ANIMATION TECHNIQUES

UNIT – IV

Subject: Elective III: Animation Techniques

Subject Code: 20CEU28A

Hierarchical animation, Procedural Animation, Simulation and Camera

Animation, Traditional Animation, Stop Motion Animation, Computer
Animations and Application of animations.

4.1 Hierarchical Animation

A hierarchy is a series of ordered groupings. In 3D animation, these hierarchies are also
known as parent/child relationships, and the term parenting refers to establishing a
parent/child relationship. Modo uses hierarchies to define how multicomponent objects relate
to each other. For example, if you develop a model for a car with spinning wheels, moving
the car around is much easier when the wheels move with the car automatically. Because the
wheels move in a different way than the car's body, they need to be separate objects from the
car.
Every hierarchy starts with its base item, called the root. This is the main parent item, and
each subsequent item in the chain is considered a child. The item directly above a child is
always considered its parent.
Hierarchies are essential to animation because they define the order of inheritance for
transformations in a chain of linked items. For example, with an arm, if you move your
shoulder, your arm follows along as does your wrist and hand. So when the shoulder bends it
passes its transforms on to the elbow, which can also bend. Both of those transforms are
passed on to the hand and so on. Modo visualizes these hierarchical chains as cascading items
within the Items (Scenes) List tab.
 Hierarchical Models

Hierarchical models used to represent complex objects

- explicit dependency between sub-parts of an object
- object-oriented approach to implementation
- eg Articulated objects (robot arm)
Scene hierarchical uses to represent all objects in as a hierachy
- shapes/lights/viewpoints/transforms/attributes
- ‘Scene Graph’
Scenes can be represented non-hierarchically
- leads to difficulties in scaling to large scale complex scenes
- all functions explicit in display() function
- inflexible
Design of graphics systems with multiple objects
- hierarchical models
- object-oriented design
- scene graphs
Non-Hierarchical Modelling

- Treat object independently

- reference object by a unique symbol ie a,b,c…. Object initially defined in local
object coordinates
Transform each object instance from local to world coordinates:

OpenGL display function:

All objects are treated independently
- display() function transforms/draws each object explicitly
- No interrelations between objects
Can represent objects by a table structure:
- each object has a symbol
- each object has corresponding translation/rotation/scale
- each object has set of attributes colour/material properties etc.
- render object by calling drawing each
symbol in turn withspecified
transformation/attributes

Hierarchical Models

Consider a more complex model composed of several sub-

objectscar = chassis + 4 wheels

Representation 1: Treat all parts independently (non-hierarchical)

- apply transformation to each part independently
 - redundant, repeated computation of translate
- no explicit representation of dependence between chasis and wheels

Representation 2: Group parts hierarchically

- exploit relation between parts
- exploit similarity
ie wheels are identical (just translated)

Graph Structures

Graph Representation
- nodes: objects + attributes? + transforms?
- edges: dependency between objects
parent-child relation between nodes

‘Directed-Graph’ edges have a direction associated with them

Tree - directed graph with no closed-loops

ie cannot return to the same point in the graph
- ‘root node’: no entering edges
- Intermediate nodes have one parent and one or more children
- ‘leaf node’: no children
Parameters such as location & attributes may be stored either in nodes or edges.
Graphical Objects and Hierarchies

Represent all objects of a scene in a single hierarchy

- Shape (geometric objects points/lines/polygons…)
- Lights
- Viewer
- Material Properties (attributes)
‘Object-Oriented’ approach
- each object is self-contained module
- Application programmer does NOT have to know internal
representation
 - Data encapsulation (no external use of pointers to member data)
- interface to access object via methods
- reuse code
Tree-structure to represent complex objects
- reuse primitive object in multiple instances
- represent hierarchical relation (parent-child) between objects
- Use inheritance (C++) to derive complex objects
from simple primitives: Object B ‘is a’ instance
of object A
- Examples: Car, skeleton
4.2 Procedural Animation

A procedural animation is a type of computer animation, used to automatically

generate animation in real-time to allow for a more diverse series of actions than could
otherwise be created using predefined animations.

If a 3D object has a skeleton, you can use patches to set how the joints in the skeleton move -
animating the object. This is called procedural animation.

Create a patch for the position, rotation or scale of the joint

In the Inspector, create a patch to represent either the position, rotation or scale of the joint.

You’d choose:

1. Position to move the object between different positions.

2. Rotation to rotate the object.
3. Scale to make the object get bigger and smaller.

Create a Loop Animation and Transition patch

You’ll use two patches, Loop Animation and Transition, to animate the joint.

The Loop Animation patch and Transition patches are usually used together. This is because
the Loop Animation patch controls the progress of an animation, and the Transition patch can
be configured to control how and where the object moves.

Connect the patches and edit their values

Connect:
 1. The Progress output of the Loop Animation patch to the Progress input in
the Transition patch.
2. The output of the Transition patch to the patch representing the property you want to
animate.

Editing the patches

Next edit the Loop Animation patch:

 Change the Duration value to slow the animation down or speed it up.
 Check the box next to Mirrored to mirror the movement back and forth.

4.3 Simulation and Camera Animation

Simulation
Simulation is an imitation or replication from the real thing. This act of simulating basically
entails representing particular key behaviors or characteristics of a chosen abstract or
physical system. This can be used in various contexts, like safety engineering, training
education, video games and testing. Simulation is used for scientific modeling in order to
acquire and get information on how they function.

Animation
Animation is the method of creating an illusion of any movement by using rapid display
images of 3-D or 2-D artwork. The effect of this becomes an optical motion or illusion
because of persistence visions. This can be made and demonstrated in lots of ways.
Generally, the most common technique in presenting animation is through a video program
or motion picture, you can also use other kinds of methods.

