Traditional Animation
Animation – Definition and Traditional Animation
0Animation can be defined as the rapid or faster display of a sequence of images in 2-D or 3-D or model positions or artwork for creating the illusion of movement. It is basically an optical illusion of motion because of the phenomenon of persistence of vision. It can be created and demonstrated in numerous ways. The widely popular and common method of displaying animation is as a motion picture or video programs. Apart from it, there are many other forms of showcasing animation existed.
The Traditional animation is also known as cel animation or hand-drawn animation. This process was followed in majority of the animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames of a traditionally animated film consist of the photographs of drawings that are required to be first drawn on paper. In order to create the illusion of movement, every drawing differs slightly from the one previous to it. The drawings of the animators are photocopied onto the transparent acetate sheets known as cels that are filled in with paints for applying the colours. These completed character cels are photographed in a sequence one-by-one onto the motion picture film against a painted background with a rostrum camera.
The traditional cel animation procedure got outdated by the start of the 21st century. At present, the drawings and the backgrounds of animators are drawn or scanned directly into a computer system. There are various software programs which are used for applying the colour to the drawings and simulate the camera movement and effects. The final animated piece is the resulting output to many delivery media such as traditional 35 mm film and newer media like digital video. Even today, the look of traditional cel animation is maintained and the character animators’ work is still the same since many years.
Essential Art Supplies for Traditional Animator
0If you are a traditional animator working with actual traditional, cel-painted animation then you may need to use few essential art supplies. They make your work easier and help you in carrying your work smoothly.
(1) Non-photo blue pencils – They are great for your initial sketches as they provide the right shade of pale blue which does not show up on the copies while transferring your work from the paper to clear cels.
(2) Cels/Transparencies – After completing the drawing, you will require to transfer your artwork from the plain paper on to the cels in order to paint them and place against a background drawn separately. The best way of making transfer from paper to transparency is by making use of a copier.
(3) Paints – Once you are done with your cels, you will require paints. You should use thicker paint like acrylics or oils paints. You should paint on the back side of the transparency in order to prevent the wet paint from smudging the copied lines.
(4) Drawing pencils – You should have a set of drawing pencils around. At a time of retracing the animation, you should use 2B pencils that provide the best hardness to use. It is soft enough to have enough for a varied line and hard enough for drawing good dark, clean lines.
(5)Art Gum Eraser – You would require an art gum eraser while drawing animation in case you make mistakes. Art gum erasers are considered to be far more superior to the standard erasers as they rub out lead modestly without any eroding effect on the surface of actual paper or leaving behind any smudges.
(6)Brushes – You would need the paints along with the paints. You should have a set of brushes that range from mid-size to a fine hairline. It works on letter-size transparencies. You can use a large brush to fill in large areas and need finer brushes for achieving the smaller details.
Definition and Traditional Animation
0Animation can be defined as the rapid or faster display of a sequence of images in 2-D or 3-D or model positions or artwork for creating the illusion of movement. It is basically an optical illusion of motion because of the phenomenon of persistence of vision. It can be created and demonstrated in numerous ways. The widely popular and common method of displaying animation is as a motion picture or video programs. Apart from it, there are many other forms of showcasing animation existed.
The Traditional animation is also known as cel animation or hand-drawn animation. This process was followed in majority of the animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames of a traditionally animated film consist of the photographs of drawings that are required to be first drawn on paper. In order to create the illusion of movement, every drawing differs slightly from the one previous to it. The drawings of the animators are photocopied onto the transparent acetate sheets known as cels that are filled in with paints for applying the colours. These completed character cels are photographed in a sequence one-by-one onto the motion picture film against a painted background with a rostrum camera.
The traditional cel animation procedure got outdated by the start of the 21st century. At present, the drawings and the backgrounds of animators are drawn or scanned directly into a computer system. There are various software programs which are used for applying the colour to the drawings and simulate the camera movement and effects. The final animated piece is the resulting output to many delivery media such as traditional 35 mm film and newer media like digital video. Even today, the look of traditional cel animation is maintained and the character animators’ work is still the same since many years.