Study Skills - Introduction to Animation

Animation is defined as an artificial creation of the illusion of movement in inanimate lines and forms (Wells, 1998). The word “animate” itself traces its origins to the Latin verb ‘animare’, which means ‘to give life to’. The above definition, while providing a general overview of what animation might be, only applies to drawn animation – thus neglecting other forms of animation. Thus, Norman McClaren states that animation pertains more to the art of movements that are drawn, not the art of drawings that move. To him, it is what happens in between the frames itself is more crucial than what happens on the frames themselves (Wells, 1998).

To McClaren, what is most vital in animation the process of creating the animation itself - the creation of movement on paper, manipulation of clay, etc. – rather than the final images that would be used to create the resulting animation.  To Richard Williams, however, animation is all about ‘doing simple things – one at a time’.  Animation is a bit like acting – it is a vital part of the whole, and if one cannot portray movement in their drawings (or manipulation of other material used), it would be almost impossible to portray the acting (Williams, 2001).

Animation can be traced back as far as in the ancient times where images are depicted in a sequence. In the 16^th century, the advent of flipbooks emerged in Europe, serving as a medium to express feelings and thoughts about taboo subjects without inhibition (Wells, 1998).

In 1824, Peter Mark Roget introduced the theory of ‘persistence of vision’, a principle that notes that the eyes temporarily keep the image of anything they’ve just seen (Williams, 2001). When images are projected in a sequence in quick succession, it gives an illusion of an unbroken series of moving images, thus creating the illusion of movement. This quickly led to a number of inventions that apply this theory: for instance the thaumatrope, a device in which a cardboard disc, with two different drawings on either side, is attached to two pieces of string; when the strings are pulled together, the disc twirls, merging the two images together to create an illusion of movement.

Figure 1: Thaumatrope. Williams, 2001, pg. 13.

Another notable device that plays on Roget’s idea of the persistence of vision is the zoetrope, or the Wheel of Life, which appeared in the US in 1867. This device was sold as a toy, and it worked by inserting strips of paper containing a sequence of images in a cylinder with slits in it. When the cylinder is spun, and one looks into any of the slits, the images appear to move.

Figure 2: Zoetrope, Stage Nine Exhibit Design, 2011.

Most notable of these inventions is the flipper book, which came around in 1868 – a simple device that exists even until today. It is simply a collection of drawings bound along one edge, like a book. By holding the book on the edge and using a thumb to flip the pages, the images appear to move in quick succession. This technique is still widely used in animation today.

Figure 3: Flipbook, Competency 7- Animation

In 1914, Winsor McCay, an artist noted for his efforts in turning animation into an art form, having created animation sequences for his “Little Nemo in Slumberland” and an animation short named “How a Mosquito Operates”,  wowed the audience with his ‘interactive’ animation titled “Gertie the Dinosaur” – McCay himself performed before the audience, holding an apple in front of Gertie and inviting her to eat. The act of Gertie lowering her neck to eat the apple astounded the audience so much that it became a sensation.

Figure 4: Gertie the Dinosaur. Williams, 2001, pg. 16.

It can be said that the rise of animation came about in the 1920s, beginning with Felix the Cat, who was as popular as Charlie Chaplin. This then led to Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” in 1928 – the first cartoon that featured synchronized sound. The response to such animation was tremendous.

Figure 5: Steamboat Willie, Design History Timeline, 2013

From then on, Disney was “the big name” in the animation industry – beginning from Steamboat Willie, Disney went on to create the “Silly Symphonies” and then moved on to create the world’s first animated feature: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The extraordinary financial success and positive critical reception of the film soon put Disney as the pioneer of “The Golden Age of Animation” – with Disney creating more successful animated films as well as various shorts featuring notable Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Figure 6: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Animated Film Reviews, 2012.

The types of animation vary greatly over the years – from simple flipbooks to computer-generated 3D animation that is the rage today. The most notable of these is cel animation – widely produced and industrialised by companies in the US and Japan, and till this day still remains popular despite the rise of other forms of animation.

Figure 7: Examples of cel animation. From left: The Little Mermaid. Disneyscreencaps.com, 2013; The Transformers Movie. The Spinning Image; Dragon Ball. Fanpop.com, 2012.

Figure 9: Examples of stop-motion animation. From left: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Comic Vine, 2013.; Wallace and Gromit. The Movie Database, 2002.

The process of animation-making begins with a brief: it can contain the storyline, characters and what needs to be done. Then, a storyboard is created, detailing how the animation would go. This then leads to the leica reel, or animatic color storyboard, that shows the production team what works and what doesn’t. When the leica reel is done, planning drawings (small thumbnails depicting a clear understanding of shots) are made, before key positions are decided. After key positions are determined, animators start determining where the ‘extremes’ are before starting roughly on any passing positions. These are tested constantly so that animators can see and determine how the animation goes, and make any adjustments and corrections as they saw fit. Here, the 12 principles of animation are applied extensively, to ensure the resulting animation becomes alive enough to captivate the target audience intended.

Figure 10: an example of a storyboard. E4 Youth, 2013

Animation has captivated people, young and old, throughout the ages. It is an expression of art and form as well as a medium of entertainment enjoyed by everyone.

Bibliography

Wells, P (1998) Understanding Animation. London: Routledge

Williams, R (2001) The Animator’s Survival Kit. London: Faber & Faber

Images

Figure 1: Williams, R., 2001.  Thaumatrope.  Illustration. London. Faber & Faber. Pg. 13.

Figure 2: Stage Nine Exhibit Design, (2011). Zoetrope [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.stageninedesign.com/http://www.stageninedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Zoetrope-211x300.jpg [Accessed 10 May 13].

Figure 3: Competency 7 - Animation, (2000) Flipbook [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.itma.vt.edu/modules/spring03/multimed/images/flipbook.gif [Accessed 10 May 13].

Figure 5: Design History Timeline, (2013). Mickey Mouse debuts in the first animated cartoon [ONLINE]. Available at: http://designhistorytimeline.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Steamboat-willie.jpg [Accessed 10 May 13].

Figure 6: Animated Film Reviews, (2013). Now look, boys.... [ONLINE]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAVTK3gXVX3aiReSwG3XVlPdxkpgLpXdykdfgSdLa6iyA-jS7HBwL0M-TBl3_5dI5Uwe9odX-zGp2Qbl9loolWVtVulKo5EmShutMNb7jA4EURXUoyMJGLKFJZ10ZWBE6tsH7W5WcCVTr/s1600/Snow+White+dwarves.jpg [Accessed 10 May 13].