ANIMATION

Define?
Animation is defined as the act of making something

come alive. It is concerned with the visual or aesthetic aspect of the project. Animation is an object moving across or into or out of the screen.

Animation is possible because of

The sequence of images is perceived in just the same

way as the sequence of frames exposed when live action has been filmed in real time This is known as: persistence of vision causes the succession of still images to be perceived as a continuous moving image. A series of images are rapidly changed to create an illusion of movement.

Animation Space
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.

2-D Animation Can Provide

Simulation of actual events Action and realism in entertainment Visualization and demonstration in education

2-D Animation Issues

Movement is made up of many still images Each still image has its own frame Speed of moving these frames:

Movies on film: 24 fps Television: 30 fps Computer animation: 12-15 fps

Anything less than 12 fps creates a jerky motion as the eye detects the changes from 1 frame to the next

Terms in 2D Animation
Frame rate @ fps: speed of the animation Transition: special effects used to change 1 screen to

another example: fade out, dissolve Looping: user control for playback by specifying the number of times to run the animation

Animation Techniques
Animation process. Cel animation. Computer animation. Path Animation

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

2-D Animation Types: Traditional Cel Animation

Based on changes that occur from one

frame to another Background image is stationary The term "cel" is derived from the clear celluloid sheets that were used for drawing each frame. Celluloid images placed on background Celluloid images change from frame to frame Refer page 243 Example: Popeye, The Simpsons, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Computer Animation
Cel animation begins with keyframes. Keyframes refer to the first and the last frame of an

action. The frames in between the keyframes are drawn in the tweening process. Tweening depicts the action that takes place between keyframes. 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.

2-D Animation Types

Cel Animation

2-D Animation Types: Path Animation

Object moved along predetermined path on

screen Object can stay the same, be resized or rotated Tweening in an authoring program
Define beginning position in one frame Define ending position in another frame Software fills in intervening frames

2-D Animation Types

Path Animation

2-D Animation Software Allows

Frame rate changes Transitions User playback control Looping Object drawing and animating Sound clips

Cheap shareware to expensive authoring packages

3-D Animation
Games and adventure titles Users are participants, not

spectators Much more complex than 2-D Involves:

Modeling Animation Rendering

3-D Modeling and Animation

Draw views by setting points on a grid

Create contours and structure Define objects motion, lighting & perspective views

3-D Rendering
Give objects attributes
Colors Surface textures Transparency amounts

Programs
Strata 3D LightWave 3D 3D Studio Max Maya Houdini

3-D Morphing
Morphing is an effect in which a still or moving

image is transformed into another.

3-D Morphing

Combining Animation with live action

In Special Effect movies:

King Kong The Matrix Jurassic Park

Warping
Distort a single image Change a frown into a smile

Virtual Reality (VR)

Creates an environment that surrounds the user so the

user becomes part of the experience A technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it a real or imagined one Examples:

Boeing Corporation flight simulators CD-based adventure games: Myst and 7th Guest Virtual tour sites

Some require special equipment like goggles & gloves

VR Devices
Head Mounted Display sensitive to head

movements used to project images on the users eyes. Modifying them as the head is moved, so that the user appears to be inside the 3D world, looking around Data Gloves track hand movements, allowing the display to incorporate an image of users arm: so that user can touch and feel objects in the virtual world

Usage of VR

An army using VR parachute trainer

Usage of VR

Classic Virtual reality HMD with glove

CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment

VRML
Virtual Reality Modeling Language Creates interactive 3-D on the Web User is moved through the environment

(instead of object moving) Environment is dynamic and always changing

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.

THE END