Animation
Animation, or animated motion pictures, is one of the earliest forms of moving image and film. It is a series of photographs of drawings, models or puppets that appear to move a small amount. When the photos are put together and sped up they create the illusion of movement.
2D animation
A 2D animation of action in a football game. Each frame is hand-drawn in pencil.
In the early days of 2D animation, each frame was hand drawn or painted. The next sheet of paper would be placed on top and the drawing would be changed slightly. This is repeated so that when put together and played the pictures appear to move.
Cel animation
Early cartoons were made by artists who used to draw or paint onto Able to be seen through. sheets called celluloids. This was more efficient because characters could be drawn on individual cels that were placed over cels with drawn backgrounds. Instead of having to draw everything from scratch each time, it was only the moving objects that needed to be drawn onto different cels.
Stop-motion
A stop-motion video of coins filling a jar. The effect is achieved by taking a series of photographs.
Stop-motion animation is where objects are placed in front of the camera and are photographed many times, each time changing position slightly. When the photographs are played back at a fast enough speed the objects appear to be moving.
This is a good way to make your own moving film or image. Set up a camera on a tripod so that it remains still. Place an object in front of the camera, then take a photo. Move the object slightly and take another photo. Continue to do this until you have around 100 photos. Upload the photos into a video editing software package or stop motion app then speed the frames up until the object appears to be moving smoothly.
This will also work with drawings. Just do one drawing on paper and photograph it from above then place a new sheet of paper with the next drawing making sure that it has a slight movement from the last one. Keep repeating this process.
Pixilation animation is similar to stop-motion animation but uses people and props instead of drawings.
CGI animation
CGI (computer-generated imagery) animation is a form of animation created using a computer. A lot of television series, movies and computer games use CGI animation in different ways.
Performance capture animation is a method of animation where small sensors and cameras are attached to the human body. As the body moves, the sensors send information to the computer so this can copy the movement. Cameras also detect facial expressions.
