An animation is an optical trick that give an illusion that the picture is moving and given life. with the age passing by, many kind of technique and style of animation created. with so many animations out there, what is the difference of them? are they the same? No, like I said above, animation animation is developing with each years. So of course there will be difference. That difference is the thing that give born a different type of animations, and... This article will give an explanation about it. Hope its useful.
Traditional animation
Traditional animation, sometimes referred to as hand-drawn animation or cel animation, is one of the older forms of animation, in it the animator draws every frame to create the animation sequence. Just like they used to do in the old days of Disney. If you’ve ever had one of those flip-books when you were a kid, you’ll know what tis mean. Sequential drawings screened quickly one after another create the illusion of movement.
It was a lengthy process. Thousands of pictures were drawn entirely by hand on acetate sheets, or cels, with each cel being slightly different from the one before it. Each cel was photographed onto a separate frame of film so that when the filmreel was played, the animation moved. This form of animation could also be combined with live-action video by placing the cels on top of the film. This technique was popular in the late 80s and early 90s, and was used in films such as Space Jam and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Although this traditional animation became unnecessary when digital techniques were invented, some modern animators, such as those who worked on the 2010 film The Illusionist, still choose to use this form.
There’s always room out there for the hand-drawn image. I personally like the imperfection of hand drawing as opposed to the slick look of computer animation.
-Matt Groening-
2D Vector-based animation
This style has become very popular in the last decade due to the accessibility of the technology and the growth of online video, this style of animation sometime called digital animations. Flash is cheap and easy to use, as are other vector-based animation programs. 2D animation is the term often used when referring to traditional hand-drawn animation, but it can also refer to computer vector animations that adopts the techniques of traditional animation.
Vector-based animations, meaning computer generated 2D animations, uses the exact same techniques as traditional animation, but benefits from the lack of physical objects needed to make traditional 2D animations, as well as the ability to use computer interpolation to same time. 2D animation can be created using computer programs such as Flash, After Effects, Cel Action and TV Paint. These programs have varying levels of intricacy – from simple stick-person animation figures, to entire worlds.
This 2D animation actually can be grouped with 3D animation as a digital animations.
Animation is different from other parts. Its language is the language of caricature. Our most difficult job was to develop the cartoon’s unnatural but seemingly natural anatomy for humans and animals.
-Walt Disney-
3D computer animation
This type of animations is a computer animation that work differently than other type of animations. This style still require an understanding of the same principles of movement and composition, but the technical skill set is very different for each task. while traditional animation requires you to be an amazing draftsman, computer animation doesn’t. 3D animation is more similar to playing with puppets rather than drawing.
The animation techniques of 3D animation has a lot of similarities with stop-motion animation, as they both deal with animating and posing models, and still conforms to the frame-by-frame approach of 2D animation, but it is a lot more controllable since it’s in a digital work-space. 3D animation uses programmes such as Maya to create animation with more depth.
Instead of drawn or constructed with clay, characters in 3D animation are digitally modeled in the program, and then fitted with a ‘skeleton’ that allows animators to move the models. Another big difference with 3D animation is that unlike traditional animation, the character’s body parts are always present and should be taken to consideration.
Computers don’t create computer animation any more than a pencil creates pencil animation. What creates computer animation is the artist.
-John Lasseter-
Motion graphics
While still considered a form of animation, motion graphics is quite different from the other types of animation. Unlike the other types on our list it is not character or story driven. It’s the art of creatively moving graphic elements or texts, usually for commercial or promotional purposes.
The skills for motion graphics don’t necessarily translate to the other types of animation, since they don’t require knowledge of body mechanics or acting, but they do have some attributes in common such as understanding good composition and the all important camera motion.
The process of creating Motion Graphics depends on the programs used, since video editing softwares often have different UI or settings, but the idea is the same. Motion Graphics usually involves animating images, texts or video clips using key framing that are tweened to make a smooth motion between frames.
I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.
-Isaac Newton-
Stop motion
Stop-motion is a simple, but time-consuming, form of animation where objects are physically manipulated and filmed frame-by-frame. Stop motion comes in many forms: Object animation and pixilation can use the stop-motion technique without specialist equipment, but special stop-motion models have often been used for special effects in live-action films. The 1933 King Kong film was famous for the stop-motion ape, and the original Star Wars films and The Terminator used stop-motion models for many of the aliens and machines.
Stop motion is done by taking a photo of an object, and then moving it just a little bit and taking another photo. The process is repeated and when the photos are played back one after another they give the illusion of movement. This is similar to traditional animation but it uses real life materials instead of drawings.
different types of stop-motion animation:
Claymation
One of the most popular stop-motion form is Claymation. Working with clay or play-doh characters that can easily be manipulated for animation. Advanced claymation (such as The Neverhood or Armikrog) uses metal skeletons on which the clay is then molded for more sturdy rigs.
Puppets
Some animators use regular Puppets instead of clay ones, usually also built with some sort of skeleton rig. The faces of the characters can be replaced based on the expression, or controlled within the rig.
Cut-Out
Another popular form of stop-motion is cut-out. Using construction paper or cardboard characters and placing them on paper while shooting the animation from above (that’s how South Park was made before they switched to computers). The cardboard is then moved a little each frame to create the illusion of movement.
Silhouette
Similar to cutout animation, silhouette animation uses cardboard or some kind of flat material, but the objects are all black and the shot is depicted with silhouettes only. This is one of the oldest forms of stop motion and is rarely used today.
Action Figures / Lego
Some use action figures or lego characters for animation. This genre is very popular on YouTube with many channels dedicated to creating funny skits with Lego characters. Robot Chicken is a great example of that. They use famous action figures to make fun of pop culture.
Pixelation
Pixelation is a form of stop motion that uses real people and real environments to create unreal videos. It uses the stop motion method of taking a still photo, moving things around, and then taking another photo, but the subject matter is usually real people instead of puppets.
I love all forms of animation, but there is something unique and special to stop-motion: it’s more real and the set is lit like a set. But I think it’s also a kind of lonely and dark thing to want to do.Source:
-Tim Burton-
https://www.bloopanimation.com/types-of-animation/
http://www.studentworldonline.com/article/6-different-types-of-animation/495/
BEST
MEDIUM
SLOW
