1. Animation Theory

2. What is Animation?
Animation is the creation of simulated movement by using a series of still images.
Animation is used to produce special effects in commercials, live-action movies, video games and web sites

3. Zoetrope Pronounced (ZO-uh-trope)
A toy created in the 1800’s that used a cylinder and long strip of paper with a series of images
When the cylinder was rotated, the images could be viewed through slits in the cylinder and the images appear to move
The Zoetrope led to the development of motion pictures

4. Zoetrope EXAMPLES

5. Flip Book A flip book is a simple animation device
It consists of a sequence of drawings placed on top of each other fastened together along one edge
Each drawing is slightly different from the drawing before
The image appears to move because the eye sends signals to the brain faster than the brain can process them. This is called Persistence of Vision

6. FLIP BOOK EXAMPLE

7. Stop-motion Animation Computer animation Motion-capture animation
Types of Animation
Hand-drawn Animation
Stop-motion Animation
Computer animation
Motion-capture animation

8. Hand-drawn Animation
In this type of animation, a series of drawings is photographed
Each drawing makes up one frame of the film
The position of the character or object changes very slightly from frame to frame
This technique is known as cell animation because the first animations were drawn on thin plastic sheets called celluloid
In 1937, Walt Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film using cell animation

9. Stop-Motion Animation
In Stop-Motion Animation, models are photographed on a set one frame at a time.
The frames are played in sequence to create movement
Early stop-motion models were made of modeling clay (ex. Gumby)

10. Computer Animation
Computer Animation software can be used to create an animation scene, cartoon, a video game, or even a full-length movie
Computer Animation reduces the time needed to produce an animated film
Software can be two- dimensional (2D) or three- dimensional (3D)

11. Motion Capture Animation
Motion Capture Animation is a 3D representation of a live performance
It can be done using 3 different technologies:
Magnetic
Optical
Electro-Mechanical

12. Magnetic Motion Capture
Magnetic motion capturing uses sensors placed on an actor’s body that measure magnetic fields created by a transmitter
The files are then represented in 3D by a computer

13. Optical Motion Capture
Optical motion capturing uses video cameras to track the motion of light- emitting diodes or reflective markers placed on the joints of the actor’s body

14. Electro-mechanical Capture
Electro-mechanical devices resemble an exoskeleton that is worn by the actor being recorded. The exoskeleton’s movements are recorded without any additional sensors

15. Storyboards
A storyboard is a series of sketches that can be used as a guide for making a show.
A typical full-length animated feature requires more than 4,000 storyboard drawings to describe the action and dialogue of the film

16. Once a storyboard is created, the modeling process begins
Modeling refers to using computer software to create 3D computer models of characters, props, and sets

17. Animation Once models are created, animation may begin
A key frame show a beginning or ending point in an action sequence
Imagine a scene showing tow characters playing catch with a ball. The key frames might show each character either throwing or catching the ball. The frames in between determine how fast the ball is thrown, how many times the ball goes back and forth, and how long the game continues

18. Shading, Lighting, and Rendering
Shading adds colors and textures to objects. Examples include: simulated glass, wood, and metal
Lighting is used to add illumination and shadows to scenes
Rendering combines computer information from the modeling, animation, shading, and lighting steps to create the final images

19. STOP

20. Web Sites Animation can be added to any website to add interest
GIF animation was the first successful kind of animation used on the web
GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format
GIF files are still images that can be animated using software
This is a popular way to store and distribute animations
GIF files work well with web browsers

21. Other Web Sites Enhancements
When Dynamic HTML is used, one still image is moved across the screen instead of using individual frames
Several Web animations require plug-ins
Plug-ins are small programs designed to play particular media files
QuickTime and Windows Media Player are common video plug-ins

22. Other Web Sites Enhancements
Streaming Animation allows the movie to begin playing before the entire file has downloaded
Flash is the most popular Web animation program
Flash can be used to produce high-quality animations and videos

23. Video Games
Video game development is the most complex form of animation
A key difference between video games and movie animation is video games need to be interactive; they need to respond to commands given by players
Video games start with a storyboard
Artists, programmers, and marketing experts plan for how the game will look and create different levels of difficulty