Multimedia Communication (SW-416)

ANIMATION
Animation
Computers don’t create computer animation any more
than a pencil creates pencil animation.

What creates computer animation is the artist.

~ John Lasseter
Animation
• Animation is possible because of a biological phenomenon called Persistence of Vision
and a physiological phenomenon called phi.

• An object seen by the human eye remains chemically mapped on the eye’s retina for a
brief time after viewing.
• Combined with the human minds need to conceptually complete a perceived action,
this makes it possible for a series of images that are changed very slightly and very
rapidly, one after the other, to seemingly blend together into a visual illusion of
movement.
Animation
2-D Space:
• 2D animation is the art of creating movement in a two-dimensional space.
◦ This includes characters, creatures, FX, and backgrounds.
• The illusion of movement is created when individual drawings are sequenced
together over time.
◦ The movement of the object requires one image to be followed by another with slight
different position, followed by another image in another position, and so on. It is a
traditional animation drawn with simple motions.
◦ The objects can only move in two axes, either up or down, left or right.
Animation
2-D Space:
• These animations are generated by creating continuous consecutive images, or
“frames”, thus forming motion by each image showing the next in a gradual
progression of steps. 2D animations are flat images that can move, and are
represented by height and width dimensions but not by depth.
◦ One second of time is usually divided into 24 frames.
◦ Depending on the style of animation there can be as many as 24 unique drawings in one
second of animation (24fps) or as little as two.
◦ Conventionally animation is done on "2s" meaning there is a drawing every 2 frames
(12fps). This allows artists to save on production time/costs and gives 2D animation its
unique look
◦ While this process is sometimes referred to as traditional animation, mainstream 2D
production has evolved from hand drawn processes using pencil and paper to the
implementation of digital techniques using computer software like Toon Boom Harmony or
Adobe After Effects.
Animation
• 2-1/2 or 2.5 D Space:
◦ An illusion of depth is created through shadowing, highlighting and forced perspective;
though in reality images rest in 2 dimensions.
◦ 2.5D animation is a 2D animation drawn into a 3-D space as it involves the motion of 2D-
animated object in a 3-D space.
◦ The trick lies behind the perspective and shadows of 2D-animated objects drawn in 2D-
space that appears to be 3-D.
◦ Animators use the impression of drawing 2D objects in motion that appears to be moving
in a 3D space accomplished by using brilliant art skills in layering, shadows, perspective
animations, morphing, and several other techniques. The result would create a fluidity
movement changes in depth that deceived us into looking a 3-D animations when it was
actually using 2D-animated objects.
Animation
• 3-D Space:
◦ Complicated and
realistic animations
are constructed and
modeled.
• 3D animation, or 3
Dimensional animation
is an animation drawn
in three-dimensional
space.
◦ The objects can
maneuver in three
axes rather than two
as in 2D animations.
Animation
• 3-D animation allows you to create a realistic objects that are more exciting.
• Different textures and lighting are applied to the objects created that appear solid,
and can be applied seamlessly into live video elements.
• However, to create a beautiful, realistic 3-D animation, can only be limited by the
capabilities within the program itself. A lot of time, effort and resources are greatly
needed towards building a successful 3-D animation, and the returns may not be
necessarily as expected.
Animation
2d v/s 3d
• For starters, to animate in 2D you need to be able to draw. everything you see in
traditional 2D animation had to be drawn. Usually frame by frame.
• for a 3D animator, while being able to draw well is an advantage, it is not mandatory.
When you’re animating in a 3D environment you move the character, like a puppet,
right there on the computer.

