Animation

Animation is a filmmaking technique used to create the illusion of moving images by showing pictures in quick succession. In traditional animation, artists draw or paint each picture by hand on transparent celluloid sheets, which are then photographed and shown on film. This method has been a beloved part of the entertainment industry for many years, bringing beloved characters and stories to life.

Today, many animations are made using computers, creating what is known as computer-generated imagery (CGI). This allows artists to build entire worlds and characters digitally, opening up new possibilities for creativity and visual effects. Another popular form of animation is stop motion, where objects like clay figures are moved slightly between each camera shot and then played back quickly to appear as if they are moving.

Animation is often mixed with live action in films, where real actors and settings are combined with animated elements. As technology improves, it has become easier to add 3D animated visual effects into movies, making the scenes more exciting and realistic for viewers to enjoy.

General overview

Animation is a technique used to create the illusion of moving images by showing pictures in sequence. There are many ways to make animations, including computer animation, which can be detailed 3D scenes or flat 2D styles. Another popular method is stop motion, where objects like paper cutouts, puppets, or clay figures are moved slightly between each camera shot to look like they are moving when played back quickly.

Animated cartoons, often just called cartoons, are short animated films with a fun, exaggerated style. They often feature animals, superheroes, or funny characters doing silly things. The term toon became popular in the late 1980s and 1990s with shows like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Animaniacs, which introduced many beloved cartoon characters.

Etymology

The word animation comes from the Latin word animātiō, meaning 'bestowing of life'. In English, it originally meant 'liveliness' and has been used for a longer time than its meaning as a moving image medium.

History

Main article: History of animation

Before cinematography

Main article: Early history of animation

Long before modern animation, people enjoyed moving characters through puppets, automatons, shadow puppets, and lanterns. In 1832, the phenakistoscope was invented, introducing the idea of persistence of vision. Later devices like the zoetrope and flip book used similar principles to create moving images. By 1876, animation began appearing in theaters.

Silent era

When movies became popular in the 1890s, it took time for animation to join them. The short film The Haunted Hotel (1907) by J. Stuart Blackton helped make stop motion popular. Émile Cohl’s Fantasmagorie (1908) is considered the oldest known traditional (hand-drawn) animation. Other early animators like Ladislas Starevich and Winsor McCay created influential works with puppets and hand-drawn styles.

Animation production across the Globe

American golden age

Main article: Golden Age of American animation

In the 1910s, animation became an industry in the US. John Randolph Bray and Earl Hurd patented the cel animation process, which shaped animation for decades. Characters like Felix the Cat, who debuted in 1919, set standards for cartoon design. In 1928, Steamboat Willie, featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, brought sound to animation and made Walt Disney a leader. This start marked the golden age of American animation, lasting until the 1960s, with studios creating beloved characters like Goofy, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Tom and Jerry.

European History of Animation Production

Polish artist Ladislas Starevitch used stop-motion in films like The Cameraman's Revenge (1912). Alexandre Alexeïeff developed pinscreen animation in France. Lotte Reiniger from Germany created the oldest existing animated feature, Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (1926), using silhouette animation.

Asian History of Animation production

Animation Production in China

In 1941, Tieshan gonzhu became Asia’s first animated feature film. Later, Fengzheng (The Kite) (1944) combined Disney-style animation with Chinese folklore. Many other notable films were made in this era across East Asia.

Features before CGI

In 1917, Quirino Cristiani made the first feature-length animated film, El Apóstol. In 1937, Walt Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a major success. Other studios followed, but many struggled during World War II. After the war, more studios began making animated features. Countries like the Soviet Union, China, and France also developed their own animation industries.

Television

Animation became very popular on TV starting in the 1950s. Shows like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo were big hits. Hanna-Barbera Productions helped shift animation from theaters to TV. In the 1990s, shows like The Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants brought back higher-quality animation. Many countries created their own TV cartoons, sometimes using styles like stop motion or working with Japanese studios.

Switch from cels to computers

Main article: History of computer animation

Computer animation began in the 1940s and grew in the 1970s. The Rescuers Down Under (1990) was the first fully digital feature film. Pixar’s Toy Story (1995) popularized the 3D style. By the 1990s, most studios moved to computer animation, making it cheaper and allowing new styles while still creating films that looked hand-drawn.