Difference between Simulation and Animation

Animation is a cartoon representation of a particular object or scenario. It can be based on
something factual or something fictional. While simulation is a mathematical model that does
not necessarily need pictures, it can be wholly mathematical. When the simulation is done in
a cartoon, it is purely based in mathematical models from what it is being presented, from the
background motion, animal motion, human body motion, angle, camera and, etc. These
various movements are calculated carefully and accurately while in animation, the artist don’t
need to measure anything and simply draw the sequence of the frame.

Camera Animation

Camera in Animate allows animators to simulate a real-life camera. Previously,

animators relied on third-party extensions of varying quality and compatibility, or modified
their animations to mimic a camera’s movement. Animators can use the following features
that are integral to any motion film.
 Panning with the subject of the frame
 Zooming in the object of interest for dramatic effect
 Zooming out of a frame to remind the viewer of a larger picture
 Modifying the focal point to shift the attention of the viewer from one subject to another
 Rotating the camera
 Using color tint or filters to apply color effects on a scene
When you set a camera view for your composition, you look at the layers as though you were
looking through that camera. You can also add tweens or keyframes on a camera layer.
Camera tool is available for all the built-in doc-types in Animate - HTML Canvas, WebGL,
and Actionscript.
Enabling or disabling the camera
Use any of the following options to enable the camera tool:
 Click the camera icon from the tools panel.
 Click the Add/Remove camera button from the timeline.
When a camera is enabled, a stage boundary is displayed in the same color as the camera
layer.

Camera workspace
A. Stage outline B. Camera icon C. Camera properties D. Camera color effects E. Camera
tool F. Camera icon G. Camera layer
The stage now behaves as a camera for the document. A new camera layer with the camera
object is added to the Timeline panel. When you select the camera tool, the camera icon is
enabled in the Property inspector.
When the camera is enabled:
 The current document is placed in the camera mode.
 The stage is turned into a camera.
 Camera border is visible in the stage boundary.
 Camera layer is selected.
 Zooming, rotating, or panning the camera
Zooming the camera
1. Use the onscreen zoom controls to zoom the object or set the zoom values in the
Camera Properties panel.

1. To zoom into the scene, modify the zoom values or select the slider bar at the bottom
of the stage.
2. To zoom in the content, move the slider toward the + side and to zoom out the content
move the slider toward - side.
3. To enable infinite level of zoom values on either side, release the slider to snap it back
to the middle position.
Rotating the camera
1. Use the onscreen zoom controls to rotate the object or set the Rotate values in the
camera properties panel.
2. To specify the rotation effect on each layer, modify the rotate values or use the
rotation slider controls to manipulate the rotation.
3. To enable infinite levels of rotation on either side, release the slider to snap it back
into the resting position. The number in the middle of the control indicates the degrees
of rotation currently applied.
Panning the camera
1. Click the camera bounding box and drag anywhere within the camera layer on the
stage.
2. To pan the selected object, scroll up or down or use the shift key to pan
horizontally or vertically without any tilt.
3. When the camera tool is active, any drag action is a pan operation within the camera
boundary.
USING CAMERA PANNING CONTROLS

You can use camera coordinates X and Y in Camera properties of camera Property
inspector to pan the camera with accuracy.
To pan objects in horizontal direction, move the mouse over x coordinate value and drag the
slider to right or left.
To pan objects in vertical direction, move the mouse over y coordinate value and drag the
slider to right or left.
Reset options for camera effects
You can reset the changes that you make with camera for pan, zoom, rotation, and color
effects whenever you want to go back to original settings. To retain your previous property
values, click the reset icon next to each of the properties.

Adjusting color filters on a camera layer

1. In the camera properties panel, select the Adjust Color check box to enable or disable
the filter effect.
2. Modify the Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, and Hue values for the current frame.
The acceptable range for Brightness, Contrast, Saturation is -100 % to 100 %, and
Hue -180° to 180°.

Creating parallax effect with camera and layer depth

 As a game designer or developer, you want to create an immersive experience for a game. By
using different objects of a game in the foreground and background layers, you can control
the speed and position of these objects. By keeping the camera focused at a constant focal
point, you can move the objects at different speeds to create a three-dimensional effect. In
Animate, while creating your 2D animations you can achieve this effect by using camera and
the layer depth feature. You can create parallax effect for objects by changing depths of
layers using the Layer Depth panel. To use layer depth, click Window > Layer Depth.
Click here for more information on layer depth.
1. Create multiple objects on different layers in Animate.
2. Add different layer depths to each layer.
3. Add camera layer by clicking the camera tool.

You can view the depth and perspective of objects with this effect.
 The objects that are closer to the camera move faster than the objects that are far-away from
the camera.
 When camera layer is at 0 value, the objects closer to the camera possess lower positive
number. And, the objects far-away from the camera possess high positive number. The layers
that are behind the camera possess negative numbers.

Locking a layer with camera

As an animator or a game designer, you want to make some objects of the animation to stick
to the view of the camera. For example, an action button, a heads up display in a game
displaying the time meter, or a gun. In such cases, you have to keep the asset locked with the
camera movement. The Attach To Camera feature in Animate enables you to achieve this
effect.
When you attach a layer to the camera, objects in that layer are pinned to the camera and
always move along with the camera. So, they appear to be unaffected by camera movements
in the output.
You can attach a single layer to camera by clicking the dot in the attach camera icon's
column. If the layer is attached to camera, a representative icon appears next to that layer
name.

4.4 Traditional Animation

Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, hand-drawn animation, or 2D
animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique
was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Sometimes referred to as cel animation -cel is short for celluloid which is a transparent sheet
on which objects are drawn-, traditional animation is a technique where each frame is drawn
by hand. It’s also called classical or hand-drawn animation.
The traditional approach is very fascinating for pencil lovers. The animation is drawn by
hand for every frame, and each drawing is a little bit different from the previous one.

All the drawings are fed into plastic cells, filled with paint in the desired colors, and are then
photographed one-by-one into an animated sequence on a painted background image.

