.

There are two major forms of animation: 2D (hand-drawn, or computer

assisted) and 3D (CGI). ... The overall process of creating a 2D animation is
divided into three parts: pre-production, production, and post-production.

1.5 Importance of drawing in animation

In animation, there are various defined routes that one has to take in order to
find it easy to come up with the animation of interest. Drawing is one among
them.
Many of the upcoming animators decide to avoid or rather evade this stage
and rush to the other forward steps and hence, they end up stranded or even
developing animation characters they did not anticipate.
By coming up with a drawing or a sketch of what we want to develop as an
animator before starting to develop and engineer different parts.It is equally
important to come up with a drawing to enable us to have a glimpse for its
anticipated motion and anatomy detail. Furthermore, by coming up with a
drawing before we start the activity of designing digitally, it gives us a direct
and straightforward approach to the ideas in the mind.

Additionally, it is important more so for the individuals who are doing digital
2D animation. It is important for a good professional animator to come up
with a drawing to enable us to quickly and easily figure out the key poses and
moves that we wish to develop.

Concurrently, drawing before animating is a good communication tool in that

apart from its use in sketching concrete objects, it can also be used in
transmitting ideas and concepts.
1.6 Types of Animation
What is the definition of animation?

The simulation of movement created by a series of pictures is animation. But

how it actually works is a bit more complicated than that. Before we get to the
various types of animated motion pictures, let's start with an animation
definition.

ANIMATION DEFINITION
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.

To create the appearance of smooth motion from these drawn, painted, or

computer-generated images, frame rate, or the number of consecutive images
that are displayed each second, is considered. Moving characters are usually
shot “on twos” which just means one image is shown for two frames, totaling
in at 12 drawings per second. 12 frames per second allows for motion but may
look choppy. In the film, a frame rate of 24 frames per second is often used for
smooth motion.
5 Forms of Animation

 Traditional Animation
 2D Animation
 3D Animation
 Motion Graphics
 Stop Motion

There are many different types of animation but most of them fall into five
major categories. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of them
depending on how the artist prefers to create. Knowing the different kinds of
animation can help artists to choose their careers in animation.

Featured Programs

1. Traditional Animation
This is one of the oldest forms of animation in film. It’s sometimes called cel
animation. As mentioned above, in traditional animation, objects are drawn on
celluloid transparent paper. In order to create the animated sequence, the
animator must draw every frame. It’s the same mechanism as a flipbook, just
on a grander scale.

Traditional animation can also be referred to as cell animation. This type of

animation requires the animator to draw every single frame by hand to create
an animated scene. This is usually done on a light table that allows the artists
to see the previous drawing through the top layer of paper. Well-known
companies like Disney are known for using this type of animation. Traditional
animation is still done today on computers with special tablets.

2. 2D Animation

2D animation can fall under traditional animation like most early Disney
movies — Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, etc. But there is something called
Vector-based animation that can be 2D without being traditional.

Images with familiar formats like JPG, GIF, BMP, are pixel images. These images
cannot be enlarged or shrunk without affecting image quality. Vector graphics
don’t need to worry about resolution. Vectors are characterized by pathways
with various start and end points, lines connecting these points to build the
graphic. Shapes can be created to form a character or other image.
Vector-based animation uses mathematical values to resize images, so motion
is smooth. They can re-use these creations so the animator doesn’t need to
keep drawing the same characters over and over again. You can move around
these vectors and animate that way.

2D animation refers to vector-based animations similar to the ones used in

Flash. This style of animation has been growing in popularity because the
technology is so accessible. Although artists have the option of editing frame
by frame, vector-based animation gives the artist the option to create rigs for
the characters and move single body parts at a time rather than constantly
redrawing the characters. It gives more flexibility to beginners in animation
because they don’t have to rely so heavily on drawing skills.

3. 3D Animation
Today, 3D or computer animation is the most common type. But just because
computers have stepped in instead of actual drawings, it’s not necessarily
easier. The computer is just another tool, and 3D animation is still a long,
intense process.

In 3D animated movies, the animator uses a program to move the character’s

body parts around. They set their digital frames when all of the parts of the
character are in the right position. They do this for each frame, and the
computer calculates the motion from each frame.

Animators adjust and tweak the curvatures and movements their characters
make throughout. From Toy Story in 1995 to today’s Coco, 3D animation has
become the dominant style in animated films.

3D animation is also unique in that, unlike 2D or other traditional methods, the

character’s entire body is always visible. If a character turns to the side, the
animator only needs to draw the side profile in 2D animation, but in 3D, the
entire body still needs to be visible. So again, even though computers are being
used, with new technology comes with way more considerations.

3D animation is also known as computer animation and it is currently the most

commonly used form of animation. The process of 3D animation is very
different from the traditional style but they both require the artist to share the
same principles of movement and composition in animation. 3D animation has
less to do with drawing and more to do with moving a character in a program.
The National Science Foundation emphasizes how heavily 3D animators must rely
on physics to create realistic animations. The animator creates keyframes or
specific movements and lets the computer fill in the rest.