Economic status

In 2010, the animation market was worth about US$80 billion, and by 2021, it had grown to around US$370 billion. Animated films made especially good profits, with the highest earnings compared to other types of films from 2004 to 2013. Animation remains a strong and successful part of the entertainment industry today.

Main article: gross margins

Main articles: film genres

Education, propaganda and commercials

Animation is a clear and flexible way to teach and share ideas. Because it can show things in a simple, easy-to-understand way, it is often used to explain complex topics or to share important messages.

During World War II, many studios used animation to share messages about the war. Famous studios like Warner Bros. and Disney created cartoons to support their country's efforts. This use of animation continued into the Cold War era. For example, the 1954 animated movie Animal Farm by George Orwell was made to share a strong message.

Animation is also very popular in television commercials. People love the funny and colorful drawings, which help them remember products. Some animated characters, like Snap, Crackle and Pop for Kellogg's cereals, have been stars in ads for many years. In 1966, Tex Avery created the first Raid "Kills Bugs Dead" commercials, which became very successful.

Other media, merchandise and theme parks

Many cartoon characters become popular not just in movies and TV, but also on all kinds of products and in other forms of entertainment. Animation often works closely with comic books, with characters moving between comics and animated screens. Similarly, ideas from video games and movies influence each other.

The Walt Disney Company is a great example of this. Since 1929, Disney's Mickey Mouse and other characters have appeared on countless products. Disneyland opened in 1955 and was so successful that it led to many more Disney theme parks and resorts. Often, Disney makes more money from its theme parks than from its movies.

Awards

Main article: List of animation awards

Animation, like other types of media, has awards to celebrate excellence. Many of these awards are part of larger film award programs. For example, China gives the Golden Rooster Award for Best Animation starting in 1981. There are also special awards just for animation, such as the Annie Awards from ASIFA-Hollywood, the Emile Awards in Europe, and the Anima Mundi awards in Brazil.

Main article: List of animated feature films nominated for Academy Awards

The Academy Awards include special categories for animation, like Best Animated Short Film (since 1932) and Best Animated Feature (since 2002). Animated movies can also be nominated for other awards, such as Best Original Song and Best Original Score. The film Beauty and the Beast was the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture in 1991. Later, Up in 2009 and Toy Story 3 in 2010 also received Best Picture nominations when the academy allowed more movies to be nominated.

Production

Creating animation for films takes a lot of work and costs a lot of money, just like making regular movies. One big difference is that every extra scene in an animated film requires more effort because animators have to draw each one by hand. Because of this, studios started using storyboards—a series of drawings that show what happens in each scene—before the actual animation begins. This helps make sure every scene fits together well.

Animated films also need to look the same throughout, even when many artists work on them. To solve this, special artists create the overall look of the world and characters before animation starts. They make guides showing how characters should look in different positions and expressions. Unlike live-action films, actors in animated movies often record their voices separately, which allows more famous actors to be part of the same film even if they can't be in the same place at the same time.

Techniques

Traditional

Main article: Traditional animation

Traditional animation is the process that was used for most animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames of a traditionally animated film are photographs of drawings, 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 against a painted background by a rostrum camera onto motion picture film.

The traditional cel animation process became obsolete by the beginning of the 21st century. In modern traditionally animated films, animators' drawings and the backgrounds are either scanned into or drawn directly into a computer system. Various software programs are used to color the drawings and simulate camera movement and effects. The final animated piece is output to one of several delivery media, including traditional 35 mm film and newer media with digital video. The "look" of traditional cel animation is still preserved, and the character animators' work has remained essentially the same over the past 90 years.

Examples of traditionally animated feature films include Pinocchio (United States, 1940), Animal Farm (United Kingdom, 1954), Lucky and Zorba (Italy, 1998), and The Illusionist (British-French, 2010). Traditionally animated films produced with the aid of computer technology include The Lion King (US, 1994), Anastasia (US, 1997), The Prince of Egypt (US, 1998), Akira (Japan, 1988), Spirited Away (Japan, 2001), The Triplets of Belleville (France, 2003), and The Secret of Kells (Irish-French-Belgian, 2009).