Traditional animation process

Storyboards
The storyboarding process was originally developed at Walt Disney Productions in the early
1930s, and it’s usually the first step in making traditional animation. A storyboard is a
collection of hand drawings and words that tell a story, similar to large comic strips. The
drawings are displayed in a certain sequence, so the viewer can pre-visualize the animation.

This process is often repeated many times before reaching the final desired outcome. It helps
the animators to set plans for the animation plot and defines the composition of the imagery.
Voice recording
A preparatory soundtrack is often recorded before true animation begins, so that the
animation can more accurately synchronized to the soundtrack. This is due to the slow
systematic way in which traditional animation is produced, so it’s almost always easier to
synchronize the animation to an existing soundtrack, than it is to synchronize a soundtrack to
an existing animation.

A full soundtrack will contain music, sound effects, and dialogue performed by voice actors.
The scratch track used during animation, however, normally contains just the voices, the
vocal songs to which characters sing along, and some temporary musical score tracks, with
the final score and sound effects added during post-production.
Animatic stage
After the soundtrack is created, an animatic or a story reel is made to determine the overall
effectiveness of the animation before finalizing things. An animatic is usually a sequence of
images or sketches, in the form of a storyboard, arranged with a soundtrack, and produced
right before the full animation begins.

This stage helps animators and directors to identify any script or timing issues that could exist
with the produced storyboard and fix them as needed. This process could result in creating
new versions of either the storyboard or the soundtrack, or both, and creating a new animatic
for review until everything is perfected to the desired extent. This could prevent animating
scenes that could be edited out of the film, avoiding a potential loss in time and money.

Design and timing

When the animators and the directors decide on a certain animatic, they send it along with the
approved storyboards to the design department, so character designers can prepare model
sheets for different characters and objects in the animation.

These model sheets show the designers how every character or object looks from different
angles with a variety of poses and expressions, so that all artists working on the project can
deliver the same output.

It’s necessary sometimes to see how certain characters look like in three dimensions to get a
better understanding of a character’s design. That’s when macquettes are produced, they are
small statues that depict a character in the 3D space.

Meanwhile, the background and color stylists and art directors will do similar work to setup
the locations, determine the art style and color schemes to be used in the project.

At the same time, the timing director, who is usually the main director, takes the final
animatic and analyzes what poses, drawings, and lip movements will be needed on what
frames. He creates what’s called an exposure sheet, which is a printed table that breaks down
the action, dialogue, and sound frame-by-frame as a guide for the animators.

If a film relies heavily on music, a bar sheet may be prepared in addition to or instead of an
X-sheet. Bar sheets show the relationship between the on-screen action, the dialogue, and the
actual musical notation used in the score.
Layout
After the designs are finished and approved by the director, they layout process comes in
action. The layout artists determine the camera angles and lighting of the scene, along with
the main poses for characters.

The layout, storyboards and the audio are finally joined together to form a more final
animatic.

Animation
The animation stage finally begins after the animatic is approved by the director. The
traditional animation process begins by drawing a sequence of animation on sheets of
transparent paper with holes in it to fit the peg bars in their desks, usually using colored
pencils, one picture or “frame” at a time. A peg bar is an animation tool that is used in
traditional animation to keep the drawings in place. It contains pins that match the holes in
the paper. It is attached to the animation desk or light table, whichever is being used.

Using the character layouts as a guide, a lead or key animator will draw the key drawings in a
scene. He draws the necessary frames to define the major points of the action.

For example, for character jumping across a gap, he may draw the frame where the character
is about to leap, a couple of frames as the character is flying mid-air, and the frame where the
character lands on the other side of the gap.

A pencil test, where pencil drawings are scanned and synced with audio, is usually prepared
before the final version of the animated scene. These pencil tests can be made nowadays
using computer software and a video camera. This allows the animation to be further
reviewed and improved before adding details and some of the missing frames.

The final result is tested and corrected until the lead animator is ready to meet with the
director and have his scene sweatboxed, or reviewed by the director, producer, and other key
team members. Sweatboxing is the process of reviewing the animation as it developed.
Similar to the storyboarding stage, an animator may need to re-do a scene multiple times
before the director will approve it in the scene.

Timing is crucial for the animators drawing these frames; each frame must exactly match
what is happening on in the soundtrack once the frame appears, or else visuals and sound will
be out of synchronization, which will distract or confuse the audience. For example, in high-
budget productions, lots of effort is given in making sure a speaking character’s mouth
movement matches in shape the sound that character’s actor is producing as the character
speaks.

When the key animation is approved, it’s forwarded to the clean-up department where the
drawings are traced onto a new sheet of paper, taking care in including all the details on the
original model sheets, so that it appears that one person animated the entire film. Then any
missing frames between the key frames are drawn in a process called tweening. The resulting
drawings are again pencil-tested and sweatboxed until they are finally approved.
Approved artwork is always spliced into the Leica reel is a type of storyboarding device.
Unlike actual storyboards or pitches, Leica reels are used later in the development process,
usually after voice has been recorded, and are not used for selling or marketing the project.

This process goes for both character and special effects animation, which are done in separate
departments in high-budget production. Effects animators work with anything that moves and
is not a character, including props, vehicles, machinery and particles such as fire, rain, and
explosions. Sometimes a number of special processes are needed to produce special effects in
animated films; rain, for example, has been created in Disney animated films since the late-
1930s by filming slow-motion footage of water over a black background.

Backgrounds

The background artists usually work on painting the settings over which the animation takes
place. The backgrounds are mostly done in gouache or acrylic paint, but some animations
have used watercolor or oil paint backgrounds.

Background artists follow very closely the work of the background layout artists and color
stylists, so that the resulting backgrounds are in harmony with the character designs.

Traditional ink-and-paint and camera

After the clean-up and tweening processes for a sequence are completed, they are prepared
for photography, a process known as ink-and-paint.

