Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture or video program, although several other forms of presenting animation also exist.
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Careers in Animation and Graphic Design - Animator
An animator is responsible for taking an idea and creating a series of drawings that can be used to bring the idea to life. An animator must be a very visual person that can also turn ideas into either lifelike or cartoon style drawings. Some animators use specialized computer programs to both draw and animate their ideas, but they still must have the fundamental understanding of drawing and creating as well as animation and film.
An animator must be able to work closely with others as he or she will usually work as part of a creative team. Excellent communication skills and an ability to work within a group are very important for an animator. He or she will also work with the professionals that will do the voices for the animation. There may be many revisions and changes to the original artwork so the animator must be flexible and open to making revisions.
In the new world of computer games and graphics animators are used to develop the characters, backgrounds and storyline in various games. Animators can also be used to provide graphics for educational programs, movies, television shows and advertisements. Some animators also work individually providing specific graphic animation for websites or other projects.
Common work activities include:
- Developing, creating and drawing animated characters, backgrounds and various components of animated film and video.
- Working closely with creative team members to draw and animate various characters within the project, program or script.
- Interviewing and interacting with clients to determine the specifications required for the project.
- Revising and modifying artwork as required by the creative team or the project supervisor or client.
- Understanding and using various computer programs to animate graphic designs and artwork.
Animation is a graphic representation of drawings to show movement within those drawings. A series of drawings are linked together and usually photographed by a camera. The drawings have been slightly changed between individualized frames so when they are played back in rapid succession (24 frames per second) there appears to be seamless movement within the drawings.
Pioneers of animation include Winsor McCay of the United States and Emile Cohl and Georges Melies of France. Some consider McCay's Sinking of the Lusitania from 1918 as the first animated feature film.
Early animations, which started appearing before 1910, consisted of simple drawings photographed one at a time. It was extremely labor intensive as there were literally hundreds of drawings per minute of film. The development of celluloid around 1913 quickly made animation easier to manage. Instead of numerous drawings, the animator now could make a complex background and/or foreground and sandwich moving characters in between several other pieces of celluloid, which is transparent except for where drawings are painted on it. This made it unnecessary to repeatedly draw the background as it remained static and only the characters moved. It also created an illusion of depth, especially if foreground elements were placed in the frames.
Walt Disney took animation to a new level. He was the first animator to add sound to his movie cartoons with the premiere of Steamboat Willie in 1928. In 1937, he produced the first full length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
With the introduction of computers, animation took on a whole new meaning. Many feature films of today had animation incorporated into them for special effects. A film like Star Wars by George Lucas would rely heavily on computer animation for many of its special effects. Toy Story, produced by Walt Disney Productions and Pixar Animation Studios, became the first full length feature film animated entirely on computers when it was released in 1995.
BibliographyFinch, Christopher. The Art of Walt Disney, 1973.
Laybourne, Kit. The Animation Book, 1998.
Locke, Lafe. Film Animation Techniques, 1992
Manvell, Roger. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1998.
Mosley, Leonard. Disney's World, 1985
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