Full

Full animation is the process of producing high-quality traditionally animated films that regularly use detailed drawings and plausible movement, having a smooth animation. Fully animated films can be made in a variety of styles, from more realistically animated works like those produced by the Walt Disney studio (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King) to the more 'cartoon' styles of the Warner Bros. animation studio. Many of the Disney animated features are examples of full animation, as are non-Disney works, The Secret of NIMH (US, 1982), The Iron Giant (US, 1999), and Nocturna (Spain, 2007). Fully animated films are often animated on "twos", sometimes on "ones", which means that 12 to 24 drawings are required for a single second of film.

Limited

Main article: Limited animation

Limited animation involves the use of less detailed or more stylized drawings and methods of movement usually a choppy or "skippy" movement animation. Limited animation uses fewer drawings per second, thereby limiting the fluidity of the animation. This is a more economic technique. Pioneered by the artists at the American studio United Productions of America, limited animation can be used as a method of stylized artistic expression, as in Gerald McBoing-Boing (US, 1951), Yellow Submarine (UK, 1968), and certain anime produced in Japan. Its primary use, however, has been in producing cost-effective animated content for media for television (the work of Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and other TV animation studios) and later the Internet (web cartoons).

Rotoscoping

Main article: Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is a technique patented by Max Fleischer in 1917 where animators trace live-action movement, frame by frame. The source film can be directly copied from actors' outlines into animated drawings, as in The Lord of the Rings (US, 1978), or used in a stylized and expressive manner, as in Waking Life (US, 2001) and A Scanner Darkly (US, 2006). Some other examples are Fire and Ice (US, 1983), Heavy Metal (1981), and Aku no Hana (Japan, 2013).

Live-action blending

Main article: Live-action animation

Live-action/animation is a technique combining hand-drawn characters into live action shots or live-action actors into animated shots. One of the earlier uses was in Koko the Clown when Koko was drawn over live-action footage. Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created a series of Alice Comedies (1923–1927), in which a live-action girl enters an animated world. Other examples include Allegro Non Troppo (Italy, 1976), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (US, 1988), Volere volare (Italy 1991), Cool World (US, 1992), The Pagemaster (US, 1994) Space Jam (US, 1996) and Osmosis Jones (US, 2001).

Stop motion

Main article: Stop motion

Stop motion is used to describe animation created by physically manipulating real-world objects and photographing them one frame of film at a time to create the illusion of movement. There are many different types of stop-motion animation, usually named after the materials used to create the animation. Computer software is widely available to create this type of animation; traditional stop-motion animation is usually less expensive but more time-consuming to produce than current computer animation.

Typically involves stop-motion puppet figures interacting in a constructed environment, in contrast to real-world interaction in model animation. The puppets generally have an armature inside of them to keep them still and steady to constrain their motion to particular joints. Examples include The Tale of the Fox (France, 1937), The Nightmare Before Christmas (US, 1993), Corpse Bride (US, 2005), Coraline (US, 2009), the films of Jiří Trnka and the adult animated sketch-comedy television series Robot Chicken (US, 2005–present).

Puppetoons

Created using techniques developed by George Pal, are puppet-animated films that typically use a different version of a puppet for different frames, rather than manipulating one existing puppet.

Clay animation or Plasticine animation

(Often called claymation, which, however, is a trademarked name). It uses figures made of clay or a similar malleable material to create stop-motion animation. The figures may have an armature or wire frame inside, similar to the related puppet animation (below), that can be manipulated to pose the figures. Alternatively, the figures may be made entirely of clay, in the films of Bruce Bickford, where clay creatures morph into a variety of different shapes. Examples of clay-animated works include The Gumby Show (US, 1957–1967), Mio Mao (Italy, 1974–2005), Morph shorts (UK, 1977–2000), Wallace & Gromit shorts (UK, as of 1989), Jan Švankmajer's Dimensions of Dialogue (Czechoslovakia, 1982), The Trap Door (UK, 1984). Films include Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run and The Adventures of Mark Twain.

