Assessment 1 part 2- 2D Animation

Process of paper or cel animation and Computer animation.

To create an animation exists to ways of doing it. Both ways are acceptable and only the animator can decided how to achieve the animation.

Mechanical process:

Paper or cel animation
Hand drawn images of the same object, same position, but small changes to it to create the animation.

Stage 1: First of all, decide what to animate, make a storyboard and draw or paint (cel) a sequence following it.

Stage 2: Photograph or scan the drawn or painted sequence.

Stage 3: Put the photographed images in order, film the sequence with a short period of time between each layer to create the illusion of movement.

Computer animation.

The process of creating animations with computer imaging. Mostly used for television, ads, movies and video games.

Already having a storyboard:

Stage 1: Create the object (s) to be animated in a animation software (eg Flash), using different layers.
Stage 2: Move the object (s) in different frames, or create two or mores frames.
Stage 3:  Create motion tween for the software to move the object between the frames. Each used frame has to be in a "key frame". You have to have control of the timing, being carefully selected by you and put it right to avoid having to star over.

Normally to create a digital animation, animators use computer software like Adobe Flash, to make the characters and "make them move" throughout sequential layers with the same character changing the position of the items being moved, tweens can be use to minimize the layers. The tweens fill the spaces between the layers (from a position to another).   Also the animator could make all the layers instead of using the tweens.

The timing in both types of animations is essential. The animators have to have the correct timing between each layer to make the movements as accurate as possible.

Resources:
http://blog.granthynddesigner.co.uk/mechanical-process-of-paper-and-cell-animation
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4922712_animation-work.html
http://animatedtv.about.com/od/thesimpsonsfaq/a/celanimation.htm
http://www.comet-cartoons.com/3ddocs/animprocess/