Computer Animation

Lecture 1

Introduction Computer Animation

Introduction to Animation
1. Overview of animation
2. What is animation
3. Application of Animation
4. The persistence of vision theory
5. History of Animation
6. Animation tool
7. Categories of computer animation
Overview Animation
Animate = to give life to
A collection of static images joined
together and shown consecutively so
that they appear to move.
Animation is about storytelling by
bringing things to life (making them
move).
What is animation
1. To give life to; fill with life
2. To impart interest or zest to; enliven
3. To fill with spirit, courage, or resolution;
encourage
4. To inspire to action; prompt
5. To impart motion or activity
6. To make, design, or produce (a cartoon,
for example) so as to create the illusion
of motion
Frames and motion
To make, design, or produce (a cartoon, for
example) so as to create the illusion of motion
All visual animation media uses framesa
series of still images shown very rapidly to
simulate motion or change
Anything you see on a computer, television, or
movie screen is based on frames.
Researchers have found that at a rate of 24
frames per second, people are perfectly happy
to accept those frames as a single moving
image
Application of Animation

Entertain
Scientific
ment

Film
fully animated
films Medicine
visual effects films

Television Law
Video Games forensics
accident
reconstruction and
simulation.

Advertising
Application of Animation

Scientific
Medicine
Law
forensics
accident reconstruction and
simulation.
Games
 Application of Animation
Architecture

Product Visualization
History of computer
animation
1960s: The Dawn of Computer
Animation
William Fetter is credited with creating the
term computer graphics (CG) in 1960.
He is often thought of as the father of 3D
animation because of his work at Boeing,
where he used computers to create 3D
models of objects and even of a human
body that came to be known as the Boeing
Man.
History of computer
animation
1962, computer programmer Steve
Russell and a team from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) created one of the first video
games, Spacewar. In this two-player
game, two spaceships try to destroy
each other while also trying to not
collide with a sun.
History of computer
animation
1970s: The Building Blocks of 3D
Animation
1971, the microprocessor was developed,
which allowed for the electronics of a
computer to be miniaturized down to a
single chip.
1971 Henri Gouraud created Gouraud
shading, which allowed for the faceted
polygon surface to render and look smooth
History of computer animation

1980s: The Foundations of Modern

Computing
1982, Silicon Graphics (SGI) was created and
began focusing on making faster, more-
efficient computers for 3D animation
1982, Autodesk was created, and the company
released AutoCAD for personal computers
Photoshop was released in 1988 to small
markets
1984, Apple released the first Macintosh
personal computer,
History of computer
animation
Tron in 1982 had just over 20 minutes of 3D
animated graphics including the bits, speed
cycles, tanks, and game grid created by
Triple-I.
Lucasfilm created The Adventures of Andre
and Wally B., a short animated film all in
3D, in 1984
History of computer
animation
1990s: 3D Animation Achieves Commercial
Success
Terminator 2 was released in 1991, showcasing a
liquid-metal terminator who looked like the actor
Robert Patrick but had morphing abilities.
1993, Jurassic Park was released with photorealistic
dinosaurs composited in with live-action
environments and actors.
1995, Pixar released the first fully 3D animated
feature film Toy Story.
1998s Antz and A Bugs Life, and 1999s Toy Story
2.
History of computer
animation
2000s: The Refining of 3D Animation
Pixars Monsters Inc. (2001) showed that 3D
could be accomplished with good effect. A.I.
(2001) pushed boundaries in 3D animation
techniques in visual effects.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the
Ring (2001) pushed new techniques with
crowd simulations.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
attempted to create photorealistic humans for
the full 3D animated film
Traditional ANIMATION

Flipbook technique (https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=7n2YF7mfP5s)
Still images showing a different stage of
motion are created on each page.
Pagesare "flipped" in rapid succession to view
the motion.
Animation basics used in flipbook:
Quality of motion is based on rate of display.
Speed is based on differences between images.
Onionskinning: a technique used to draw new
image based on the previous image.
Registration: physically aligns images with one
another. 18
Traditional Animation
Film based process
Images are photographed and recorded as separate
frames on long strip of transparent film.
Film passed in front of light source and animation
appeared on a screen.
Film enhanced possibilities of animation.
Multiple reels allowed longer animations.
Projectors displayed images at reliable frame rates.
Animators could add sound to the motion.

http://webneel.com/video/animation-process-1938-
traditional-animation-history

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Challenges Of Traditional Animation

Number of images to create.

