In this task I aim to produce a blog showing my understanding of 2d animation techniques, explaining my summaries at a target audience of 7 to 12 year olds. I will talk about such techniques as Flick book, cel animation, drawn on film, photographic stills etc. I will include a number of images to further my insight of these techniques. As well as that I will include video links via YouTube to show my understanding of these techniques in the easiest view.
2d animation are 2d flat dimensional images created in movement using both computerized software such as flash animation and paper such as flipbooking. The flat images are then put in order and played in sequence to create the appearance of movement. The human eye can be tricked into the illusion of movement in viewing these 2d animations due to the eye not recognising that the animations are still images, in that the human eye is tricked due to the animations being at 24 frames per second or faster making the images look like their moving which is the persistence of vision.
Flip Book Animation
A flip book animation is a technique using a number of pages in series with little illustrations on them in turn looking as though the images are moving.This type of animation started back in 1868 by a man named John Barnes Linnett. To begin making your flick book animation you would need to get a number of pages or ideally sticky notes. From that you would draw a number of illustrations on each page in sequence resulting in the images looking as though they are moving when you flip the pages rapidly. The end product would be a number of drawings layered up in a structure of progression.
In the picture to the below you will see an example of a flip book animation.
Below you will see a video clip displaying a breakdancing flip book animation.
This is another example of a flip book animation technique. This video is far more advanced in that there are a lot of illustrations demonstrated.
Advantages
· Cheap to make
· Don’t need IT skills
· Don’t need any technology
Disadvantages
· Time consuming
· You only have one copy, whereas using computers you could have a number of copies
· If you loose it you don’t have backups
· It could fold, bend and get worn in time therefore the quality might deteriorate and look damaged
Flip booking is a technique that comes with both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages being firstly cheap to make, due to the resources needed being a pen and paper in comparison to the likes of flash animation which requires not only IT skills but software and a computer. Secondly an advantage to flip booking would be alot like my first point, you dont need any technology in order to create the animation as well as that you dont need any specific IT skills to generate a flip booking result. On the other hand flip booking comes with its many disadvantages, the first being it can be time consuming depending on the length of your animation in that the more illustrations added the more movements and motions needed to be drawn. Secondly an obvious disadvantage of flipbooking would be if lost, its irreplaceable, this can be a big downfall to the animation process in that all the time and effort put into one animation is automaticly lost for life and cannot be replaced unless you decide to make another one. Thirdly a disadvantage of flipbooking would be upkeeping of quality, due to the technique being made of paper it could easily be worn over time and weaken resulting in folds and bends to the flip book.
Cell animation
This tpe of animation uses a number of frames, which is a very time consuming animation to create. The frames are built up on transparent cells which are then placed on top of each other to create scenes. This type of animation similar to flip booking runs rapidly to give illusion of movement due to the cells being placed on top of each other. This animation technique was invented by Winsor McCay in 1915.
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A cartoon that uses cell animation would be The Simpsons
Above is an example of an original simpsons cel animation
Advantages
· Cheap
· You can use your own resources
· No technology required
· Looks detailed
· Fun to see how your end result
Disadvantages
· Time consuming
· Stressful due to repetition of the same scene
Cel animation can withhold both advantages and disadvantages like any animation. The advantages of cel animation being firstly cheap to make, this is due to no technology required and therfore the resources would be a minimum of cels and equipment in order to draw and sketch illustrations. A second advantage of this technique would be the animation looking very detailed, this is due to the repetition of similar scenes resulting in a build up of artwork. On the other hand cel animation can have its drawbacks, firstly being time consuming, a lot like flip booking in that there is a constant repeat of the same illustrations resulting in a time consuming process which in turn could lead to being a stressful development.
Cel animation can withhold both advantages and disadvantages like any animation. The advantages of cel animation being firstly cheap to make, this is due to no technology required and therfore the resources would be a minimum of cels and equipment in order to draw and sketch illustrations. A second advantage of this technique would be the animation looking very detailed, this is due to the repetition of similar scenes resulting in a build up of artwork. On the other hand cel animation can have its drawbacks, firstly being time consuming, a lot like flip booking in that there is a constant repeat of the same illustrations resulting in a time consuming process which in turn could lead to being a stressful development.
Above is a link to a video that gives cell animation first hand using the traditional way of drawing and sketched illustrations.
Rotoscoping
This is a technique invented by a man named Max Fleischer in 1915. This technique is a frame to frame animated technique generated through tracing of an object to therefore be able to build up the frames similar to cel animation and as well as that to be able to use different layered images in a number of sequences instead of all drawings on the one frame.
A good example of rotoscoping within a music video would be A-Ha's song "take on me". This music video shows rotoscoping well in how it varies from both rotoscoping and normal footage, which looks great in an end result.
Advantages
· Looks creative
Disadvantages
· Time consuming
Unlike most other animation techniques, rotoscoping dosnt hold as many advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of rotoscoping would be how creative the animation looks, in the music video example above you can identify this with the cross between both animation and normal shooting in that the video is a combination of the two which in turn looks great and very impressive. On the other hand the main advantage of rotoscoping as an animation technique would be how time consuming it is, although this is a majore drawback, this may be the small price to pay in having an animation effect that looks that extraordinary and outstanding.
Drawn on film
This is a technique that sounds exactly what it means. Drawn on film animation is drawing directly on a film reel in order to create a sequence. The film reel is worked on from frame to frame to create a tiny illustration on even individual frame resulting in the illusion of movement.
This technique is a lot like the flip book animation in that it’s a build up illustrations.
Here is an example of the drawn on film technique in the image to the right. This particular film reel is from the short movie “Little Nemo”.
Advantages
- Re use of film reels
- Inexpensive
- Simple to do
Disadvantages
- Only one copy
- Can get damaged through time
- Time consuming
Photographic Stills
Below is a clip to demonstrate photographic stills animation in how a straight forward image of a baby went from a stills image to a moving animation.
Below is a second example showing photographic stills animation but from a differnt point of view
Advantages
- Looks creative
- You can take a basic image and make it look completely transformed
Disadvantages
- Need IT skills
- Software required
- Camera required
Flash animation
Flash animation is a technique created by Adobe Flash or similar software. This software allows you to create your own illustrations or combine both your own images or images off the internet in order to blend together and make a moving animation. Flash animation started out as a technique in 1977 by a man named John Kricfalusi who launched a cartoon series using this type of technique named 'The Goddamn George Liquor Program'.
Below is a tutorial showing how flash animation works
The clip below shows an exmaple of a flash animation
Advantages
- They can tell stories using images, text, videos and sounds
Disadvantages
- Requires technology
- Time consuming
In comparing a lot of the techniques I have found that majority of them required a lot of time and effort in order to make a animated piece, this in turn is shown throughout for example the flash animation technique in the multiple layered scenes. This technique is very similar to drawn on film in that it requires continuous time and effort in layering the images, to which both animations show work has been put in and will look better on your behalf. In looking at the differnt techniques in contrast I found that it would be easier to try the likes of flip booking and cel animation in that they both are techniques that dont require IT skills and computerized equipment. The flip booking technique has a lot of advantages over the rest of the techniques in comparison in that it can compare to the likes of flash animation and computerized software in that it draws in the attention of the audience and looks very creative and is a strong competitor animation techniques.
In completing this task I feel I have met my objective in producing a blog for my target audience of 7 to 12 year olds in defining animation techniques and demonstrating my understanding of this through images and video clips. I feel I have gained a better understanding of these techniques due to this task.
