Easy to Start, Hard to MasterToday it is easier than ever to get into animation. There are plenty of software available, some of them are quite cheap, and most modern computer can handle the simpler animation tasks (mostly 2D).
The catch is that although anyone can start animating right now, the art of animation is not easy to learn and very hard to master.
The good news is…That you don’t need to be a Disney quality animator to create really cool animations. You can start small and simple and slowly develop your skills and unique style. You don’t even need to know how to draw well.
SoftwareThe two programs I would suggest you start with are Flash or Photoshop. The reason for that is that they are cheap and accessible. You can get either for $19 a month, including a free trial month – so you have nothing to lose. For more detailed information check out our animation software list.
If you want to learn more about character animation in Flash, check out our Flash Animation Course.
If you want to learn more about character animation in After Effects, check out our After Effects Animation Course.
Hardware
The catch is that although anyone can start animating right now, the art of animation is not easy to learn and very hard to master.
The good news is…That you don’t need to be a Disney quality animator to create really cool animations. You can start small and simple and slowly develop your skills and unique style. You don’t even need to know how to draw well.
SoftwareThe two programs I would suggest you start with are Flash or Photoshop. The reason for that is that they are cheap and accessible. You can get either for $19 a month, including a free trial month – so you have nothing to lose. For more detailed information check out our animation software list.
- Flash: The most used animation software by hobbyists/YouTubers out there. There are so many free tutorials out there so you can learn it quickly and start animating right now. It’s a fun software to play with, and you can make silly animations with it without spending days and days working on them.
- Photoshop: For the more traditional oriented aspiring animators, the Timeline feature in Photoshop allows you to animate frame by frame, and since it’s Photoshop you’re getting one of the best drawing/painting capabilities out there. It has onion skinning settings and could be an awesome tool to start experimenting in 2D animation with.
- After Effects: A less conventional choice for character animation, but I actually found it incredible for it. It can do rigging, lip sync and use cameras to create a sense of depth. I loved using it so much that I created an entire animation course specifically for animating with After Effects.
If you want to learn more about character animation in Flash, check out our Flash Animation Course.
If you want to learn more about character animation in After Effects, check out our After Effects Animation Course.
Hardware
- Computer: The good thing about using Flash or Photoshop is that you don’t need some crazy monster computer to use them, any modern machine will do the trick.
- Tablet: I’ve written about the merits of animating with a tablet, and for 2D animation I can’t imagine doing it with a mouse. The price of the Intuos Pro (our tablet of choice) might scare you, but for about $70 you can get the Intuos Pen which is great for beginners.
- The Animator’s Survival Kit / Richard Williams: This book is an animator’s bible. It thoroughly covers the basics of spacing, timing, walks, runs, weight, anticipation, overlapping action, takes, stagger, dialogue, animal animation and much more. It’s not called a “survival kit” for nothing. This book will teach you EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW to start your training as an animator.
- Cartoon Animation / Preston Blair: Originally released in 1994, Cartoon Animation (also known as “The Preston Blair Book”), has been an amazing reference source for creating cartoon-style animation. With this book you’ll learn how to develop a cartoon character, create dynamic movement, and animate dialogue with action.
- The Illusions of Life / Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston: This book has started as an animation guide and turned into a detailed survey on the progression of animation, both within the Disney studios and in the world of animation in general. Written by two of the nine old men who defined the Disney animation style, this book takes the reader through all the steps it took them to discover and research the best methods of animation
- Animation For Beginners / Morr Meroz: Bloop Animation’s own guide to newcomers interested in getting into the world of animation. Including a survey of the different types of animation and what does it mean to be an animator for each of them, a detailed list of the best animation schools with all the information you’ll need, a complete animation dictionary and more.
- Setting Up Your Shots / Jeremy Vineyard: A great book for getting your basic understanding of shot composition and camera movement fAnimation is a field of both art and science that has the capability to bring life and zeal to non-living characters. The most amazing aspect of 2d & 3d animation is that it has a phenomenon of an eye that allows the image continue to appear in one’s vision after the exposure to the original image has ceased.
- What is animation
- Animation refers to the basic process of creating motion and shape changing illusions by the means of rapid display of a sequence of static images that differ from each other by very minimal contrasts.
- 2D animation involves the traditional animation method that has long been in existence since the late 1800s. It is one animation that is followed by another in slightly different pose, followed by another in different pose, and so on for 24 frames a second
- Today, most 2D animations use computer software to one degree or another from just the digitally coloring of the cels to be photographed in the traditional method, by making use of computer.
- 3D animation is the form of animation that is completely done with a computer. These animations are created in X, Y and Z dimensional world. The 3D animation allow you to do things that are not possible in 2D animation.
- Difference between the 2 dimensional and 3-dimensional animation
- 2-dimensional animation basically deals mostly with the framing and drawing and is the foundation of 3-dimensional animation. The 2D animators usually create frames in order to define a sequential frame that is displayed at varying speeds in creating illusion of motion. The 3-dimensional animations that are much more complex which are quite realistic, fun and amazing to watch.
- Computer animation refers to the process of creating animated images through computer graphics. It refers to moving images. A 3D animation is applied to computer programs where the computer generates a 3D presentation of a 2D graphic and gives the 2D a 3-dimensional framework.
- Process of developing Animations
- The process of developing animations involves a 3 step process.
- 1. Step one involves laying down the shapes of the image
- 2. The second step involves the formation of the surroundings of the object and the animation of the object
- 3.The third step is what we call rendering that produces the final image of the object.
- Techniques used in 2 Dimensional and 3 Dimensional Animations
- There are various techniques that are acclimated in the creation of 2D. These are
- 1. Morphing
- 2. Twining
- 3. Onion Skinning
- 4. Anime
- 5. Amid Rotoscoping
- In the 3 dimensional animations, the techniques that are used are
- 1. Anime
- 2. Arena Building
- 3. Texturing
- 4. Abating
- 5. Camera setup
- 6. Rendering
- Other techniques such as algebraic functions, apish and motion capture may as well be used.
- Fields of Animation
- Animation is purposely used for entertainment purposes. In addition to its use for entertainment, it is a considered as a form of art. It is an art that is often displayed and celebrated in film festivals all over the world. It is also used commonly for educational purposes as it has a big place in the learning and instructional applications.
- This piece of content was written from research on the following sites.
- (Bibliography)
- 1. http://www.arena-multimedia.com/what-is-the-difference-between-2d-animation-and-3d-animation.aspx
- 2. http://www.manuinfosolutions.com/2d-and-3d-animation
- 3. www.iwriter.com/write.php?table=21&keyw=12152&article_id=26632
- 4. http://www.minglebox.com/article/animation/what-is-3d-animation
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- or your film.
- For other uses, see Animation (disambiguation).
- The bouncing ball animation (below) consists of these six frames.
- This animation moves at 10 frames per second.
- Animation is the process of making the illusion of motion and the illusion of change[Note 1] by means of the rapid display of a sequence of images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion—as in motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon. Animators are artists who specialize in the creation of animation. Animation can be recorded with either analogue media, a flip book, motion picture film, video tape, digital media, including formats with animated GIF, Flash animation, and digital video. To display animation, a digital camera, computer, or projector are used along with new technologies that are produced.
- Animation creation methods include the traditional animation creation method and those involving stop motion animation of two and three-dimensional objects, paper cutouts, puppets and clay figures. Images are displayed in a rapid succession, usually 24, 25, 30, or 60 frames per second. Computer animation processes generating animated images with the general term computer-generated imagery (CGI). 3D animation uses computer graphics, while 2D animation is used for stylistic, low bandwidth and faster real-time renderings.