24 frames per second requires 1,440
individual still images for each minute of
animation.
Methods to generate images include:
Shooting on twos cuts number of images in half.
Cycle of images can be reused to extend
repetitive motion.
Holds produce sequence of identical drawings to
extend a particular state or action.

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Challenges Of Traditional Animation

Artistic strategies to create realistic world

require:
Awareness of how things move in the world.
Ease-in and ease-out address the physics of
motion.
Overshooting a resting point addresses kinetic
energy of motion.
Different components of objects move
independently of one another (overlapping
motion).
Exaggerate motion for dramatic effect
using:
Variations in speed 22
Traditional Techniques
Strategies for achieving motion have
been applied to:
Paper cut-outs
Clay figurines
Puppets
Natural objects photographed, reposed and
re-photographed.

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Type of Animation
Manual

Cel Animation (video)

Claymation (video)

Stop-Motion (video)

Computer

Computer Animation (video)

Motion Capture (video)

Cel Animation
Perfected and made popular by Disney
studios.
Cel: drawings of individual frames made on
sheets of celluloid.
Drawings were then photographed to
produce the animated film.
Technique that directly influenced
development of digital animation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dRKWRMbTvWs
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Cel Animation
Advantages:
Artists saved drawing time.
Fixed components of a scene were drawn once
and layered on the bottom of a stack of
celluloid sheets.
Moving components were drawn separately and
placed on top of the fixed scene components.
Gave precise control over elements.
Individual
cel layers could reproduce
interdependent, complex motions.

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 Cel Animation

Advantages, cont.
Encouraged division of labor and promoted high
artistic standards.
Master artists drew key frames or extremes.
Assistants drew the tweens.
Inkers transferred drawings from paper to celluloid.
Opaquers applied colors to the celluloid.
Additional specialists included:
Producers
Directors
Script writers
Audio specialists
Camera operators
Checkers.
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Producing Cel Animation
Cost and complexity of creating
animation required a carefully defined
process.
Storyboard: sequence of drawings that
sketch out content of major scenes in the
production.
Pencil test: series of simple sketches that
are photographed and projected to test the
design of the animated sequences.
Scratch track: draft of animations audio
track.
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Leica reel: working draft
Producing Cel Animation
Uses specialized equipment in production
process.
Specialized paints to convey proper hue.
Specialized camera and lighting to capture cels.
Devices to:
Track changes in paths of animated characters.
Align and hold the cels for camera shots.
Synchronize and edit the final film.

Cel animation is complex, demanding, and

expensive animation.
Computers dramatically improved the process.

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Digital Animation

TWO DIFFERENT FORMS:

2-D evolved from traditional
animation techniques.
3-D exploited capabilities unique to
the computer.
2-d Animation
Produced by mimicking basic traditional
techniques such as:
Flipbooktechnique
Cutout animation technique
Rotoscoping
Cel animation

Paint/draw programs are used to create the

components.
Animation software can sequence, set timing,
transitions, and produce the final animation.

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Digital Cel Animation
Animations are a series of individual
frames.
Synchronized to one or more sound tracks.
Graphics arranged on layers.
Major changes identified in keyframes.
Illusion of motion produced as series of
tweens.

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What is Cell Animation?
Method used for creating hand-drawn animation.
Individual frames are drawn in a sequence that, when
played back quickly (usually 10 to 30 frames per second),
creates the illusion of continuous movement.
What is Cell Animation?
Animators drew on semi-transparent sheets of
vellum, or acetate cells (cellulose acetate) -
they could see through the frame they were
drawing to the previous frames.
Computer-Generated
Animation
Animation space.
Animation techniques
Animation Space
Animation can be rendered in:
2-D space - 2-D animations are very simple and static.
2-1/2D space - An illusion of depth is created through
shadowing, highlighting, and forced perspective, though in
reality the image rests in two dimensions.
3-D space - Complicated and realistic animations are done in 3-
D space.
Animation Techniques
Methods of creating animation (type of
animation):
Cel animation
Path animation
Computer animation.
Animation process.
Computer Animation
Electronically generated movement of anything on
your computer screen.
Computer animation is very similar to cel animation.
The primary difference is in how much must be drawn
by the animator and how much is automatically
generated by the software.
Kinematics is the study of the movement and motion
of structures that have joints.
Inverse kinematics is the process of linking objects,
and defining their relationship and limits.
Computer Animation
Morphing is an effect in which a still or moving
image is transformed into another.
Three different levels of computer animation:
Basic
Intermediate
Advanced
Computer Animation
Basic
At the most fundamental level, animation
consists of simple transitions (wipes and
dissolves between PowerPoint slides, for
example) and path animations (moving text
and logos).
Computer Animation
Intermediate
The next level up is cell animation (the method used in
cartoons) and special effects, which include all manner of
distortions and color effects applied to a graphic, photo
or movie.
Computer Animation

