2d Animation article

In 2024, animation continues to evolve rapidly, influenced by technological advancements, changing audience preferences, and new storytelling methods. Here are some key trends and developments to watch: 1. Increased Use of AI AI is being integrated more deeply into animation production, from automating background creation to generating character animations. Tools are becoming smarter, helping animators streamline workflows. 2. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) VR and AR experiences are gaining traction, with animated content designed specifically for immersive environments. This includes interactive storytelling and educational applications. 3. Diverse Voices and Stories There’s a continued push for representation and inclusion in animation. More projects feature diverse characters, cultures, and perspectives, reflecting a broader range of human experiences. 4. Short-Form Content Dominance Short animated series and clips, particularly on platforms like TikTok, YouTube,

Before computers started playing their indispensible roles in the animation industry, everything was done manually by animators, who were essentially artists. They would create a series of slides having images on it, where each slides image is the continuation of the previous one in the sequence. For example if an animator wanted to simulate a ball falling down, they would create a sequence of slides where first slide would portray the ball at the top. The next slide will show the ball, may be 1 cm lower than that in the first slide. In the next one, again lower and so on, till the last slide shows the ball hitting the ground. When the whole sequence of slides are shown in front of the viewer in a fast rate, it creates the feeling of the ball falling down. The whole process was tedious and time consuming. When computers came into play, the frame redrawing works had been minimised since, copying and pasting duplicate elements between successive frames was very easy with the computers ai

Take a piece of paper and sketch a simple figure on it (a cat, a dog or anything that comes to your head). Lets say it is a cat and it is facing you from that sheet of paper. So you have the front view of the cat in front of you. Suppose if you feel that you want to see the cat from a side, will it help if you rotate the paper or flip it? No. Why? It is simply because the sketch you have drawn has the 3rd dimension missing. Every real world object that you see around has a 3rd dimension and that is the reason why you can take it and rotate it to watch it from different angles. The sketch you have drawn had a length and a width, since the paper you used to draw also had a length and a width. But it lacks a thickness (3rd dimension) and hence your sketch also didnt have that extra dimension. Suppose instead of sketching your imagination down on the piece of paper, you decided to sculpt it on a handful of clay. Since the medium you used (clay) had volume, you had to define the cats shape

Animators complain that 2 Oscar nominees (Happy Feet and Monster House) use motion capture technology. Is Mocap is killing animation, or is it the logical heir to rotosco As you all know by now, there are only 3 nominees for Best Animated Feature Film at this year's Oscars, despite a crowded field in 2006. That's because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) decided that Luc Besson's Arthur and the Minimoys (Arthur and the Invisibles in the U.S.) didn't contain enough animation to qualify for the category. (Quick note: according to AMPAS rules, a movie must have a minimum of 75% animated sequences in order to qualify as an animated film. Some wags wonder why 2003's Lord of the Rings: Return of the King wasn't considered an animated flick, since it had so many CGI sequences and characters.) There is another issue at stake. Several animators claim that, of the three movies that received a coveted Oscar nomination this year (Cars, Happy Feet, and

We are in the future and the trend of CGI in animation is no longer flabbergasting us, we are now in a position to claim back our objectivity, this sense of awe that permeated us when we saw our first CG animated flick, has dwindled and now it is time again for the future to be called "present". That is until the next big thing comes knocking at our door. So what do we do now ? We got our senses back, we make the best of it and that means we demand quality to those that create CGI because we don't want to end up with what I call an "overall negative ratio" where, out of 10 productions, 1 or maybe 2 are really worth paying for a cinema ticket. Nowadays the amount of productions is growing with each passing year and so is the amount of dedicated studios and the first consequence is that our choice is broadening which is a good thing because it means that we can afford to be more picky, also all these new studios sprouting all over the world mean for us, a chance t