Chapter 5 Animation

OBJECTIVES
Students should be able to :
1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

Define animation. Explain the types of animation Describe terms used animation, keyframe, tweening, kinematics, morphing File formats for animation. Animation tools/software

Principles of Animation

Animation is defined as the act of making something comes alive. In animation, a series of images are rapidly changed to create an illusion of movement. An animated item can move, change color, size, blend etc. In Multimedia, animation is the use of computer to create movement on the screen

Principles of Animation
Animation can be rendered in: 2-D space - 2-D animations are very simple and static. 2-1/2D space - An illusion of depth is created through shadowing, highlighting, and forced perspective, though in reality the image rests in two dimensions. 3-D space - Complicated and realistic animations are done in 3-D space.

Animation Process
The steps to be followed in creating animation are: 1. Organize the execution in a series of logical steps. 2. Choose an animation tool best suited for the job. 3. Build the sequences. 4. Post-process the completed animation.

Animation Technique
Cel animation is a technique made famous by Disney in which a series of progressively different graphics are used on each frame of movie film. The term "cel" is derived from the clear celluloid sheets that were used for drawing each frame. Cel animation begins with keyframes;

Animation Technique
Keyframes refer to the first and the last frame of an action. The series of frames in between the keyframes are drawn in a process called the tweening. Tweening depicts the action that takes place between keyframes.

Animation Technique

Computer animation is very similar to cel animation. The primary difference is in how much must be drawn by the animator and how much is automatically generated by the software.

TYPES OF ANIMATION

There are five basic types of animation for multimedia :

Path-based animation (tweening) Cell-based animation (frame) Script or program-based animation Combinations of both cell- and path-based animation Three-dimensional modeling animation(3-D)

Path-based / Vector Animation

Path-based animation is the process of animating an object over a line or path that is straight, jagged, or curved. In most cases, the animator draws a path and then directs the object to move along that path A line that has a beginning, a direction, and a length. The animator has actually drawn only one drawing and then by manipulating a computer program has allowed the computer to draw in the in between frames.

Cell-Based/Frame Animation

Cell-based animation on the computer is created in much the same way as Saturday morning cartoons have been created for many years. The animator creates a set of drawings of the same character in which discreet changes and made over the course of a number of drawings. These drawings are called cells. When the cells are compiled or stacked and then flipped through, the illusion of motion is created.

Cell-Based/Frame Animation
This can be time-consuming process because to create realistic movement over time, many individual drawings must be made. Motion in animation must create a suspension of belief that allows the viewer to see the motion as natural. For this to occur, animation must be run at least at rate of 15 or more frames or cells per second. Professional animation is usually created to run at 24 or 30 cells or frames per second.

Script or Program-Based Animation

Animation is sometimes created using scripts or a computer-based program that manipulates the objects on the screen. This is sometimes referred to as script-based animation. This method of animation switches the objects on the screen. For example, in Macromedias Director program, and others, this involves an elaborate set of program commands that substitute one frame for another in the sequence of the animation.

Combinations of both cell and pathbased Animation

Used for complex animations This technique calls for the creation of a cell-based animation that is then moved along a path, a sort of animation within an animation. In Macromedia Director, this is accomplished by creating an animation of an object involved in a complex motion, such as a man walking. Each step that the man takes is recorded in its own cast member. The animation is then compiled into a film loop by cutting and pasting the animation score into an empty cast member and then moving the new film loop cast member along a path.

3-D Modeling Animation

Three-dimensional modeling animation is similar to 2-D animation except that animation is carried out through both time and relative space. In this animation environment, modeling is generally the process of creating the 3-D object with shading and texturing, and animation is the process of setting it in motion. 3-D is generally more complex, expensive and difficult to master, though the development of applications with which to draw and animate have come down to more realistic price and ease of use in the past year or two.

TERMS USED IN ANIMATION

Kinematics
The study of the movement and motion of structures that have joints such as walking man. To animate a walking step user need to calculate the position, rotation, velocity and acceleration of all the joints and articulated parts involved (eg : knees bend, shoulders wing and etc) Example software for this type of animation, is Fractal Designs poser, a 3-D modeling program.

Fractals design poser

TERMS USED IN ANIMATION

Morphing

A popular effect in which one image transforms into another. Morphing applications and other modeling tools that offer this effect can transition not only between still images but often between moving images as well. Some products that offer morphing features are Black Belts Easy Morph, Human Softwares Squizz, etc. Setting key points is crucial for smooth transitions between two images. The more key points, the smoother the morph.

Example of morphing

Example of morphing

ANIMATION FILE FORMATS

Because file size is a critical factor when downloading animations to play on the web pages, file compression is an essential part of preparing animation file for the web. Flash is widely used for web-based animation and makes extensive use of vector graphics to keep the postcompression file size at absolute minimum.

File Formats used in Animation

.dir and .dcr - Director files. .fli and .flc - AnimatorPro files. .max - 3D Studio Max files. .pics - SuperCard and Director files. .fla and .swf - Flash files.

File Formats used in Animation

GIF89a file format: It is a version of the GIF image format. GIF89a allows multiple images to be put into a single file and then be displayed as an animation in the Web browser. Applications like BoxTop Software's GIFmation (Mac) or ULead's GIF Animator (Win) are needed to create GIF89a animation.

Animation Tools
Some animation tools are: Macromedia Flash. Kai's Power Tools Spheroid Designer. Alias|Wavefront Maya (now Autodesk Maya). NewTek Lightwave Autodesk 3ds Max.

Making Successful Animations

Use animation carefully and sparingly. High quality animations require superior display platforms and hardware, as well as raw computing horsepower. File compression is very important when preparing animation files for the Web.

SUMMARY
Students should be able to :
1. 2. 3.

4.

Define animation. Explain the types of animation Describe terms used animation, keyframe, tweening, kinematics, morphing File formats for animation.

SUMMARY
Students should be able to :
1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

Define animation. Explain the types of animation Describe terms used animation, keyframe, tweening, kinematics, morphing File formats for animation. Animation tools/software

The End