1. Scientific Visualization I – Unit 6
animation techniques
Scientific Visualization I – Unit 6

2. early animation processes
Still images are played in rapid succession so that they produce the appearance of a moving image
Animation appears as continuous motion because our brain holds on to each image briefly and the image is still their when the next image appears
Timing between images must be fast enough for the sequence to appear smooth

3. early animation processes
NTSC
National Television Standards Committee
30 frames per second
North America & Japan
PAL
Phase Alternate Line
25 frames per second
Europe
Standard Rate for Film
24 frames per second
One minute of animation at 30 fps would require 1800 images
(30 fps x 60s)

4. early animation processes
Zoetrope
Used in the 1800s to produce animation
Circular Frames held sequenced images that were viewed as the device spun in circles
Movies
Term was coined from the moving images produced by the Zoetrope

5. early animation processes
Walt Disney Studios
Developed the modern art of animation in the 1930’s and ’s
The various “layers” of the animated scene were painted on transparent sheets called cels
A hierarchy was developed for the different artists for drawing and painting the sequences of images

6. early animation processes
Key frames
Most important frames
Developed by the master artist
Tweens
“in between” frames
Developed by less skilled artists
Other artists would paint, fill, or outline as needed
Stop Action Animation
Uses clay or other models to create sequential photos of movement that are then combined

7. computer animation
Computer animation allows us to do less and get more
We define points in time (key frames) and the computer draws all of the in between frames

8. computer animation Steps
Position object(s) where animation will begin. This is the first key frame.
Set the number of frames for the sequence.
Move/scale/deform the object(s) to become the next key frame

9. computer animation Steps
The computer will fill in all of the transformation between each key frame specified by the user
The “in-between” images that are created by the computer program are called tweens
28 tweens are created for each needed second of animation.
The start and end key frames that the user created total 30 for each second of animation

10. storyboarding
A graphic, sequential, depiction of an animation that is going to be created
A visual script
Identifies major event in the story and illustrates them in cells that are drawn out in a sequential pattern

11. storyboarding Used for movies, TV, commercials, and animation
The artwork does not have to be pretty or complex, but it should be neat and easy to understand
The pictures should be accompanied by text describing the scene.