The outline of the drawing is inked or photocopied onto the cel, and gouache, acrylic or a
similar type of paint is used on the reverse sides of the cels to add colors in the appropriate
shades.

Characters will mostly have more than one color palette assigned to them; so each one can be
used depending on the mood and lighting of the scene. Cels being transparent by nature,
allow for each character or object in a frame to be animated on different cels, as the cel of
one character can be seen underneath the cel of another; and the blurry background will be
seen beneath all the cels.

The photography process begins once a full animation sequence has been transferred to cels,
with each cel laid on top of each other, and the background sitting at the bottom.

A composite image is prepared for photography by lowering a piece of glass onto the artwork
to flatten any irregularities, then shooting the image with a special animation camera called
rostrum camera. The cels are then removed, and the process is repeated for the next frame
until all frames in the sequence have been photographed.

To avoid producing an animation that is jittery, each cel is fixed on peg bars before the
camera, to make sure that each cel aligns wit hthe one before it.

Sometimes, the process of photography may need to be repeated for certain frames, to
implement some needed camera effects like superimposition or panning. Superimposition
means placing image or video over another existing image or video. Panning is created by
either moving the cels or backgrounds one step at a time, over a series of frames.
Among the most common types of animation rostrum cameras was the Oxberry. Such
cameras were always made of black anodized aluminum, and commonly had 2 pegbars, one
at the top and one at the bottom of the lightbox. The Oxberry Master Series had four pegbars,
two above and two below, and sometimes used a “floating pegbar” as well. The height of the
column on which the camera was mounted determined the amount of zoom achievable on a
piece of artwork. Such cameras were massive mechanical affairs which might weigh close to
a ton and take hours to break down or set up.

In the later years of the animation rostrum camera, stepper motors controlled by computers
were attached to the various axes of movement of the camera, thus saving many hours of
hand cranking by human operators. A notable early use of computer cameras was in Star
Wars (1977), using the Dykstra system at Lucas’ Sun Valley facility. Gradually, motion
control techniques were adopted throughout the industry. While several computer camera
software packages became available in the early 1980s, the Tondreau System became one of
the most widely adopted.

As the scenes come out of final photography, they are spliced into the Leica reel, replacing
pencil animations. Once every sequence in the production has been photographed, the final
film is sent for development and processing, while the final music and sound effects are
added to the soundtrack. Again, editing in the traditional live-action sense is generally not
done in animation, but if it is required it is done at this time, before the final print of the film
is ready for duplication or broadcast.

Digital ink and paint processes gradually made these traditional animation techniques and
equipment obsolete.

Digital ink and paint

The current process, termed “digital ink and paint”, is the same as traditional ink and paint.
The digital drawings are then composited over their respective backgrounds, unless they were
also digitally painted, and the computer finally outputs the film by either exporting it as a
digital video file, using a video cassette recorder, or printing to film using high-resolution
output device.

Computers and the internet have generally made it easier to exchange artwork between
different departments or studios, and even across distant countries and continents. Disney’s
animation studio was the first to implement digital ink-and-paint process, while many
filmmakers didn’t want to go digital, because they felt that two-dimensional animation has
lost the natural and aesthetic appeal of the craft.

Many animated cartoon series at the time were still animated in foreign countries by using the
traditionally inked-and-painted cel process as late as 2004; though most of them switched
over to the digital process at some point during their run. For example, Hey Arnold! and
SpongeBob SquarePants made the switch in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Other shows, such
as The Powerpuff Girls, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill, tested the digital ink process for
a few episodes but didn’t fully upgrade until later on. Finally, Ed, Edd n Eddy aired its last
cel episode in 2004, and then came back in digital ink and paint, even though new shows
using the digital inking and painting process, like Futurama and Family Guy (both of which
premiered in 1999), were first appearing.
 Computers and digital video cameras

Computers and digital video cameras can also be used as tools to assist in traditional cel
animation without affecting the film directly, helping the animators in their work and making
the whole process a lot faster and easier. For example, doing the layouts on a computer is
much more effective than doing it by traditional methods. Additionally, video cameras give
the opportunity to see a “preview” of the scenes and how they will look when finished,
enabling the animators to correct and improve upon them without having to complete them
first. This can be considered a digital form of pencil testing.

Examples of Traditional Animation Films:

 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

 Pinocchio (1940)
 Fantasia (1940)

As traditional, hand-drawn animation is greatly influenced by the skill and artistic style of the
animators producing the frames, the terms full and limited animation were coined to describe
the quality of the animations produced: -

 Full animation is the one having all its drawings distinctly different with no repeating
images. This term is used to describe the process of producing high quality hand-drawn
animations that contain detailed drawings and realistic movements.
 Many of the Disney animated films are clear examples of full animation, as opposed to the
more cartoon styles of the Warner Bros. animation studio.
 Limited animation on the other hand, is the animation that uses less detailed drawings, and
fewer methods of movement. It usually contains more camera movement to make the
animation seem more dynamic even if the movements created weren’t very fluid. Limited
animation usually has most of its focus placed on the sound with voice over, narration and
dialogue, as opposed to full animation that focuses more on the visuals.
 In the 1940’s, several animators who left Disney formed the United Productions of
America. In response to the overly naturalistic practices of Disney animation, these artists
pioneered the aesthetic technique of limited animation—creating a flat and planar world to
react against the world of Disney cartoon space. Limited animation is primarily used in the
production of cost-effective material for television (such as the work of Hanna-Barbera,
Filmation, or web cartoons) where a large output of animations is required.
 4.5 Stop motion Animation techniques
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically
manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will
appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames is played back.

Any kind of object can thus be animated, but puppets with movable joints or plasticine
figures are most commonly used. Puppets, models or clay figures built around an armature
are used in model animation.

Stop motion with live actors is often referred to as pixilation. Stop motion of flat materials
such as paper, fabrics or photographs is usually called cutout animation.

