Different Style of animation Styles covered:
- Traditional animation
- 2D Vector based animation
- 3D computer animation
- Motion graphics
- Stop motion
- Rotoscoping
Traditional Animation
Traditional animation, sometimes referred to as cel animation, is one of the older forms of animation, in it the animator draws every frame to create the animation sequence. Just like they used to do in the old days of Disney. If you’ve ever had one of those flip-books when you were a kid, you’ll know what I mean. Sequential drawings screened quickly one after another create the illusion of movement.
2D Vector based animation
This style has become very popular in the last decade with the increasing amount of people doing it due to the accessibility of the technology. Flash is cheap and easy to use. Such are other vector based animation programs. 2D animation can be done in After Effects too.
Adobe Flash
Probably the most popular 2D animation software out there. Flash has a long lineage of animation making, even before it was purchased by Adobe. Flash is vector based, which I don’t personally like, but it’s very intuitive to work with (as most Adobe’s products are) and relatively cheap.
An interesting choice for 2D animation. After effects gives you great control when creating rigs for 2D, and using the puppet tool is very convenient and intuitive. I find After Effects to be a great choice since I’m very comfortable with Adobe’s work environment, but that’s my personal preference. Since it’s also an editing software, it’s great to be able to edit and color correct in the same place you animate.
About 3D Animation
3D animation, also referred to as CGI animation, is made by generating images using computer graphics that create a series of images that forms an animation. CGI means Computer Generated Images, so it can easily mean both static and dynamic images using computer graphics.
The animation techniques of 3D animation has a lot of similarities with stop-motion animation, as they both deal with animating and posing models, and still conforms to the frame-by-frame approach of 2D animation, but is a lot more controllable since it is all digital feedback.
Instead of drawn or constructed with clay, characters in 3D animations are digitally modeled on screen, and then fitted with a ‘skeleton’ that allows animators to animate the models for their use.
Animation is done by posing the models in certain key frames, which the computer will then calculate and perform a ‘tweening’ animation that is interpreted by the computer in each frame between the key frames.
When the modeling and/or animation is complete, the computer has to render each frame individually, which unlike 2D or stop-motion animations, can be very time consuming depending on the quality of the images and the quantity of polygons in the scene.
a 3D animator will spend most of their time looking at curves that represent the movement of different body parts over time.
Another big difference with 3D animation is that unlike traditional animation, the character’s body parts are always present and should be taken to consideration.
When animating in 2D, the character has to be drawn from every frame. When the character is viewed from the side, half of its body isn’t shown and thus isn’t drawn. It technically doesn’t exist. It’s drawn on a flat page and there isn’t really more of the character other than what the animator draws.
With 3D though, the character’s body parts always exist in the shot. Even when one hand isn’t visible, it’s still there. That adds some work for the animator, since we need to be aware of the entire character at all times.
The last major difference with 3D animation is the frame rate. Traditional animators usually work on 2’s which means they draw a new drawing every 2 frames, and thus having one drawing last for 2 frames. With 3D animation, however, the motion is always smooth (except for stylized pieces which intentionally try to look different) and having a character stop completely looks like a mistake.
Even when the character is standing still there should always be some sign of life or gentle movement to keep the illusion of life, this is something 2D animation can get away with much more easily than 3D animation.
History
3D animation has definitely revolutionized how the animation industry looks today, and it was all started with Toy Story (1995, Lassetter.) Computer generated animations wasn’t completely new at the time, since it had already been often used in TV shows, movies and computer games, but Toy Story set the bar by being the first feature-length computer animation, leading to a whole new industry and market.
3D animation also lead to studios trying to achieve photo-realistic animations by combining high-level computer processing with advance motion-capture. This has led to films such as Final Fantasy: Spirits Within (2001, Sakaguchi) and The Polar Express (2004, Zemeckis), with very mixed results. This kind of animation became rarer as the decade passed, as the process is a lot more complicated than key framed 3D animations, but has passed on to feature film VFX.
Software used for 3D animations
Autodesk Maya
Maya is the industry standard 3D software, used in most large studios. Maya, Softimage and 3D Max are all a part of Autodesk and work quite similarly. Choosing one is a matter of personal and technical preference.
Autodesk Softimage
From Autodesk: Softimage character animation software offers high-performance creative tools for artists and technical directors working in 3D game development and visual effects.
Maya is the industry standard 3D software, used in most large studios. Maya, Softimage and 3D Max are all a part of Autodesk and work quite similarly. Choosing one is a matter of personal and technical preference.
From Autodesk: Softimage character animation software offers high-performance creative tools for artists and technical directors working in 3D game development and visual effects.
Cinema 4D is a motion graphics artist’s best friend. It’s a 3D program for the After Effects user. Very intuitive, and works directly with After Effects without the need to render first. This would not however be my first choice for serious 3D production since it was designed from the ground up with motion graphics in mind.
Blender: Blender provides a broad spectrum of modeling, texturing, lighting, animation and video post-processing functionality in one package. Through its open architecture, Blender provides cross-platform interoperability, extensibility, an incredibly small footprint, and a tightly integrated workflow.
While still considered a form of animation, motion graphics is a rather different from the other types of animation. Mostly because unlike the other types on our list it is not character or story driven. It’s the art of creatively moving graphic elements or texts, usually for commercial or promotional purposes.
About Motion Graphics
It’s the art of creatively moving graphic elements or texts, usually for commercial or promotional purposes. Think animated logos, explainer videos, app commercials, television promos or even film opening titles.