• In 2D animation, you draw the first key pose, and then the rest of the key poses. You
then draw all the frames in between them. But when we draw the character, we only
draw what is seen in the shot. When a character’s arm is behind their back, we don’t
draw that arm. If something is not shown, we don’t have to draw it. If a character
closes their eyes, the eyeball does not exist anymore until we draw it again.
• This concept is one of the first big differences between the two types of animation.
Animation
2d v/s 3d
• When you’re working in a 3D environment, all the parts of the character are always
there. You have to be aware of them, while in 2D you just draw whatever is seen and
the rest does not exist.
• This concept gives a small advantage to 3D animation, because since the character is
in a 3D space, you can change the camera after you animated the scene.
• In 2D, if you change the shot angle you will have to redraw the whole sequence,
because you drew the character from a certain angle.
• When you animated in 3D you’re still considering the camera angle at all times, but its
much easier to later change it if you need to.
Animation
2d v/s 3d
• Lets say we want this character to raise their hand. We’ll go to the first frame in the
timeline and create a keyframe.
◦ Works on basis of the first and last frame of an action.

• A key frame is you telling the program you want the hand
to be in a certain position at a certain time. Then we’ll go
10 frames forward in the time line and move the hand up.
The computer then interpolates the difference between
the first and second keyframes we made and generates the
movement.
• An animator will repeat this process for almost all body parts for every keyframe, and
tweak them for hours and hours. After a lot of animating, the graph editor would look
like in the picture above. This editor is what animators look at most of the time, just
like 2D animators look at their drawings.
Animation
2d v/s 3d
Animation
Frame Rate
• Another difference between 2D and 3D animation is the frame rate, and what happens
on moving holds.
• In film we usually work with 24 frames per second.
• In 2D animation that means that there is a drawing every frame, 24 times a second.
That’s a lot, but when there’s no big fast movement we can often settle for 1 drawing
lasting for 2 frames. So there’re actually 12 drawings per second.
• This is called “working on 2’s”, because you’re making a change, or a new drawing, every
two frames.
• When the movement is very still, we might even work on 3’s and 4’s. You see that a lot in
Japanese animation and stop motion. Sometime they would hold the same drawings for
many frames.
• In 3D it doesn’t work like that. When a 3D character doesn’t move at all, even for 1
frame, it seams wrong. It seems dead.
Animation
Frame Rate
• This makes it challenging to do a “moving hold” in 3D animation. A moving hold is
used whenever you need a character to do nothing, but still feel like their alive.
• While in 2D and stop motion you can settle for a drawing every 3-5 frames, or even
not have it move at all for a few seconds, in 3D we always have to keep the
character moving.
Animation
Traditional Animation
• Cel Animation
• Key Frames
• Live/Action Animation
• Rotascoping

Stop Motion Animation

• Model Animation
• Puppet Animation
• Clay Animation
CEL Animation
• Cel animation or hand-drawn animation was the process used for most animated films
of the 20th century.
• The individual frames of a traditionally animated film are photographs of drawings,
which are first drawn on paper. To create the illusion of movement, each drawing
differs slightly from the one before it.
• The animators' drawings are traced or photocopied onto transparent acetate sheets
called cels, which are filled in with paints in assigned colors or tones on the side
opposite the line drawings.
CEL Animation
• Cel animation was a major technical
breakthrough in figurative animation.
◦ A technique in which the figures to be
animated are drawn and painted on cels,
placed over a background, and photographed
frame by frame.
◦ Cel animation has been the standard
technique for studio animation since its
invention in 1915.
Key Frames
• A key frame in animation and filmmaking is a drawing that defines the starting and
ending points of any smooth transition. They are called "frames" because their
position in time is measured in frames on a strip of film.
• A sequence of keyframes defines which movement the spectator will see, whereas
the position of the keyframes on the film, video or animation defines the timing of
the movement.
• Because only two or three keyframes over the span of a second do not create the
illusion of movement, the remaining frames are filled with in-betweens.
Key Frame
Limited Animation
• Limited animation is a
process of making
animated cartoons that
does not redraw entire
frames but variably reuses
common parts between
frames.
• The process of limited
animation mainly aims at
reducing the overall
number of drawings. Film
is projected at 24 frames
per second.
Limited Animation
• Some cartoons that still use these techniques are Powerpuff Girls, The Pink Panther
and Samurai Jack.
• "Limited" animation creates an image that uses abstract art, symbolism, and fewer
drawings to create the same effect, but at a much lower production cost. This style of
animation depends upon animators' skill in emulating change without additional
drawings; improper use of limited animation can be easily recognized as unnatural.
Live-action/animation
• A live-action/animation is usually viewed
in films that features a combination of
real actors or elements: live-action and
animated elements, typically interacting.
• Combining hand-drawn characters into
live action shots.
• Typical examples are “Who Framed Roger
Rabbit?” and “Space Jam”.
• The combination of live action and
animation is becoming very common in
TV commercials.
Live Action
• Dragonheart: A New Beginning
• Fantasia 2000
• Stuart Little - Stuart Little 2
• Scooby Doo
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
• Garfield: The Movie
• Charlotte's Web
• Enchanted
• Alvin and the Chipmunks
• WALL-E (live-action sequences)
• G-Force
Rotoscoping
• Rotoscoping is a technique, patented by Max Fleischer in 1917, where animators trace
live-action movement, frame by frame.

