Animation has become a huge part of the entertainment industry over the years and gives animators a way of seemingly bringing things to life through making them appear to move. Since animation began on a wide scale it has also developed significantly with new technologies and this has made it much more believable. These developments have meant that the job which an animator does has also had to change as previous methods are rarely still used.
When wide scale animation first started the animators would have to draw each image in the sequence and trace them to alter small details. This was the only way to get consistency in the images and create the illusion of small movements but it was extremely long and complicated. Each of the images also had to be traced again on to acetate so that it could be coloured and this was only a very small part of the process. Today's methods are much faster but animators now need excellent computer skills.
Almost all animators today use computer programmes to create their animations and animators are taught to use these programmes when at university too. Although 3D animation is common today that wasn't always the case. It wasn't until stop motion became big that 3D animation became common. The animators had to model things out of clay or use existing objects and then move and alter them while taking photos of every movement and alteration. This process was very intricate and once again long for the animators.
The initial computer animation methods allowed 2D animations using bitmap and vector images. Although this method was much faster for animators it encouraged the creation of more elaborate animations. It didn't take long after the introduction of 2D animation for 3D to be developed on computers.
Today 3D animation has become common and has completely revolutionised the film industry. Animators create things on computer programmes and then move them far more easily than ever before. The details are much more intricate than ever before as animators can now move strands of hair individually to react to things like artificial wind. This makes the animations more real than ever.
When wide scale animation first started the animators would have to draw each image in the sequence and trace them to alter small details. This was the only way to get consistency in the images and create the illusion of small movements but it was extremely long and complicated. Each of the images also had to be traced again on to acetate so that it could be coloured and this was only a very small part of the process. Today's methods are much faster but animators now need excellent computer skills.
Almost all animators today use computer programmes to create their animations and animators are taught to use these programmes when at university too. Although 3D animation is common today that wasn't always the case. It wasn't until stop motion became big that 3D animation became common. The animators had to model things out of clay or use existing objects and then move and alter them while taking photos of every movement and alteration. This process was very intricate and once again long for the animators.
The initial computer animation methods allowed 2D animations using bitmap and vector images. Although this method was much faster for animators it encouraged the creation of more elaborate animations. It didn't take long after the introduction of 2D animation for 3D to be developed on computers.
Today 3D animation has become common and has completely revolutionised the film industry. Animators create things on computer programmes and then move them far more easily than ever before. The details are much more intricate than ever before as animators can now move strands of hair individually to react to things like artificial wind. This makes the animations more real than ever.
About the Author:
Find out more about the Digital Animation with Illustration at Futureworks, Manchester.