Animation

Animation
Animation is the art by which two-dimensional drawings or inanimate objects are turned into moving visual representations of three-dimensional (3-D) life. Computer animation uses computer hardware and software to make the animation process easier, faster, and executable by less skilled and fewer creators. Although there used to be clear divisions among cartoon and feature filmanimation, visual effects, gaming software, 3-D animation, and GIF animation, these related forms of animation now often overlap.
Animation can be described as the creation of the illusion of motion through a rapid sequence of still images. Although the quality of the original images is important, equally important is the quality of the sequence through which action, character, and story development areportrayed. There must be a coherent pattern to the action. A common story structure introduces characters, a source of conflict, the development of this conflict, a climax, and finally a resolution. But an animated story can also be more fluid, including the creation of forms or simple images, some interaction of them, and then a transformation or transmutation, such as a smiley face turning intoa frown or dissolving into the background.
Creating an Animated Story
Although the process of animation takes many forms depending on the medium used, the following is typical. A preview or rough overview of the story, called a pencil test, is created. This is a sample sequence of pencil drawings created on paper to present a rough overview of the story. In the early days of animation, thesewere then recorded on an animation stand, but now they are placed on film or videotape. Sometimes, after a story idea is conceived, a "treatment" is created instead of a pencil test; this is a brief narrative description of the proposed film or video. Both pencil tests and treatments are often used to solicit sponsors. The action of the story and its development are conveyed through the use ofstoryboards, which are used to compose, organize, and deploy the animation.
A storyboard is a series of visual sketches that the story creator uses when developing the narrative and depicting the action of the animation. This is done so that everyone involved in the animation project can literally sketch out what is happening, making sure that important details are not overlooked. The storyboarddetails the sequence of actions necessary to convey the story line, character development, and point of view. This would include the background, action, and camera movement of the scene, but also Página 9  |  Inicio del artículo
 
In the movie The Perfect Storm (2000), animators used computer technology to recreate the treacherous weather and sea conditions which claimed the crew of the Andrea Gailcommercial fishing vessel in 1991.
 
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each change of scene, each change in perspective, the timing and length of each scene, sound requirements, and the timing of the whole work.
With the storyboard in place, the dialog or music for the animation is recorded, and the sound length is determined in terms of the number of frames that it can handle. This information is entered on a "dopesheet"— a document detailing the nature of the music clips, their times, and the number of frames per clip. A layout is drawn up for each scene and the director uses the layout and dope sheet to plan the action and its timing. Next a background is created and the movement is created by a sequence of drawn images, which is then also entered on the dope sheet.
The image drawings for movement arethen tested; if there are discrepancies, corrections are made to the timing or the drawings. In traditional animation, hand-drawn or cel animation is the most common technique. The cleaned-up drawings are inked and colored by hand on acetate overlays called cels. The cels are placed on the background, which is then placed under the camera. The camera operator, using the dope sheet, assembles the...