4. Motion Graphics
Motion Graphics are pieces are digital graphics that create the illusion of
motion usually for ads, title sequences in films, but ultimately exist to
communicate something to the viewer. They’re often combined with sound for
multimedia projects.

Unlike the previously mentioned types of animation, motion graphics are not
driven by characters or storylines. This art form focuses on the ability to move
graphic elements, shapes, and text. This process is commonly used for things
like television promotions, explainer videos, and animated logos. The skillset
necessary for the other types of animation doesn’t apply to motion graphics
because there’s no need to mimic body movement or facial expressions.
Advertisements rely heavily on motion graphics and present plenty of career
opportunities.

5. Stop Motion
Stop Motion encompasses claymation, pixelation, object-motion, cutout
animation, and more. But the basic mechanics are similar to the traditional
style like a flipbook. However, instead of drawings, stop motion
adjusts physical objects in each frame.

Stop motion is definitely an older form of animated storytelling, especially

compared to 3D computer animation. But the process of animating pictures
dates back way before Disney or Pixar.

FIRST ANIMATION EVER

Stop motion animation is very similar to traditional animation because it

combines a series of still images that are slightly different to show movement.
The largest difference is that stop motion uses photography and captures real
objects. With stop motion, the artists take a photo of an object or scene and
slightly moves the objects before taking another photo. The artist repeats this
process until the scene is completed and uses each photo as a frame in the
animation. It’s similar to a flipbook with photos.
1.7 Animation software tools
What is an Animation Software Tool?

An Animation Software tool helps create motion from inanimate objects. A

series of sequential drawings or drafts are created by artists and then
animation software moves these frames one after the other to create an
illusion of motion.

This is the very basis of creating an animation feature. The modern animation
software can add multiple effects and additional substance along with simple
animation. Things such as stop-motion, motion capture and, augmented reality
have become a major feature in recent years. Animation software tools have
become a must for all movie and gaming studios nowadays as special effects
can help reduce production costs significantly.
Features of an Animation Software Tool

Tweeningis a process which seamlessly integrates one frame to another frame

in animation process. This removes the abrupt cut effect between frames and
maintains the continuous illusion of motion. Tweening is included in most
animation software tools as a basic feature and the frames are automatically
‘tweened’ in the background during the animation process.

Rotoscoping is the process of tracing objects on an existing motion picture or

on a sequence of frames. If during the editing process the filmmaker feels the
need of any object in the frame, animation software tools help in adding
objects to the frame by tracing them from one place to the existing motion
sequence. This reduces the production cost and saves a lot of time.

Motion Capture is a very popular feature of animation. It requires a lot of

external hardware to execute but filmmakers are using it to add that ‘realism’
to their animated features.
Motion Capture is a process where the real movements of people or other
living creatures are captured and those movements are traced upon characters
in the animation. This creates an authenticity about the animated characters in
the feature.

VFX [ visual effects ] are manipulations of real-life footage using outside

features and objects. Things which are very time consuming, dangerous and
impractical can be created with the help of VFX.Here real-life footage and
digitally created footage is combined to give result to a very attractive and
credible feature. VFX are omnipresent in the film and television industry, as it
saves a lot of time and production cost for filmmakers and they can make the
impossible, possible with the use of special effects.

Simulationis basically a draft or a model which predicts how the process will
turn out. Simulation is a very important part of the animation process as it
helps to map and identify the needs and rectifications in the animated feature.
Simulation takes place with our frame creation simultaneously and the frame
prediction helps to create a seamless animation experience.

Some of the best animation tools are,

1. Blender
2. Synfig Studio
3. Pencil 2D
4. OpenToonz
5. MaeflorestaTupitube
6. GIMP
7. Krita

Blender: Features:

 Rendering
 Modelling
 Animation
 VFX
 Simulation
 Pipeline
 Game Creation
 Video Editing
 Scripting
  Customization

Blender is one of the most advanced animation software tools on the internet
and it is extremely popular among animators as it is completely free to use
along with being open source.

Blender has all the features and functions we would want in any animation
software and gives its paid and premium competitors a run for their money.
Blender can be used to create an array of animations and simulations for
anything from movies to games.

In short, Blender is probably one of the most complete animation software out
there and a must-have for any animator.

Synfig Studio: Features

 Vector Tweening
 Layers and Filters
 Bones
 Animation
 Bitmap Artwork
 Advanced Controls

Synfig Studio is very popular among comic and cartoon creators.It’s a 2D

animation software but can add that minor 3D aesthetic to our animation.
Vector Tweening is a major feature of Synfig Studio which enables seamless
frame to frame integration.