• This is a technique in which images are copied from a moving video onto an
animation. The animator draws the motion and shape of the object by referring to the
video as opposed to imagining the whole thing in his head.

• With the help of rotoscoping complex sceens that are hard to visualize can be
smoothly animated.
Rotoscoping
• The source film for animation is usually directly copied from actors' outlines into
animated drawings, as in The Lord of the Rings (US, 1978), used as a basis and
inspiration for character animation, used in a stylized and expressive manner.

• One major drawback of this technique:

◦ You need to hunt for videos of exact situations and scenes that you want to animate
Stop-motion animation
• Stop-motion animation is used to describe animation created by physically
manipulating real-world objects and photographing them one frame of film at a time
to create the illusion of movement.
• Stop motion animation is very similar to traditional animation because it combines a
series of still images that are slightly different to show movement.
• The largest difference is that stop motion uses photography and captures real objects.
Stop-motion animation
• With stop motion, the artists take a photo of an object or scene and slightly moves
the objects before taking another photo. The artist repeats this process until the
scene is completed and uses each photo as a frame in the animation. It’s similar to a
flipbook with photos.
• There are many different types of stop-motion animation, usually named after the
type of media used to create the animation.
• Computer software is widely available to create this type of animation.
◦ Stop Motion Studio - Extensive set of functions
◦ Dragonframe – Easy frame editing
◦ FrameByFrame – Basic
◦ Boinx iStopMotion – Advanced (High Performance Editing)
Model animation
• Model animation refers to stop-motion animation created to interact with and exist as
a part of a live-action world.