Advanced
The most sophisticated level of digital animation is 3D
animation. Movies such as "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life"
are the most prominent examples of what can be
achieved through the latest computer technology.
Ambitious designers can take advantage of these same
tools to manufacture some dazzling 3D creations of their
own.
3-d Animation
Elements of 3-D animation set in motion
include:
Objects
Sounds
Cameras
Lights.
Techniques are similar to 2-D animation:
Key frame
Tween motion.
Complex motion may involve using
models of humans and animals.

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Motion Capture
Also called performance animation.
Technique of recording motion of actual
objects and mapping these motions to a
computer-generated animated character.
Performers have sensors to track the
motion of various body parts as they create
the action sequences.
View
View IT
IT
Used to capture complex natural Demonstration
Demonstration of
of
aa motion
motion capture
motions that are difficult animation
capture
animation rig
rig
from YouTube.
from YouTube.
to create.
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Forward Kinematics
Kinematics is study of motion of bodies
or systems of bodies.
The motion of one part generates related
motion in others.
Animator must adjust all motion in all
related parts of the body.
Simple to implement. View
View IT
IT
Models easily defined. Animation
Animation using
using
forward
forward kinematics
kinematics as
Computer processing is minimal.
displayed on
as
YouTube.
displayed on YouTube.
Quality of motion depends on animator's
skill.
Animation is time consuming process.

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Inverse Kinematics
Motion of one body part produces related
motions in other body parts.
Simplifies animator's work and ensures
consistent, realistic motion.
Software embodies the knowledge of
anatomical motion.
Requires innovative programming.
Demands more processing power than
forward kinematics.
Significantly reduces work of animator.
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Animating With Physics
Software can automatically generate
motions based on properties of object
and laws of physics.
Will free animators from more tedious
tasks of 3-D animation and produce
more realistic content.
Animators can concentrate on developing
stories and characters.

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Animation Tools : Hardware

Drawing Board
Eraser
Light
Animation Software
Elements of Flash organization.
Timeline: horizontal row of frames.
Frames: have multiple layers in columns.
Layers have stacking order (background elements
on lower layers, changing elements on upper layers)
Keyframes: define major changes in a
frame.
Tweens: frames created automatically by
software.
Onionskinning: assists in drawing changes
from one frame to the next.
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Animation Software
Frame-by-frame animation: each frame
is manually drawn to reflect motion
sequence.
Gives detailed control of each motion.
Time consuming process.
Tween animation: computer generates
in-between frames based on two
designated key frames.
Motion tween Size tween
Path-based tween Color tween
Shape tween Transparency tween
(morphing)
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 ANIMATION SOFTWARE
Provide tools to support animation
process.
Image-editing tools
Alignment tools and grids to control
placement
Text tools
Basic sound control
Strategies to support interactivity.

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 FLASH DEVELOPMENT
SCREEN Timelin
Keyframes and
e
tweened
Frame one on
sequence.
the timeline

Developme
nt Tools

Layers contain
individual
elements
arranged in a
stacking order of
background on
the bottom to
sound on the top
layer.

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Programmed Animation
Animators write commands and the
computer generates the animation.
Requires knowledge of programming and
mathematical techniques to specify motion.
Advantages:
File sizes are smaller.
Animations load and play faster.
Reduces bandwidth and processor
demands.
Efficient creation of different versions of
animated sequence.
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Programmed Animation
Supports complex forms of interactivity.
Computer games take input from the user
and animate the objects "on the fly."
Scripting languages frequently used to
generate programmed animations:
Lingo
Actionscript
Javascript

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