What is stop motion animation?

It’s a timeless style that is just as effective today as it was fifty years ago when stop motion
animation brought monsters to life in old movies. There’s something magical about seeing
real, physical objects moving and walking and talking, and it doesn’t age as badly as some of
the 3D animations from the last couple of decades.
But it doesn’t have to be limited to just feature films. Stop motion animation works for
commercials and short films, too. Many famous ads from throughout the years have featured
iconic stop motion designs. And the beauty of stop motion animation is that it can bring to
life any inanimate object, not just characters. It’s a highly adaptable style.

How does stop motion work?

To understand stop motion, you need to remember that film - moving images - is made up of
lots of single images. Most films run at 24 frames per second, which means that one second
of film is made of 24 single images in a row.
In stop motion animation, the process involves moving a character a tiny bit, taking a photo,
then moving it again a tiny bit, and taking another photo, and so on until you have the
character moving an entire sequence and hundreds of photos captured.
The photos are stitched together in stop motion software and, when played back as a video,
give the impression of continuous movement.

Is stop motion video easy to make?

The principle behind stop motion video is simple enough. There are a few little tips and
tricks, but making a basic stop motion video is very easy. The main challenge is the time it
takes. To create smooth, seamless stop motion is a painstaking process, and not a whole lot of
fun for impatient people! But for those who are willing to spend the time and focus on
making minuscule adjustments over a long period of time, the results can be incredible.
A huge advantage of stop motion video is that anyone can make one. You don’t need to be a
master builder or designer to create beautiful sets and models. You can apply stop motion
animation techniques to any kind of inanimate object, from clothes and bags to pebbles and
toys. If you have a story you want to tell, and a camera to take some photos with, you can
make a stop motion video.

What equipment do we need?

To make a stop motion video, we only need a camera, the thing we want to animate, a tripod,
and something to edit in. The process is very simple, and it’s something we can do with the
camera on our phone to get a rough result. But the more we put into it, the more professional
the results will be.

We you can use a more premium DSLR to get better quality still photos and then cut them
together in professional software like VideoStudio to get a seamless result.

How to make a stop motion video

The process of making a stop motion video is very simple. Let’s say you want to animate a
clay person walking across the frame. You will set up the scene in the first position - the
person standing still - and take a photo.
Next, move the character a tiny amount. Maybe the foot comes slightly forwards, or the knee
bends. Then when you’re happy with the second frame of your video, take a second photo.
Next, move the character a very small amount once again. Take the third photo. Keep doing
this until you have a long series of photos that document the character having walked from
point A to point B.

It’s a very long process, and it’s not for impatient people. But the results are well worth it
when done properly. Something to bear in mind is the lighting you use. If we are using
natural light, because it takes a long time to create what will be a very short moment, the sun
will change over the day. To mitigate this, try and control the light as much as possible.
Create the animation in a dark room with artificial lights that do not change throughout the
day. That way the light will remain consistent throughout the day and the scene will look like
it takes place in real-time.

How to edit stop motion video

Editing a stop motion video is as simple as taking all of the photos we have captured of the
scene, and then stringing them together in order. The frame rate for effective animation is
around 18 frames per second. That means for every second of video you need 18 still frames
to play in order.
We can use software like VideoStudio to take all photos of the scene and place them together
at that time. Then when the video plays it will be playing 18 of those photos back to back
over the course of a second. Next, add music and titles to finish it off, and before you know it
you’ve created your first stop motion video.

Do I need a video camera for stop motion video?

You might be forgiven for thinking that you need a video camera to make a stop motion
video. It is a video, after all. But actually, the nature of stop motion video production is that
you’re producing a lot of individual stills and stitching them together later in the process to
make a video. So what we actually need is a stills camera. Most professional productions use
DSLR cameras to get the highest quality and customization of each individual frame.

Is there a best camera for stop motion?

The camera we choose for stop motion video production depends on several things - mainly
budget, time, and expertise. There is no such thing as the ‘best’ camera for stop motion
because every project is different and every person using it is different.

For example, high-end professional productions like the studios at Aardman and Laika,
animators will use top of the range Canon stills cameras and shoot in RAW format to get the
most detail out of every image. These are images designed to be blown up onto the big
cinema screens so they need to be the best possible technology.

But there’s no reason a hobbyist stop motion video producer couldn’t use a DSLR as well.
There are plenty of entry-level DSLRs available for a couple of hundred dollars that would
do the job perfectly well, from both Nikon and Canon.

Stop motion software is the computer software you will use to turn those still images into a
moving video, and then add any finishing touches like music, text, and effects.

Using stop motion software to make a movie

Unlike with video editing, when the footage is captured and then sent to an editor to compile,
the editing of a stop motion video is best when it happens at the same time.
The basic steps of capturing frame by frame animation with stop motion software are:
1. Connect the camera to your computer
2. Capture the images with slight difference between each image
3. Export the animation as a single video file
The first step is setting up the camera. Once you are happy with the scene you are going to
film, point the camera to set up the shot. Remember, to capture seamless movement,
the camera cannot move in between shots. So it’s best to keep your camera on a tripod and
don’t touch it at all once it has been set up.
Plug your camera into the computer and open up VideoStudio. You’ll control your camera
from there so you only need to touch the computer and the object you are animating.

In the software, select Stop Motion to activate stop motion animation mode, and you should
see a live preview of what the camera is seeing.
Next, change the settings to find something that suits your workflow. You can choose the
number frames each image will appear for, change the screen resolution, and even enable
Auto Capture to automatically take an image after a set amount of time.
Once happy with the settings and the project workflow, it’s time to make the video. Move the
object we are animating a small amount after every image. Carefully check the image
preview before taking the photo. All the stills will be stacked up within the software, and if
we play it back we should see the object or character moving by itself.
Once we are happy with the video of the animation, it’s time to add music and effects for the
finishing touches. Change the color, add graphics and text, whatever it takes to help tell the
story you want to tell. Once we have finished that then simply export the entire project as a
single video file.