The skills for motion graphics don’t necessarily translate to the other types of animation, since they don’t require knowledge of body mechanics or acting, but they do have some attributes in common such as understanding good composition and the all important camera motion.
The process of creating Motion Graphics depends on the programs that are used, since video editing softwares often have different UI or settings, but the process is the same. Motion Graphics usually involves animating images, texts or video clips using key framing that are tweened to make a smooth motion between frames. These programs also supports scripts that will automatically alter the animations to various preferences that are required. Motion graphics also often uses particle systems to create various effects. It is basically points in 3D and 2D space that is shown as texts, images or visual effects. The particle effects are made with emitters that digitally produces lights, surfaces, or a disassembling animation.
Motion Graphics are simply flat-based images or 3D objects that are given the illusion of motion, accompanied with music or sound effects. This technique is often used for multimedia projects.
History
The term Motion Graphics came about computer based video editing, as programs like Adobe After Effects and Apple Motion made editing images definitely a lot more easier, since previously, before the advent of computer editing, it was a very time-consuming process, which made it limited for high-budget productions, but in present time it is highly popular for commercials, news shows and internet videos
Adobe After Effects
After effects is the most common software for motion graphics. It is the software that streamlined motion graphics and made it so much easier to make.
Cinema 4D is a motion graphics artist’s best friend. It’s a 3D program for the After Effects user. Very intuitive, and works directly with After Effects without the need to render first. This would not however be my first choice for serious 3D production since it was designed from the ground up with motion graphics in mind.
Stop motion is done by taking a photo of an object, and then moving it just a little bit and taking another photo. The process is repeated and when the photos are played back one after another they give the illusion of movement. This is similar to traditional animation but it uses real life materials instead of drawings.
About Stop Motion
Stop-Motion animation can be referred to any animations that uses objects that are photographed in a sequence to create a animated action.
The process of Stop-Motion animation is very long, as each object has to be carefully moved inch by inch, while photographing every change, to create a fluid sequence of animation.
Claymation
One of the most popular form is Claymation. Working with clay or play-doh characters that can easily be manipulated for animation. Advanced claymation (such as The Neverhood or Armikrog) uses metal skeletons on which the clay is then molded for more sturdy rigs.
Puppets
Some animators would use regular Puppets instead of clay one, usually also built upon some sort of skeleton rig. The faces of the characters can be replaced based on the expression, or be controlled within the rig.
Cut-Out
Another popular form of stop motion is Cut out. Using construction paper or cardboard characters and placing them on a paper while shooting the animation from above (That’s how South Park was made before they switched to computers.) The cardboard is then moved a little each frame to create the illusion of movement.
Silhouette
Similar to cutout animation, silhouette animation uses cardboard or some kind of flat material, but the objects are all black and the shot is depicted with silhouettes only. This is one of the oldest forms of stop motion and is rarely used today.
Action Figures / Lego
Some use action figures or lego characters for animation. This genre is very popular on YouTube with many channels dedicated to creating funny skits with lego characters. Robot Chicken is a great example of that. They use famous action figures to make fun of pop culture.
Pixelation
Pixelation is a form of stop motion that uses real people and real environments to create unreal videos. It uses the stop motion method of taking a still photo, moving things around, and then taking another photo, but the subject matter is usually real people instead of puppets.
History
Stop-Motion animation was very often used as special effects before the introduction of CGI animation, and as such has a very long history in both the animation and film industry, starting from The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1887, Blackton.) One of the most earliest of clay animations was Modelling Extraordinary (1912), and Stop-Motion animation also created the first female animator, Helena Smith Dayton, who made a clay animated short based Romeo and Juliet in 1917.
Another technique, which came about in the 80’s, was Go Motion. This technique involved programming a computer to move the models for the animators before each frame was photographed. It was used when creating visual effects for RoboCop (1987, Verhoven) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Kershner.) It was a lot more complicated than doing it by hand, but the result was a more realistic looking animation.
The Stop-Motion art form also created animators that would set the standards, like visual effects master Ray Harryhausen who created animations for Jason and the Argonauts (1963, Chaffey) and Clash of the Titans (1981, Davis), and Nick Park who created the Wallace and Gromit franchice. However, Stop-Motion wasn’t always made for shorts and visual effects. There have been many feature-length Stop-Motion animated films, most notably The Night Before Christmas (1993, Selick) and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005, Park.)
Software used in stop motion Dragonframe
If you’re planning on making a professional stop motion video, Dragonframe is the best tool for the job. Its comprehensive software can be used with many different attachments, such as devices that control the camera, lights and even camera focus.
It gives the user complete control over the lighting of the shot with an option to program the dimming of the different lights over a period of time. It comes with a keypad controller for easy control of the photo taking process, and for flipping between frames
If you’re looking to spend a bit less and you’re making stop motion more as a hobby, this software is just for you. It’s not expensive and very user friendly.
It does have good features though, such as DSLR support, onion skinning, using an iPad or iPhone as a remote and even chroma keying (using green screen.)
For either broadcast video or Internet streaming video, rotoscoping is the rotated projection of a sequence of usually photographed action image frames so that the artist can trace from the frame or create an image to superimpose on it.
It can be thought of as "painting on movies" efficiently. Prior to computers, an animation stand called a Rotoscope was used to project a sequence of action frames against a surface so that a set of animation frames could be traced or created.
The same work can now be done with digital images and special computer software. Tools that provide efficient ways to rotoscope include Digital Magic and Elastic Reality. Rotoscoping is frequently used as a technique for combining (compositing) cartoon figures with realistic settings in television commercials and is also used for special effects in feature-length films.
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