Posts tagged Adobe Flash
Flash Animation
0So what is flash animation? Flash animation is a type of computer generated software which is used to create flashing effects and with the use of animated storyboards, flash animation can be created.
Animation, as we know it, consists of showing stationery images in a rapid sequence so that, by creating an optical illusion, the illusion of movement is created. Animation as an art and as a form of motion picture has it’s beginnings in the early 20th century. The initial ways of making an animated film consisted of hand drawing on a frame which were then transferred to a transparent acetate frame called cel. Thus came into being cel animation which remained the most popular animation methods till the early part of the 21st century wherein computer graphics came into play. With the advent of computers and the computer generated graphics, it was seen as another way of creating images and even animated ones. Since, then several software have been developed which have led the world from the world of 2D animation, to the world of 3D animation, based on the same 2D illustrations or graphics.
One such software feature which is used in animation is the flash. Named after the pioneer software which launched this technology, Adobe Flash, there are nowadays various other flash software which can produce similar files and effects. Flash animation or short, animated films are made using Adobe flash or similar software which create flash like animated images and visual effects. This type of animation usually comes in the file format of .swf files. Flash animation became popular during the late 1990s when the low bandwidth of internet allowed flash images to be one of the easier image and animated files to load on a web page. Animators thus started using flash animation in which they could package visual and sound effects all under a file size of 1 MB.
However, with the advancement of animated software, flash files came to be regarded as crude and lacking in sophistication. Still, many web advertisements as well as commercials on television are designed with this software and hence it still has it’s uses amongst other software in the animated market today.
Flash animation used in the World Wide Web are termed as internet cartoons or webtoons which are simple, easy to design animations and are usually used as web banners on a web page. These simple files are easy to design and are even included in the school curriculum in U.K.
If you look at where it all began, Macromedia created the software Flash which was later on acquired, along with other Macromedia’s software, by the software giant Adobe in the year 2005. The latest version of this software is Adobe Flash CS5. The first Flash user in animated movie making for the web was done by John Kricfalusi, who is the creator of the Ren&Stimpy show. He went on to produce various cartoon web series along with other animators who popularized the use of this software.
Flash Animation Software
0Flash animation is a form of animation that was introduced during the late 1990s with the discovery of Adobe Flash. Flash is an animation software which was originally produced by Macromedia who sold the same to the software giant Adobe in 2005. From that time, Adobe Flash pioneered the use of this software in making web banners, short animations or web toons in the World Wide Web. Though it is often sidelined nowadays for more sophisticated technologies which have come in, this simple animation software has helped programmers design web banners and animated short films when the internet bandwidth was still slow and hence heavily loaded animations took too much time to load on one’s computer.
Since the introduction of Adobe Flash, several other flash animation software are being used nowadays. Flash software like KoolMoves helps create 3D effects on texts or cliparts; design high impact websites and animations; you can even provide animated images or films for mobile devices through this software.
Flash animation software could simply turn images into flashing ones or with more advanced animation software, you can create your own objects, environment and realm of story making which the flash animation software can then help you to animate in different ways.
Amongst the 2D animation programs available, Toon Boom Studio 4 is the simplest and robust program to use if you want to create web toons for use over the internet. Animationish is another 2D animation program which allows users to learn how to make basic cartoons quickly by using this software. Flip Boom is one animation program which is designed with kids in mind who can easily use the same and create animation cartoons themselves.
CreaToon, Synfig, Pencil are some free 2D animation programs which are available for those who want to explore the world of animation in it’s various aspects. 3D animation programs like 3D Studio Max and Maya are the most expensive animation programs available; these are used by professionals in the industrial world and architects but are also used for creating animation movies in animation studios.
Thus, flash animation software can be considered as one of the introductory animation software in the computer generated animation world. With simple flash programs, these software have since then advanced to several heights, enabling various effects to be used in animation. From children who love to dabble in animation cartoons to aspiring animators, these animation programs in the 2D dimension provide a starting point in the animation world.