2d animation

• Animation is the rapid succession of still sequential images shown at a steady rate that creates the illusion of movement
• The illusion of movement is made possible by the physical phenomenon called "persistence of vision"
• Persistence of vision allows our brain to see motion when a sequence of still images is displayed fast enough
• The human eye and brain can process 10-12 separate images per second
• If another image replaces it within a fifteenth of a second, it creates the illusion of continuous motion
• During the design stage, creators need to consider the duration of a sequence and how smooth it needs to be
• The smoother the movement, the more frames are required
• The number of frames determines the animation frames per second
• Knowing the object's start and end positions and the required frames will determine the object's movement per frame
• Before cinema, inventors used optical toys like the zoetrope to create motion with still images
• Eadweard Muybridge's motion studies of animals and humans in the 1870s and 80s advanced the understanding of movement
• Key films/animators from the early days of animation include George Melies, Emile Cohl, Winsor McCay, and Otto Messmer
• The Walt Disney Studio was founded in 1923 and revolutionized animation with memorable characters and production tools
• In traditional 2D animation, each frame is created by hand with 24 frames/drawings per second
• The multiplane camera was developed at Disney studios in the 1930s for live action-like effects in 2D animation
• Animation Today
• Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas described the 12 principles of animation in 1981, essential for any animator's education and practice
• 2D animation often involves computers for scanning, compositing, sequencing, and coloring frames
• Contemporary examples of animation include works like "A Man too Good to be True," "Dumb Ways to Die," and "You're Welcome" from Disney's Moana
• Animators now draw frames directly within the digital environment using tablets
• Animation is the process of creating the illusion of motion and change by rapidly displaying a sequence of static images, also known as frames
• Images are typically created using computer software or by hand-drawing on paper or celluloid
• Frames are played back in a continuous loop to create the illusion of movement
• Animation can be used for creating films, video games, commercials, and visual effects for live-action films
• It is also used in web and mobile design, as well as in virtual reality and augmented reality applications
• Animation has a long history dating back to early forms of motion pictures in the late 1800s and continues to evolve with new technologies and techniques
• One of the earliest known examples of animation is the zoetrope, a cylindrical device that uses a series of still images to create the illusion of movement
• In the early 1900s, animation techniques began to develop rapidly
• Animation studios like Laugh-O-Gram Studio and Fleischer Studios started producing animated shorts in the 1910s
• The 1920s and 1930s saw the introduction of new technologies like the multiplane camera and synchronized sound
• The first cel animation, where each frame is drawn on a transparent celluloid sheet, was created in the 1910s
• Major animation studios like Walt Disney Productions and Warner Bros. Animation emerged during this time
• Animation in the 1940s expanded to educational and propaganda films, and the first feature-length animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," was released in 1937
• A multiplane camera allows for more realistic and layered animation by using several layers of glass where animators place their drawings
• Each layer can be moved independently to create depth and movement
• Multiplane Camera
• First developed by Walt Disney Studios in the 1930s and used in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)
• Despite being replaced by computer animation, the multiplane camera remains a fundamental technique in animation history
• The camera gave the illusion of depth and movement, used in classic Disney films like "Fantasia" (1940) and "Bambi" (1942)
• In the 1950s and 1960s, animation expanded to television with popular series like "The Flintstones" and "The Simpsons"