Stop motion ideas

The beauty of stop motion is that anything can be animated. If you want to tell a specific
story, try finding some characters to animate. You can work with a designer to create some
models, build them yourself, or find some online. Try creating a miniature set to film in, too.
If you want to keep things basic, then using toys and LEGO Minifigures is a great way to
practice stop motion animation with simple, pre-existing characters and worlds. Instantly
recognizable and a lot of fun to customize and move, spending some time animating these
will give really rewarding results.
Or why not strip things back even more and animate household objects? Things like food and
candy found in your cupboards can be animated moving around in patterns, or bags can be
opened and closed, clothes can fold themselves up - you can have a lot of fun inventing
stories and being creative with mundane items

Stop motion camera

Don’t get too hung up on the kind of camera you use for your stop motion video. The only
thing you need to focus on is using a stills camera, which takes individual photos, and not a
video camera. Other than that your choice can really depend on what’s available in your
budget. If you can afford something high-end like a Canon 5D, go for it. If you can only
stretch to using the camera on your phone, that’s no problem. The story is more important
and an audience will appreciate a great story told with a poor camera than a poor story told
with an expensive camera.
Keep your camera on a tripod and try not to touch it throughout the sequence. If you move
the camera the final result will see the shot moving and bumping around, and you need to
keep it as steady and still as possible. Plug it into your computer and control it with stop
motion software to create the best results.

Stop motion software

Stop motion software is the computer software you’ll need to tie everything together and
create an export of your final film. It’s best to edit a stop motion video at the same time as
shooting it by connecting the camera to the computer, so you can carefully review every shot
before it is created. Stitch all of the images together as a single video, and add music, titles,
and effects within the software.
Once you are happy with the final video you can export the film into a single video file and
then upload it to your video platform of choice. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram - wherever
you like.

What Is Stop-Motion Animation? History, Definition, and Techniques

The stop motion dates back to 1900 and is considered the oldest animation technique, but
today it is widely used in advertising, series, video clips and movies. We are sure you’ve seen
it but you don’t know how to identify it because this stop motion animation technique is
about play-acting to move objects. Do you want to know what it is?

What is stop motion animation?

The stop motion is a succession of still images, a photo-to-photo animation, so it does not fall
into the category of cartoons or computer animation. We can make a stop motion animation
video simply with a photo camera and a video editing program. Any material, malleable
(modeling clay), solid objects or even human beings can be used for animation.

We must bear in mind that in each photo we take, there must be a small modification to
move, the smaller that modification is, the more realistic our animation will be. Of course, we
have to be very careful, since being a progressive filming technique, it does not allow us to
reverse.

Stop motion involves lot of manual work, an artistic procedure that requires a lot of patience
and time. The lighting, the placement of cameras and the great dedication of each of the
people who form the animation team must be taken into account.
Historical evolution

The history of Stop Motion focuses on cinematography, one of the people recognized in
using this technique was Georges Melies for the movie “The Journey to the Moon”. Here he
makes a shot in which for the recording of the moon and in the following sequence insert a
rocket, this is called the trick of substitution.

Subsequently, animation with chalk was done on a cartoon character board in a movie called
“Humorous phases of funny faces”. This technique was developed by cartoonist Stuart
Blackton.

The evolution of the stop motion technique was through the film called “The Haunted Hotel”.
Thanks to an adaptation of the Vitagraph film cameras that allowed to capture images. This
technique was developed initially by EmilleCohl who is also considered the father of
cartoons and especially by a Russian animator named Wladyslaw Starewicz.

Differences between Stop motion and traditional animation:

 In stop motion animation technique, there are no extremes or intermediates when the
animator faces the character or the situation to animate as an initial position. But you
never know where exactly the next position will be, giving rise to continuous
experimentation.
 There is no line test. The closest are fixed frames or a real image recording as a
reference.
 Shooting is similar to the real image and light is essential.
 It is a much more individual work than that of cartoons.
 Modifications are much more complicated than the case of cartoons.

Types of Stop Motion Animation

Stop motion animation video requires a video camera, film or photography camera, in
addition to great patience. It is a process that generally must be carried out in a studio or
enclosed space and nothing should be moved unless the animator wishes, including cameras,
lights, and scenery

The materials used to create the objects depicted in the stop motion animation are used to
differentiate between different types of stop motion animation. However, the process of
making a stop motion animation is always the same, regardless of the material used to create
the objects or the characters in the movie.

1. Object Animation

Any object such as a pair of scissors or a toy can be used as the object that is being animated,
as long as it fits the story you are trying to tell. Object animation is frequently used in
tutorials, commercials or videos that are used for a broad range of purposes.
Moreover, this type of stop motion animation is often combined with other types of
animation techniques. One of the greatest challenges of object animation is to simulate flying
or bouncing off the objects in the shot since it is difficult to control their movement. Rigging
is commonly used to solve this issue because it enables the animator to have complete control
of the object’s movement, although removing the rig from the shot is going to require some
additional work in the post-production.

2. Clay Animation

As its name indicates, this type of stop motion animation involves animating figurines and
objects made out of clay. However, clay isn’t the only material that can be used to create
these animations, as animators often make puppets out of plasticine and other similar
materials.

Clay animation is regularly used to create cartoons, although it is relatively easy to find
music videos and TV shows that are made using this technique. Creating the entire
scenography and the characters for clay animation movies is incredibly difficult, which is the
reason why novice animators must have an advanced set of clay modeling skills in order to
be able to use this stop motion animation technique effectively.

3. Lego Animation

This movie was created using computer graphics. Basically, we need to build our entire
scenography and the characters in the movie out of Lego bricks, and then change their on-
screen positions from one frame to the other.