Strata-cut animation

Most commonly a form of clay animation in which a long bread-like "loaf" of clay, internally packed tight and loaded with varying imagery, is sliced into thin sheets, with the animation camera taking a frame of the end of the loaf for each cut, eventually revealing the movement of the internal images within.

Cutout animation

(Sometimes called paper animation) A type of stop-motion animation produced by moving two-dimensional pieces of material paper or cloth. Examples include Terry Gilliam's animated sequences from Monty Python's Flying Circus (UK, 1969–1974); Fantastic Planet (France/Czechoslovakia, 1973); Tale of Tales (Russia, 1979), Matt Stone and Trey Parker the first cutout animation South Park (1992), the pilot episode of the adult television sitcom series (and sometimes in episodes) of South Park (US, 1997) and the music video Live for the moment, from Verona Riots band (produced by Alberto Serrano and Nívola Uyá, Spain 2014).

Silhouette animation

A variant of cutout animation in which the characters are backlit and only visible as silhouettes. Examples include The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Weimar Republic, 1926) and Princes et Princesses (France, 2000).

Paper craft animation

a stop motion animation using Construction paper or Card stock by doing cutting, folding, gluing and assembling.

Model animation

Stop-motion animation created to interact with and exist as a part of a live-action world. Intercutting, matte effects and split screens are often employed to blend stop-motion characters or objects with live actors and settings. Examples include the work of Ray Harryhausen, as seen in films, Jason and the Argonauts (1963), and the work of Willis H. O'Brien on films, King Kong (1933).

Go motion

A variant of model animation that uses various techniques to create motion blur between frames of film, which is not present in traditional stop motion. The technique was invented by Industrial Light & Magic and Phil Tippett to create special effect scenes for the film Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Another example is the dragon named "Vermithrax" from the 1981 film Dragonslayer.

Object animation

The use of regular inanimate objects in stop-motion animation, as opposed to specially created items.

Graphic animation

Uses non-drawn flat visual graphic material (photographs, newspaper clippings, magazines, etc.), which are sometimes manipulated frame by frame to create movement. At other times, the graphics remain stationary, while the stop-motion camera is moved to create on-screen action.

Brickfilm

A subgenre of object animation involving using Lego or other similar brick toys to make an animation. These have had a recent boost in popularity with the advent of video sharing sites, YouTube and the availability of cheap cameras and animation software.

Pixilation

Involves the use of live humans as stop-motion characters. This allows for a number of surreal effects, including disappearances and reappearances, allowing people to appear to slide across the ground, and other effects. Examples of pixilation include The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb and Angry Kid shorts, and the Academy Award-winning Neighbours by Norman McLaren.

Computer

Main article: Computer animation

Computer animation encompasses a variety of techniques, the unifying factor being that the animation is created digitally on a computer. 2D animation techniques tend to focus on image manipulation while 3D techniques usually build virtual worlds in which characters and objects move and interact. 3D animation can create images that seem real to the viewer.

2D

Main article: 2D computer graphics

2D animation figures are created or edited on the computer using 2D bitmap graphics and 2D vector graphics. This includes automated computerized versions of traditional animation techniques, interpolated morphing, onion skinning and interpolated rotoscoping. 2D animation has many applications, including After Effects Animation, analog computer animation, Flash animation, and PowerPoint animation. Cinemagraphs are still photographs in the form of an animated GIF file of which part is animated.

Final line advection animation is a technique used in 2D animation, to give artists and animators more influence and control over the final product as everything is done within the same department. Speaking about using this approach in Paperman, John Kahrs said that "Our animators can change things, actually erase away the CG underlayer if they want, and change the profile of the arm."

When working with game animations, skeletal 2D animations are commonly created using tools like Spine, DragonBones, Blender COA Tools, Rive, and the built-in Unity editor. The primary benefit of this approach is the ability to reuse images, which reduces the amount of graphics stored in RAM. This principle of maximizing resource efficiency means that by reusing existing elements, you can enhance the visual appeal of animations without needing to create additional graphics.

