Animation Techniques

Animation is the process by which we see still pictures MOVE. Each picture is shot on film one at
a time and is shown at the rate of 24 pictures per second making the pictures appear to move. Why do
we see these images as moving? The reason our eyes are tricked into seeing movement can be
explained by the ‘Persistence of Vision’ theory.

The persistence of vision theory: Our brain holds onto an image for a fraction of a second after the
image has passed. If the eye sees a series of still images very quickly one picture after another, then the
images will appear to move because our eyes cannot cope with fast-moving images - our eyes have been
tricked into thinking they have seen movement.

The Moving Hand Theory: You can do this by waving your hand in front of your eyes very fast. You will
seem to see several hands at once. Try doing this in front of a television screen when it is switched on.
You will see even more images of your hand because the television is actually flickering. By waving your
hand in front of it you make your eyes very confused about what they are actually seeing. 21 Basic
techniques used in animation:

1. Drawn Animation.

2. Cutout Animation.

3. Model Animation.

4. Computer Animation.

5. Others.

Drawn Animation: This covers any form where another replaces one drawing in a sequence.
Each drawing is slightly different from the one before. It works the way a flipbook does. These animated
films are made up of thousands of drawings which are shown on screen very quickly one after the other.

Cutout Animation: This covers any form of animation where cutout shapes are moved around
or replaced by other cutouts. Flat objects like buttons, matchsticks and string can also be used in this
form of animation. Cutouts can also be laid on top of drawings.

Model Animation: This involves the filming of puppets or any form of three-dimensional
models. The materials used could include plasticize, clay or wire - in fact anything that can be bent or
formed into another shape. The puppets are positioned and filmed before being moved ever so slightly
and filmed again. These shots are put together as a piece of film and will give the impression of the
models moving.

Computer Animation: Animation has historically been produced in two ways. The first is by
artists creating a succession of cartoon frames, which are then combined into a film. A second method is
by using physical models, e.g. King Kong, which are positioned, the image recorded, then the model is
moved, the next image is recorded, and this process is continued. Using a rendering machine to produce
successive frames wherein some aspect of the image is varied can produce computer animation. For a
simple animation this might be just moving the camera or the relative motion of rigid bodies in the
scene. This is analogous to the second technique described above, i.e., using physical models. More
sophisticated computer animation can move the camera and/or the objects in more interesting ways,
e.g. along computed curved paths, and can even use the laws of Physics to determine the behavior of
objects.

Animation is used in Visualization to show the time dependent behavior of complex systems. A
major part of animation is motion control. Early systems did not have the computational power to allow
for animation preview and interactive control. Also, many early animators were computer scientists
rather than artists. Thus, scripting systems were developed. These systems were used as a computer
high level language where the animator wrote a script (program) to control the animation. Whereas a
high-level programming language allows for the definition of complex data types, the scripting
languages allowed for the definition of “actors”, objects with their own animation rules. Later systems
have allowed for different types of motion control. One way to classify animation techniques is by the
level of abstraction in the motion control techniques. A low-level system requires the animator to
precisely specify each detail of motion, whereas a high-level system would allow them to use more
general or abstract methods. For example, to move a simple rigid object such as a cube requires six
degrees of freedom (numbers) per frame. A more complex object will have more degrees of freedom,
for example a bird might have over twenty degrees of freedom. Now think about animating an entire
flock of birds.

Therefore, a Control Hierarchy is required, so that high-level control constructs can be specified
which are then mapped into more detailed control constructs. This is analogous to high level computer
languages with complex control structures or data types which are translated at runtime into low level
constructs. This refers to the drawing of three-dimensional models and sets on the computer. Images
can be scanned into the computer using digital photography or made within the computer itself. Human
characters can be built from clay whilst sets and furnishings are modeled using design systems similar to
architects’ drawings. These models are scanned into the computer as wire-frame models that are
gradually built up into a colored and textured form that will finally be recorded onto film. The wire-
frame model was made on a computer before being built up into the character.

Others:

Facial Animation:

Facial animation is the most important part of character animation, and realistic and natural
expression of emotions is one of the most important parts of animating a believable character. This,
however, is also one of the most challenging aspects of animating a character. The human face is one of
the most interesting and intricate parts of the human body. We can detect even the subtlest change of
expression within the face, and its familiarity allows us to recognize one face out of a sea of hundreds
that we come into contact with every day. In order to successfully animate facial expressions and
emotion, a thorough understanding of the human facial muscular structure and how expressions are
formed is necessary.

Limited Animation:

With limited animation as many repeats as possible are used within the 24 frames per second. A
hold is also lengthened to reduce the number of drawings. As a rule, not more than 6 drawings are
produced for one second of animation. Limited drawings are produced for one second of animation.
Limited animation requires almost as much skill on the part of the animator as full animation, since he
must create an illusion of action with the greatest sense of economy.

Pose-to-Pose Animation:

Some animations for television were made on pose to pose basis because of budget constraints.
In pose-to-pose animation purpose of creating and animating is served, but does not enhance it.
However, animations for features demand more appeal, where pose-to-pose animation does not serve
any purpose of producing the feature. Pose-to-pose animation does not serve any purpose of producing
the feature. Pose-to-pose animation is widely used for stylized animation productions.

Full animation:

It implies a large number of drawings per second of action. Some action may require that every
single frame of the 24 frames within the second is animated in order to achieve an illusion of fluidity on
the screen. Neither time nor money is spared on animation. As a rule, only TV commercials and feature
length animated films can afford this luxury. Animation is expensive and time consuming. It is not
economically possible to animate more than is needed and edit the scenes later, as it is in live action
films. In cartoons the director carefully presumes every action so that the animator works within exact
limits and does no more drawings than necessary. Ideally, director should be able to view line test loops
of the film as it progresses and so have a chance to make adjustments. But often there is no time to
make corrections in limited animation and the aim is to make the animation work the first time.

References:

Chua, C.P (2020). Animation 1: Techniques to Traditional Animation

Trongco, D. (2020). Techniques to Digital Animation