It’s completely based on a Bitmap Art frame which enables minor tweaking of
colour bits. Though it might appear quite basic from the offing but Synfig
Studio does have an array of advanced features as well making it a complete
package for 2D animators.
Pencil 2D:Features

 Minimal Design
 Raster and Vector workflows
 Cross-platforms
 Hand Drawn Animation
 Bitmap Artwork

Pencil 2D is a very simplistic 2D animation software. The UI and design are very
minimal and convenient to use, making it simple from beginners to
professionals alike.

A very important feature of Pencil 2D is that it is cross-platform which is very

rare among animation software. Pencil 2D too is majorly based on a Bitmap
framework, perfect for intricate animation.

Hand-drawn animations are the most widely created animations on Pencil 2D

and Pencil 2D allows you to animate your creations frame-by-frame along with
adding vectors to it. Pencil 2D is one of the most widely used animation
software on the Internet.

OpenToonz:Features

 Powerful Drawing Tools

 Indexed Colour Palettes
 Effects and Compositing
 Frame-by-frame Animation
 Motion Tweening and Tracking
 Scripting
 Particle Systems

OpenToonz is an advanced 2D animation software tool with a big list of

features and functions. OpenToonz features extremely powerful drawing tools
which help in scaling and modelling of animation features.
It’s very efficient when it comes to frame-by-frame animation and along with
features such as tweening and tracking; the frame integration is almost
seamless.

Scripting is another convenient feature added to its list. Particle Systems are
another of its added features which help in minute and intricate animation
tweaks.
MaeflorestaTupitube:Features

 Rotoscoping
 Stop Motion
 Frame-by-frame Animation
 Cut-Out Animation
 Hand-Drawn Animation
 Virtual Assist

It’s basically an amateur animation very popular among kids, students, and
teachers. Its simplistic design and UI is very easy to use for beginners. It is also
a virtual assist feature to help with the animation process.

Tupitube can help create a range of animation features. Hand-drawn

animation feature is the most commonly used followed by Cut-Out animation.
Even though it might appear amateurish, Tupitube has advanced functions
such as Rotoscoping and Stop-Motion animation.
GIMP: Features

 Image Manipulation Program

 2D Animation
 Frame-by-frame animation
 Simplistic UI
 Hand-drawn animation
 Basic Animation Program

GIMP is the acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program which has all
features a software tool like Adobe Photoshop would and along with that, an
added feature of animating hand-drawn 2D figures and drawings.
Animation is very basic but it does provide frame-by-frame editing and
composition. If you are looking for a very basic animation software tool, GIMP
is all you need.

Krita: Features

 Compact UI
 Brush Stabilizers
 Brush Engines
 Resource Manager
 Pop-up palette
 Wrap-around mode
 Drawing assistant
 Mirroring tools
 OpenGL Enhanced

Krita is an open-source painting and brushing software tool which is very useful
to create draft drawings and frames for virtual comics and cartoons. It is one of
the most advanced paintings and brushing software on the internet. It has
advanced tools such as brush stabilizing and wrap-around.

Krita is fully OpenGL enhanced which helps in drafting graphics for bigger
projects. It also has a drawing and virtual assistant for extra help to the
designer.

Krita is widely used in the East Asian animation industry for things such as
Anime and virtual comic books. We can always make our drafts extra colourful
and detailed with the help of Krita.

Animation software tools have become a must for each and every content
creator. For some visual content to look aesthetically pleasing, animation
software tools should be a visual content creator’s go-to software and skilled
animators are one of the most in-demand professionals in today’s world.
The animation software tools discussed in this blog are great additions to our
software collection, with an array of advanced features. The animation
industry is a gold mine at this point in time and these animation software tools
can help us seek that gold.

There is a range of premium and advanced animation software tools also

available on the internet which comprise even more features and are heavy
duty to carry out many animation simulations in one go.

Adobe Animateis a popular animation software that lets users design

interactive vector and bitmap animations. These animations can be built for
games, apps, and the web. The animation can be applied to cartoons, banner,
tutorials, and infographics.

Adobe Animate lets users publish to multiple platforms. It has powerful toolset
for animation that lets users create apps, multimedia content, and ads. It
supports export to HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe WebGL, SVG, and AIR.

Adobe animate is a great platform to build game environments, integrate

audio, and design start screens and interfaces. It has a simple frame-by-frame
animation, and users can code right inside the projects

Features:

Asset Sculpting: users can create new poses for vector using mesh
deformation.

Layer Control: It lets organize animation layers in a parent-child hierarchy.

Auto Lip-Sync: Automatically match mouth poses to sound inflections

VR Authoring and Publishing: Use your 2D skills to export 360 VR animations

It lets users save Animate documents (FLAs and XFLs) incrementally.

Quick auto-recovery mode

Export images with the right resolution

Enhanced asset warping

Optimize your text atlas outputs

Generate multiple bitmaps.

Retain the audio effects when you split the audio, which is imported.

Create secure AMP-based ads

Blend modes applied at layer or frame level