3D

Main articles: Computer animation and 3D computer graphics

3D animation is digitally modeled and manipulated by an animator. The 3D model maker usually starts by creating a 3D polygon mesh for the animator to manipulate. A mesh typically includes many vertices that are connected by edges and faces, which give the visual appearance of form to a 3D object or 3D environment. Sometimes, the mesh is given an internal digital skeletal structure called an armature that can be used to control the mesh by weighting the vertices. This process is called rigging and can be used in conjunction with key frames to create movement.

Other techniques can be applied, mathematical functions (e.g., gravity, particle simulations), simulated fur or hair, and effects, fire and water simulations. These techniques fall under the category of 3D dynamics.

Terms

• Cel shading is used to mimic traditional animation using computer software. The shading looks stark, with less blending of colors. Examples include Skyland (2007, France), The Iron Giant (1999, U.S.), Futurama (1999, U.S.) Appleseed Ex Machina (2007, Japan), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002, Japan), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017, Japan)
• Machinima – Films created by screen capturing in video games and virtual worlds. The term originated from the software introduction in the 1980s demoscene, as well as the 1990s recordings of the first-person shooter video game Quake.
• Motion capture is used when live-action actors wear special suits that allow computers to copy their movements into CG characters. Examples include Polar Express (2004, US), Beowulf (2007, US), A Christmas Carol (2009, US), The Adventures of Tintin (2011, US) kochadiiyan (2014, India)
• Computer animation is used primarily for animation that attempts to resemble real life while having a stylized cartoonish appearance, using advanced rendering that mimics in detail skin, plants, water, fire, clouds, etc. Examples include Up (2009, US), How to Train Your Dragon (2010, US)
• Physically based animation is animation using computer simulations.

Mechanical

• Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines that seem animate rather than robotic.
  • Audio-Animatronics is a form of robotics animation, combined with 3-D animation, created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks move and make noise (generally a recorded speech or song). They are fixed to whatever supports them. They can sit and stand, and they cannot walk. An Audio-Animatron is different from an android-type robot in that it uses prerecorded movements and sounds, rather than responding to external stimuli. In 2009, Disney created an interactive version of the technology called Autonomatronics.
  • Linear Animation Generator is a form of animation by using static picture frames installed in a tunnel or a shaft. The animation illusion is created by putting the viewer in a linear motion, parallel to the installed picture frames.
• Chuckimation is a type of animation created by the makers of the television series Action League Now! in which characters/props are thrown, or chucked from off camera or wiggled around to simulate talking by unseen hands.
• The magic lantern used mechanical slides to project moving images. Christiaan Huygens was thought to have invented the magic lantern in the mid-1600s.

Other

• Musical fountain: a hydrautechnical show that includes water and lights, nowadays often combined with lasers and high-definition projections on mist screens.
• Drawn-on-film animation: a technique where footage is produced by creating the images directly on film stock; for example, by Norman McLaren, Len Lye and Stan Brakhage.
• Paint-on-glass animation: a technique for making animated films by manipulating slow drying oil paints on sheets of glass, for example by Aleksandr Petrov.
• Erasure animation: a technique using traditional 2D media, photographed over time as the artist manipulates the image. For example, William Kentridge is famous for his charcoal erasure films, and Piotr Dumała for his auteur technique of animating scratches on plaster.
• Pinscreen animation: makes use of a screen filled with movable pins that can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen. The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The technique has been used to create animated films with a range of textural effects difficult to achieve with traditional cel animation.
• Sand animation: sand is moved around on a back- or front-lighted piece of glass to create each frame for an animated film. This creates an interesting effect when animated because of the light contrast.
• Flip book: a flip book (sometimes, especially in British English, called a flick book) is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change. Flip books are often illustrated books for children, they also are geared towards adults and employ a series of photographs rather than drawings. Flip books are not always separate books, they appear as an added feature in ordinary books or magazines, often in the page corners. Software packages and websites are also available that convert digital video files into custom-made flip books.
• Character animation
• Multi-sketch animation
• Special effects animation
• 2.5D Animation: A mix of 2D and 3D animation elements that emphasize the illusion of depth utilizing the pseudo-3D effect. During the 1970s, the term "2.5D" started to gain recognition. But its background comes from anime and manga during the 1920s where theatrical stage productions were popular. Stage adaptations of well-liked anime series featured live performances by voice actors called 2.5D.