Exploring animation

Animation makes pictures come alive. Instead of showing one picture at a time, we show a lot of them really fast. When we do this, our brains think the pictures are moving, even though they’re still. It’s like flipping through a flipbook really quickly!

The Rules of Animation

1. Squash and Stretch: Things change shape when they move, like a ball getting squished when it hits the ground.

2. Anticipation: Before someone jumps, they crouch down first to get ready.

3. Follow-through and Overlapping Action: Imagine a dog wagging its tail—it doesn’t all move at once, parts of it move one after the other.

4. Timing and Spacing: How fast or slow things move, and how far apart the pictures are, make a big difference in how smooth the animation looks.

5. Arcs: When things move, they often follow curved paths, like throwing a ball.

6. Exaggeration: Making movements bigger or more dramatic can make them more interesting.

7. Secondary Action: Little movements that happen alongside the main action, like a character’s hair bouncing as they walk.

8. Appeal: Characters should look interesting and likable to the audience.

Different Types and Mediums of Animation

Here are examples of each type and medium of animation:

1. Drawn Animation: Classic Disney movies like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” or “The Lion King” where each frame is hand-drawn to create the illusion of movement.

2. Stop Motion: “Wallace and Gromit” or “The Nightmare Before Christmas” where physical models or puppets are moved incrementally and photographed to simulate motion.

3. Computer Animation: Pixar movies such as “Toy Story” or “Finding Nemo” where characters and scenes are created and manipulated using computer software.

4. 2D Animation: “Tom and Jerry” or “SpongeBob SquarePants” where characters and backgrounds are two-dimensional and move within a flat plane.

5. 3D Animation: Films like “Avatar” or “Frozen” where characters and environments are rendered in three dimensions, allowing for realistic movement and depth perception.

6. Motion Graphics: Title sequences in movies like “Catch Me If You Can” or animated infographics used in educational videos or presentations.

7. Claymation: “Chicken Run” or “Shaun the Sheep” where characters made of clay or plasticine are posed and photographed to create movement.

Animation is all about making things move in fun and interesting ways. Whether it’s a cartoon, a movie, or a video game, animation adds excitement and brings stories to life in a whole new way!

Animation Tutorials and Resources


Pinterest