This is by no means an easy task, because it may take a lot of time before starting video
shoot. Even so, we will have a broad range of props at our disposal which can give us a lot of
versatility during the production stage of the project.

4. Pixilation

This type of stop motion animation involves working with people, as you will be animating
the movements of one or more actors one frame at the time. Pixilation works particularly well
with other types of animation like object animation, but it can also be quite effective when
combined with regular videos or time-lapses.

The examples of Pixilation can be traced back to the early 20th century, while today this
animation technique is equally present in commercials, music videos, and full-feature
movies.

5. Cutout

Cutting pieces of paper and animating them may not seem like a sure way to create an
entertaining movie until you actually see the enormity of the possibilities this animation
technique offers. Even so, professional animators aren’t as keen on using it as the newcomers
to the world of stop motion animation.

All you need to start creating a Cutout animation is a flat surface and differently shaped
pieces of paper. There are countless ways in which you can apply this technique, and the
story you are trying to tell is the best way to determine the exact elements you are going to
use in your stop motion animation.

6. Model Animation

Model Animation can be seen in full feature films like The Isle of Dogs, Kubo and the Two
Strings, Anomalisa or Shaun the Sheep. Large teams of animators worked on each of these
movies.

7. Silhouette Stop Motion Animation

Creating silhouette animation doesn’t require big production budget. We just need a white
bedsheet, an artificial source of light and a few actors, to start creating this type of stop
motion animation. Once again, the story we are trying to tell needs to be perfectly adjusted to
the technique we are using since it can be difficult to tell a compelling story using only
silhouettes. It can be easily created in less than perfect filming conditions.

8. Animation of Grains and Sand

Rice, flour or sugar are just a few among countless materials we can use in stop motion
animations. We need a horizontal surface and lots of patience to create a sand animation,
since designing a single shot can take hours of work. Moreover, sand animations tend to
suffer from the lack of narrative, since in most cases they are purely visual experiments that
don’t tell any particular story. There are so many different ways in which we can use sand or
different types of grains to create stop motion animation.

9. Paint Animation

Loving Vincent is probably one of the most popular examples of paint animation in recent
film history. This huge production employed hundreds of painters to create an entire movie in
the style of Van Gogh’s paintings. It took more than four years to complete each of the
movie’s 65.000 frames, which only shows you the complexity of this project. Producing paint
animations is by no means easy since we have to be a skilled painter and extremely patient in
order to complete even a short movie that lasts just a few minutes if you decide to use this
animation technique.

10.Light and Shadow

This type of stop motion animation is very similar to silhouette animation because we will be
working with high contrast images. In most cases, we need paper cutouts to cast shadows by
placing them between the source of light and the surface on which the shadows are cast.
Developing the story that matches well with this animation technique well is vital for the
success of your project since relying purely on the visual aspect of light and shadow
animation doesn’t guarantee that you will end up with a presentable animated movie.
Moreover, controlling the light may prove to be a challenging task, even the slightest change
of the contrast or the brightness can create inconsistencies that can ruin an entire project.
How to create a Stop motion animation

1Choose the camera. We can use a quality camera if we own one, but a cheap webcam works
surprisingly well. Buy one with a manual focus ring, so we can adjust the focus to get sharp,
close up images.

Attach webcam to the device. On a mobile device, we will need a cable, and install an app
that allows to use webcams.
Some of the software recommended below will only work with webcams, or certain cameras.
Check for compatibility before spending money.
2Install stop motion software. We can install this on just about any device, although laptops
and mobile devices are the easiest to transport around the film set.

 For Mac: iStopMotion, Boinx, Dragon Frame

 For Windows: I Can Animate 2 (recommended for children), iKITMovie,
or Stop Motion Pro. Windows Movie Maker is an option with fewer
features, but it may already be on your computer.
 For iPhone or iPad: Frameographer, Stopmotion Cafe
 For Android devices: Clayframes, Stopmotion Studio 

3Find objects and figures to use in the movie. Some good choices include clay, wire, LEGO
or similar building block figures. Be imaginative; we can use almost any object to make the
movie.
 Start with a small project, such as an orange peeling itself. One second of
film can take 18–24 photos.
We can draw on a whiteboard or stack of paper instead, changing the drawing
slightly with every frame. If we do this, set up a stable stand to hold the
drawings, so there's no accidental movement.

4Find consistent lighting. We can use any lights, as long as they don't flicker or change in
brightness. We may need to block outside light with blinds or curtains, if clouds or other
moving shadows are causing changes in brightness.
 Some light bulbs take a while to reach full brightness. Leave them on to
warm up while you get ready. 
5Arrange the scene. Set up the first shot in an area without wind or background movement.
Make sure all your pieces stand up on their own. If one of them falls over during filming, it
can take quite a while to set it back up in the exact position.
 If a figure is tilting or threatening to fall over, stick it onto the surface with
poster tack.

6Set up the camera. Take the camera and device to the shooting location.Connect webcam or
camera to the device. Open the software and confirm that it "sees" the webcam image. Once
we have worked out any kinks, set the camera on a tripod, or tape it down firmly to prevent
motion.

7Begin taking photographs. Take a single photo of the objects or figures in the starting
position. Move the objects bit by bit, by a very small amount each time, and take another
photograph after each movement. You can move one piece at a time (such as an arm waving
back and forth), or make several movements at once (a more fluid walk involving legs and
arms, or several objects moving in a busy scene). Try to move an object by about the same
distance each time.
 Before taking each photograph, make sure the object is in sharp focus. You
may need to disable your camera's autofocus. If using a webcam, rotate the
focus ring by hand.

8Check the software. Each time we take a photograph, a frame should appear in the stop
motion software. These frames are placed in a row to form a strip of film, usually near the
bottom of your screen. We should be able to flick between the frames or play a video to get a
rough idea of how the movie will look like.The end result will be much smoother.

