How Animation Is Made

The term animation comes from the Latin word animus, which means “spirit” or “breath of life.” In ancient Greece, people used animated statues to tell stories.

In modern times, filmmaker George Melies popularized the concept with his trick films- short one-minute segments that appear seamless. He called this style of cinematography!

Vincent van Gogh is another famous artist who incorporated into his work various styles including painting, sculpture, and now, animation. You can see some beautiful examples of his artistic transformations in his paintings and drawings.

Animation has many different forms. It can be 2D (like most movies you have seen), 3D, stop motion, or computer-generated imagery (CGI). A few of these types include:

2D Cartoon Animations

3D Computer Generated Imagery

Stop Motion Photography

Computer Animated Films (or Async Shot Movies)

The first type is probably the least expensive and easiest to create. A lot of cartoons are made using Adobe Photoshop or other graphics software.

By taking pictures of something moving very quickly and then combining them together, your computer creates an illusion of movement! This technique is typically referred to as photorealistic rendering.

Some artists use it for movie production or product design.

There are several different methods of animation

Not all cartoons are created equal! Some may use very flashy or complex techniques, but they can be hard to recognize for the average viewer.

There are three main types of animations: stop-motion, claymation, and traditional 2D animated films.

Stooped motion is typically referred to as “animation” since it usually takes place over a longer period of time. An example of this is when an animal moves slowly across the screen or someone raises their hand and then drops it back down. This is how most cartoon characters move.

Clay animation uses colored globs of soft material (like clay) to create moving shapes. These shapes are then combined into new ones to make a movie. The hardest part of clay animating is choosing your shape, color, and a number of pieces correctly!

Traditional 2d animated movies have artists draw pictures of things that go onto the computer frame by frame. Each individual drawing is one frame in length which creates the illusion of movement.

Traditional 2D animation

Traditionally, animators use a tool called keyframes to create animated characters. Keyframe animations are when an artist or animator “marker” a specific moment in time within an overall sequence of events as well as what they call a value. A marker is like saying hello, goodbye, running, jumping, etc. are markers.

These markers are then linked together to make a continuous event that gives the appearance of movement. More complex events have multiple stages or intervals which allow for more complexity in the way the character moves.

By having several small discrete moments in time, it seems as if there was a longer time between each one, giving the illusion of motion. This creates the effect we are familiar with where something appears to be moving very quickly but there are actually no fast changes except for the times between each interval.

This article will not go into much detail about how keyframes work because those who animate already know! But here’s a link: What Are The Three Main Components Of An Animated Film?

Now let’s talk about cartoons.

Cartooning - Or As We Know It, Drawing Animations

Many people refer to this type of animation as drawing animation due to the fact that almost every part of the cartoon (character) you see has been drawn before being colored in and placed in the movie.

3D Animation

In three-dimensional (3D) animations, instead of drawing a frame-by-frame picture of a person or object, you create what is called an animated GIF or video. By using special software, the animator can make it so that as you move the camera around or shift focus, the image/person changes to match.

This technique is used heavily in online content, like YouTube videos. When someone clicks through a link to watch a movie, they often use this method to simulate how their feet are moving when you film someone walking.

Two popular programs for creating animated images are Adobe Flash and HTML5’s Canvas. Both allow you to add background music, sound effects, and an overall theme to your project.

Once these frames or pictures are completed, you put them together into one very long sequence! This way you don't have to go back and rework the drawings over and over again.

Stop motion

Another way to create animated films is called stop-motion animation. This was done before modern computer technology, so instead of using a camera to capture an image quickly and then editing it in software, you use very small cameras or lenses that take longer to aim and focus, thus creating more time between each frame.

Stop-motion filming is usually done at night because there are fewer lights outside which would interfere with the shots. Because these settings are not easy for most people, only professionals can do this!

The process starts years ago when the animator creates a storyboard. Then they research and find materials and props that match the given scenes. They also coordinate times when the scene should occur so that they have enough time to film it properly. When the shot is completed, the artist makes sure everything is put away and waits for the next shot.

This process is quite a labor intensive and takes a lot of effort to achieve your goal. However, many artists enjoy doing it as it requires them to work closely with others and be creative.

Digital painting

Another way to describe animating something is digital painting. This term can be confusing as there are some differences between what people refer to it as. Some call it drawing or painting digitally, but not necessarily using computer software.

Digital painting typically refers to creating animations via pictures or videos of still images that you edit and blend together. A very popular medium for this is Photoshop.

You start with an already-existing image or element (like someone else’s work) and then you add things onto it such as textures, shapes, and colors. Then you take your animation project to a more professional level by adding special effects such as glow, reflections, and shadows.

These artists use advanced editing programs like Adobe Photoshop to achieve their looks. Technically speaking, anything beyond just choosing colors and types of brushes is considered art.

Kinetic painting

Another way to describe kinetic art is called a kinetic painting. This type of artwork uses energy in form of movement or shape to create your picture.

A great example of this is when you watch waves move onto the shore or water drops falling off of a drinking glass.

These types of movements are very interactive, they grab your attention, and it is interesting to see how the artist harnesses that energy to paint their picture.

Kinetic paintings can be done virtually anywhere! You do not have to use oil paints or mediums to work with energy. You can use digital software or traditional media like canvas and brushes.

There are many ways to take inspiration for kinetic paintings. You can look at natural events such as lightning, waves moving towards land, or snowfall coming down. Or you could find still-life pictures where nothing moves aside from the passing shadows.

Traditional 2D animation

Traditionally, two-dimensional (2D) animated movies are made by artists drawing pictures or animations frame by frame. These drawings will then be put together into a sequence to create your movie!

The more frames you have in a scene the longer it will take for viewers to “skip” or move on to the next one. So having as many frames as possible is very important when creating an anime film.

Drawing or painting to a pre-recorded animation sequence

Many animators begin their careers as artists, drawing pictures of still images or landscapes that they then re-mold into moving pictures. These artists are typically trained in traditional mediums like oil paint, watercolor, or acrylic to use for imagery.

However, not all art students get a chance to work as an artist afterward. Some careers require you to manipulate shapes and forms beyond what most people learn in school, so many professionals find ways to shift their skills toward creating animations instead.

The thing about animations is that they’re not quite ‘still’ yet!

Animated films usually start with writers writing a story first, followed by directors who translate the script onto the screen. Both of these positions are typically paid more than artists since those jobs require someone else to create the storyline.

Artists can make good wages working on character designs or environments though, so some talent is needed to start off.