HA4 - Task 1 Animation Techniques

cell animation is an animation technique that uses hand drawing.

cel animation was the best type of animation for the cinema until the computer animation was brought to life. A cel ,short for celluloid, is a transparent piece of paper placed over the top of a drawing and then copied onto the transparent piece, hand drawn animation.

 celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate. With the advent of computer-assisted animation production, the use of cels has been practically abandoned in major productions. Disney studios stopped using cels in 1990 when Computer Animation Production system (CAPS) replaced this element in their animation process.

sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel
pictures are from google images searched:cel animation disney


I used Adobe Flash to create the cells process. I drew a sequence frame by frame, using the adobe drawing tools that they have. Flash allows you to use a technique called onion skinning which allows you to see the previous drawing you drew, as if you was drawing it by hand.

I was pleased, but i found it difficult as i didn't know who to use Adobe flash, when i realised what i was doing i found the process quite interesting.

Key framing is the simplest form of animating an object. Based on the notion that an object has a beginning state or condition and will be changing over time, in position, form, color, luminosity, or any other property, to some different final form. Key framing takes the stance that we only need to show the "key" frames, or conditions, that describe the transformation of this object, and that all other intermediate positions can be figured out from these.

Sources: 

http://www.arch.virginia.edu/arch545/handouts/keyframing.html

I used Adobe Flash to carry out a series of digital keyframe exercises, shape tween, motion (Classic) tween, motion guide, masking and nesting. The software allows you to create shapes and symbols that can be posed at the beginning and end of a sequence.

                                                                                Shape Tween

Motion tween

                                          

Masking Tween

                                         



I found this quite easy, the only thing i found difficult was the motion tween, it was difficult at first then i understood it.

The video is shot then processed digitally to reassemble a cell animation. This process is called a interpolated rotoscope.

Originally this is a technique where animators would draw over the original footage frame by frame,for use in live action and animated films, giving the finished result a sketchy and distinctive animated look.

I used a DSLR camera to shoot a short walk sequence, imported this into Adobe After Effects and exported a sequence of individual frames. I then experimented with filtering and adjustment techniques within Photoshop and created an Action, recording all of the processes. This recording was then used to filter all of the exported frames. These changed frames were then imported into Premiere Pro  and  i edited it and filtered it and a video sequence exported.

Stop motion (also known as stop frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object or persona appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Dolls with movable joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of re-positioning. Stop motion animation using Plasticine is called clay animation or "clay-mation". Not all stop motion requires figures or models; many stop motion films can involve using humans, household appliances and other things for comedic effect. Stop motion using objects is sometimes referred to as object animation.

As a group we used a DSLR camera to shoot a short stop-motion sequence, imported this into Adobe After Premiere Pro as a numbered sequence and a video file was then exported.

i was pleased with how this turned out i would try this again