9Look for an Onion Skinning feature. This extremely useful feature is one major reason to
use dedicated stop motion software instead of a free movie editor. With Onion Skinning
enabled, the previous frame shows up as a faint image on the screen, overlaying the image
your camera sees. This lets to arrange objects accurately, seeing exactly how much they will
move on screen. If we knock over a figure or make a mistake and need to re-shoot a few
frames, Onion Skinning makes it easy to return to the old scene by lining up the figures with
the faint image.

10Finish shooting. Continue moving and photographing until the scene is finished. Save the
work frequently. Leave your setup in place once you're done, in case you need to retake some
photographs.

11Duplicate frames so the movements happen at a slower pace. If we duplicate a frame, that
frame will stay still for a tiny bit longer before moving. As a general rule, stick to one or two
copies of each frame. Occasionally, slow this down to 6–8 frames between movements, so an
object pauses before changing directions or starting a new motion. This looks more natural
and makes the animation less frantic and easier on the eyes.

12Finish the film. We can now render the project as a video file and show it to others.We can
open the video in video editing software and add music, sound effects, and special effects.

4.6 computer animation and Applications of Animation

computer animation, also called computer-generated imagery (CGI), form of

animated graphics using computers that replaced both “stop-motion” animation of scale-
model puppets and hand-drawn animation of drawings. Efforts to lessen the labour and costs
of animation have led to simplification and computerization. Computers can be used in
every step of sophisticated animation—for example, to automate the movement of the
rostrum camera or to supply the in-between drawings for full animation. When a three-
dimensional figure is translated into computer terms (digitized), the computer can generate
and display a sequence of images that seem to move or rotate the object through space.
Hence, computer animation can simulate highly complex motion for medical and other
scientific researchers as well as for feature films.
Animation means giving life to any object in computer graphics. It has the power of
injecting energy and emotions into the most seemingly inanimate objects. Computer-assisted
animation and computer-generated animation are two categories of computer animation. It
can be presented via film or video.
The basic idea behind animation is to play back the recorded images at the rates fast enough
to fool the human eye into interpreting them as continuous motion. Animation can make a
series of dead images come alive. Animation can be used in many areas like entertainment,
computer aided-design, scientific visualization, training, education, e-commerce, and
computer art.

Animation Techniques

Animators have invented and used a variety of different animation techniques. Basically
there are six animation technique which we would discuss one by one in this section.

Traditional Animation framebyframeframebyframe

Traditionally most of the animation was done by hand. All the frames in an animation had to
be drawn by hand. Since each second of animation requires 24 frames filmfilm, the amount
of efforts required to create even the shortest of movies can be tremendous.

Keyframing

In this technique, a storyboard is laid out and then the artists draw the major frames of the
animation. Major frames are the ones in which prominent changes take place. They are the
key points of animation. Keyframing requires that the animator specifies critical or key
positions for the objects. The computer then automatically fills in the missing frames by
smoothly interpolating between those positions.

Procedural

In a procedural animation, the objects are animated by a procedure − a set of rules − not by
keyframing. The animator specifies rules and initial conditions and runs simulation. Rules
are often based on physical rules of the real world expressed by mathematical equations.

Behavioral

In behavioral animation, an autonomous character determines its own actions, at least to a

certain extent. This gives the character some ability to improvise, and frees the animator
from the need to specify each detail of every character's motion.

Performance Based Motion Capture

Another technique is Motion Capture, in which magnetic or vision-based sensors record the
actions of a human or animal object in three dimensions. A computer then uses these data to
animate the object.
This technology has enabled a number of famous athletes to supply the actions for
characters in sports video games. Motion capture is pretty popular with the animators mainly
because some of the commonplace human actions can be captured with relative ease.
However, there can be serious discrepancies between the shapes or dimensions of the
subject and the graphical character and this may lead to problems of exact execution.

Physically Based Dynamics

Unlike key framing and motion picture, simulation uses the laws of physics to generate
motion of pictures and other objects. Simulations can be easily used to produce slightly
different sequences while maintaining physical realism. Secondly, real-time simulations
allow a higher degree of interactivity where the real person can maneuver the actions of the
simulated character.
In contrast the applications based on key-framing and motion select and modify motions
form a pre-computed library of motions. One drawback that simulation suffers from is the
expertise and time required to handcraft the appropriate controls systems.

Key Framing

A keyframe is a frame where we define changes in animation. Every frame is a keyframe

when we create frame by frame animation. When someone creates a 3D animation on a
computer, they usually don’t specify the exact position of any given object on every single
frame. They create keyframes.
Keyframes are important frames during which an object changes its size, direction, shape or
other properties. The computer then figures out all the in-between frames and saves an
extreme amount of time for the animator. The following illustrations depict the frames
drawn by user and the frames generated by computer.
Morphing

The transformation of object shapes from one form to another form is called morphing. It is
one of the most complicated transformations.

A morph looks as if two images melt into each other with a very fluid motion. In technical
terms, two images are distorted and a fade occurs between them.
Applications of Animation

Education and Training: Animation is used in school, colleges and training centers for
education purpose. Flight simulators for aircraft are also animation based. 2. Entertainment:
Animation methods are now commonly used in making motion pictures, music videos and
television shows, etc.

Education and Training: Animation is used in school, colleges and training centers for
education purpose. Flight simulators for aircraft are also animation based.

2. Entertainment: Animation methods are now commonly used in making motion pictures,
music videos and television shows, etc.

3. Computer Aided Design (CAD): One of the best applications of computer animation is
Computer Aided Design and is generally referred to as CAD. One of the earlier applications
of CAD was automobile designing. But now almost all types of designing are done by using
CAD application, and without animation, all these work can't be possible.

4. Advertising: This is one of the significant applications of computer animation. The most
important advantage of an animated advertisement is that it takes very less space and capture
people attention.

5. Presentation: Animated Presentation is the most effective way to represent an idea. It is

used to describe financial, statistical, mathematical, scientific & economic data.