• Intercutting, matte effects, and split screens are often employed to blend stop-motion
characters or objects with live actors and settings.
Clay animation
• Clay animation, or Plasticine animation often abbreviated as claymation, uses figures
made of clay or a similar malleable material to create stop-motion animation.
• Each animated piece, either character or background, is “deformable”.
• As in other forms of object animation, the object is arranged on the set (background),
a film frame is exposed, and the object or character is then moved slightly by hand.
Another frame is taken, and the object is moved slightly again. This cycle is repeated
until the animator has achieved the desired amount of film.
The Process of Animation
• Object Definitions
• An object definition is given for each' participant in the action.
• Objects can be defined in terms of basic shapes, such as polygons or spheres.
• In addition, the associated movements for each object are specified along with the
shape.
The Process of Animation
• Story Board Layout
• The storyboard is an outline of the action.
• It defines the motion sequence as a set of basic events
that are to take place.
• Depending on the type of animation to be produced, the
storyboard could consist of a set of rough sketches or it
could be a list of the basic ideas for the motion.
The Process of Animation
The Process of Animation
• Key Frame Specifications
• Defines the detail of the object motions for selected positions in the animation.
• A key frame is a detailed drawing of the scene at a certain time in the animation
sequence. Within each key frame, each object is positioned according to the time for
that frame.
• Some key frames are chosen at extreme positions in the action; others are spaced so
that the time interval between key frames is not too great.
• More key frames are specified for intricate motions than for simple, slowly varying
motions.
• Key Pose
• A main action or drawing that is set on a key frame.
The Process of Animation
• Generation of in-between Frames
• Once the key-frames have been established, a sequence of in-betweens can be
generated to construct a smooth motion from one key-frame to the next.
• In-betweens are the, intermediate frames between the key frames.
• The number of in-betweens needed is determined by the media to be used to display
the animation.
Animation Terminologies
• Looping:
• Creating animation loops or animation cycles is a labor-saving technique for animating
repetitive motions, such as a character walking or a breeze blowing through the trees.
In the case of walking, the character is animated taking a step with his right foot, then
a step with his left foot. The loop is created so that, when the sequence repeats, the
motion is seamless.
Animation Terminologies
• Morphing:
• The term “morph” derived from Greek word ‘morphe’ meaning shape.
• Transformation of one image to another.
• For some applications, key-frames are used to define the steps in a morphing
sequence that changes one object shape into another.
• With complex object transformations, the shapes of objects may change over time.
• Examples are cloths, facial features, transforming one object into another, etc.
Animation Terminologies
• Point Morphing:
• This morphing technique uses control points instead of lines.
• It results in realistic intermediate images, and takes only a minute or so to run using
(slow) uncompiled MATLAB source code.
• This method works especially well moving individual features such as eyes with only
one or two control points. To change the shape of a face requires more points to yield
quality results.
Animation Terminologies
• Image Morphing:
• Is the process of interpolating between two images in order to create something
which looks like a nice blend between the two images
• An image morph is achieved with a combination of a warp and a cross dissolve.
Animation Terminologies
• Morphing:
• Control points are placed in two images at locations that correlate between the two.
• A 2-D algorithm then calculates intermediate images.
• In 3-D morphing creating morphs is independent of the viewing and lighting
parameters. Hence, we can create a morph sequence once, and then experiment with
various camera angles and lighting conditions during rendering.
• In 2-D morphing, a new morph must be recomputed every time we wish to alter our
viewpoint or the illumination of the 3-D model.
• 2D techniques, lacking information on the model's spatial configuration, are unable to
correctly handle changes in illumination and visibility.
Animation Terminologies
• Image Warp:
• The purpose of warping the images is to distort the apparent shape of features in
the photographs. For example, when morphing from a photo with a frown to a
smile, the shape of the lips and mouth must be warped.
• However, the images should not be uniformly warped. Just because the mouth
changes shape and the corners move does not mean that the ears should change
location.
Animation Terminologies
• Image Warp:
• A warp can be accomplished by a transformation.
• Transformations are useful for increasing and decreasing scale, rotating, translating and
performing other modifications.
• However, no single transformation applied to an entire image can achieve the desired
warp, because transformations are linear operations.
• So in order to use linear operations to successfully warp the image, many
transformations are applied to discreet sections of the photo.
Animation Terminologies
• Cross Dissolve:
• The cross dissolve used for morphing is simple Alpha Blending. If the photos are
blended with 50% alpha each at each pixel and no warping, results will be a blur
between the two images as shown below. Alpha blending helps combine the photos
into one, but can not do the entire morph alone.
• Combining Warping and Blending for a Morphed Image:
• The morphed image is formed by first warping each photo and then blending the
warped regions. The results of the average face shape and 50% alpha for each face
Animation Terminologies
• Rendering:
• It is a process a computer uses to create an image from a
data file.
• Most graphics programs are not capable of drawing the
whole scene on the run with all the colors, textures,
lights and shading. Instead, the user handles a mesh
that is a rough representation of an object.
• Example: if an object is thrown in air, it will fall in an arc.
The position can be calculated for this at every point.
• These calculations are given to a rendering package, it
would create the 30 frames, which will result in
animation, representing the realistic motion of the
object.
Animation Terminologies
Animation Terminologies
• The virtual scene is set — the
characters are shaded and
posed, the lights and camera
are in position, and the
simulations are ready to run.
• But no one knows what it
looks like until the rendering
process turns all that data
and programming into an
image we can see by
determining the color of each
pixel in the image.
Animation Terminologies
• Rendering:
• Flat Shading: Computer creates an average color for an object and renders each face
with different amounts of black or white added to simulate shading.
• Ray Tracing: Everything is rendered, including shadows, lighting, reflections and
transparencies.
• Radiosity: It figures out relationship of objects in a scene. It produces extremely good
results.