mar 08th, 2024
There’s no feeling like making lines and shapes come to life on the screen. Animation is breathing life into the inanimate for films, games, and advertising. Let's introduce six types of animation.
Traditional animation is hand-drawn. It’s how they made classic films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty. Each animated component is painted on a separate layer of transparent sheets so they can be animated separately.
2D Animation is the art of creating movement by combining a sequence of images together in a two-dimensional space. One second of animation is equal to 24 pictures (or frames), but most 2D animation usually only animates every second frame (12 frames total).
3D Animation is the art of bringing digital characters, vehicles, props, and full scenes to life in a virtual 3D space. 3D animation lets you drop your 3D rigged model into a digital scene and manipulate it. You can optimize the process by setting keyframes for key actions.
Motion capture helps enhance the realism of 3D animations. It's used in movies like Avatar and Lord of the Rings and video games like LA Noire and Grand Theft Auto. The motion capture animation software translates the motions from the sensors into a digital version.
Motion graphics animation is how you animate text logos and basic illustrations. They’re commonly seen in animated logos, opening and closing film. Like 2D and 3D animations, motion graphics are created by designing frames and using tweens to simulate smooth motion between the frames.
Stop motion is a series of still images filmed, or shot, sequentially to simulate action. It’s how movies like Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas was created. You can create this animation style with real actors, clay figurines, or even toys and other props.