Different Types of Animation & Software Used

TYPES OF ANIMATION

1) Traditional Animation

The majority of animated movies produced in the 20th century employed traditional animation, commonly known as cel animation or hand-drawn animation. Traditional animated films have individual frames that are pictures of drawings that were initially created on paper. Each drawing changes significantly from the one before it in order to provide the impression of movement. On translucent acetate sheets known as cels, the animators' designs are duplicated or traced. On the side opposite the line drawings, the cels are then painted with given colors or tones. A rostrum camera photographs each finished character cel individually onto motion picture film as it is set against a painted background.

By the turn of the twenty-first century, the conventional cel animation method was no longer relevant. The backdrops and drawings used in animation today are either scanned into or created directly in a computer system. The sketches are colored using a variety of software applications that replicate camera movement and effects. The finished animated piece is exported to one of various delivery media, including older media with digital video and classic 35 mm film. The character animators' work has stayed almost unchanged over the past 70 years, maintaining the "look" of conventional cel animation. Cel animation that heavily utilizes computer technologies is referred to as "tradigital" by certain animation studios.

2) 2D Animation

The art of generating movement in a two-dimensional environment is known as 2D animation. This covers backdrops, monsters, FX, and people.

When a series of discrete drawings is sequenced together over time, the appearance of movement is produced. 24 frames make up a second of time on average. Depending on the type of animation, there might be as few as two or as many as 24 distinct drawings in a second of animation (24fps). Traditionally, animation is produced on a "2s" basis, which means that there is a drawing every 12 frames. This gives 2D animation its distinctive style and enables artists to save production time and expenses. Although this method is occasionally referred to as traditional animation, modern 2D production has progressed beyond pencil and paper hand drawing to the use of digital techniques utilizing computer software.

Softwares used for 2D Animation:

- Adobe Animate

From the original Adobe suite, Adobe Animate is a premium program. Raster images, rich text, and ActionScript programming are among its capabilities, which enable both audio and video embedding. Compared to the first Adobe Flash, Adobe Animate is an improvement. Even if viewing a few tutorials first won't harm, it is simple to use and you won't need much help to pick up the essentials and make your own 2D films. For its capabilities that make it possible to create interactive animations, Animate has received praise. Animate is the best tool to use for animating website components. It allows you to make animations for WebGL, SVG animation, HTML5 Canvas, and other platforms.

- Pencil2D

Cross-platform open-source freeware called Pencil 2D animation has a variety of features and supports paint and ink for sketches. Since the release of its initial edition more than ten years ago, Pencil 2D has developed significantly. More capabilities, such as colour options, are available, and the interface is more contemporary. These features enable you to make some creative creations. Tweening, a technique for inserting extra frames between keyframes to produce more fluid, seamless movement, is not supported by Pencil 2D, which is still based on conventional animation. However, it is highly adaptable, and after learning the keyboard shortcuts, you will be making cartoons in no time.

3) 3D Animation

A graphic method called 3D animation uses motion to give characters, objects, props, and more life. Though 3D animation has mostly been employed in the production of video games, movies, and TV shows, its applications have expanded along with its popularity. Today, 3D animation is utilized to produce materials for businesses that might aid in the marketing of their goods and services.

The method of making three-dimensional moving pictures and putting them into a digital environment is the definition of 3D animation that best represents its most typical applications. The program used to create these items is made exclusively for 3D animation. These applications enable 3D animators to produce the appearance of motion necessary to give things life. Modeling, layout and animation, and rendering are the three primary steps in the process of giving these things motion and life.

The process of creating things or characters is known as modeling. Either a modeling tool or a computer that scans actual items can be used to do this. Both methods are highly helpful and provide various advantages. You have considerably more influence over the final appearance of a model when you create it entirely on your own utilizing a tool. However, saving time by scanning physical items into your computer is really beneficial. The item or character must have textures applied before continuing on to the next level, regardless of the technique employed. Textures give the model individuality and provide a more realistic appearance.

The models are transported into the layout and animation stage after they are finished. They are placed in this scenario and animated to fit it. A layout must first be established by building a set and including items in it. Then, by putting animation variables on the objects and characters, they must be animated. Then, either keyframing or motion capture may be used to give models in the scene life.

The scene is transformed into the finalized image during the rendering phase. Since rendering is a process that a standard computer cannot do, this is done with specialized software. A project might be produced to apply a certain art style or to favor more realistic outcomes. Either choice depends on the project, its specifications, and general aesthetic preferences.

Each of these steps of the procedure calls for much preparation and labor. The entire procedure will take a lot of time from 3D artists, who make sure that each model is customized to the needs of their clients.

Softwares used for 3D Animation:

- Blender

Software for 3D modeling and animation called Blender is available for free. It is utilized in several contexts, including animated feature films, visual effects, fine art, interactive software, video games, and architectural visualizations. Its bewildering array of functionality includes 3D modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, rendering, video editing, and compositing. This program provides a wide range of tools for 3D animation that expand on keyframe animation, such as lattice modifiers, which enable non-destructive mesh deformation.  Additionally accepting input from motion-capturing software, this free 3D animation program. Using face-painting markers, facial motion capture is also feasible.  This free 3D animation program may let you blend real-world video with computer-generated graphics. It can follow the movement of the camera to let you seamlessly combine two worlds.

- Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is renowned for being simple to learn and use. This 3D animation software's real-time viewport, which is powered by OpenGL, is bewildered by a depth of field and screen space reflections, making it simpler to manipulate these effects effectively. Cinema 4D allows you to export preview renderings since this view is so attractive that you can send them to clients for approval. It has a huge selection of simple character animation tools. By enabling the ability to mirror the work from one side of a figure to the other, updates to this 3D animation program have already substantially enhanced the weight painting procedure. A seamless integration of live video and 3D animated objects has also gotten simpler.

4) Stop Motion

A actual object is moved in tiny steps while being shot at each one as part of the stop motion animation process. The objects in these photos seem to move independently when they are played quickly and in succession. Stop motion is different from standard 2D hand-drawn animation since it uses a real item rather than drawings. Commercials, music videos, TV shows, and major motion pictures use this method the most. However, because only 12 frames may fit in a second of video, this approach takes a long time to execute.  

• - Claymation (moving clay)
• - Cut out animation (moving paper/2d material)
• - Pixilation (moving or animating people)
• - Puppet animation (moving puppets)
• - Silhouette stop motion (backlighting cutouts)

Softwares used for Stop Motion Animation:

- iStopMotion

A great tool for stop motion animation is iStopMotion by boinx. It is most renowned for stop-motion animation and time-lapse videos. iStopMotion makes it simpler to produce spectacular frame-by-frame animations with its user-friendly UI and simple controls. Live view, onion skinning, and other features like this let you concentrate on the important things.

- Heron

Given that the stop motion animation program is free, it is a fantastic choice for novices. With its excellent responsiveness, which many animators, artists, amateurs, and even professionals appreciate, you may rapidly import photos taken with a webcam to begin working on your stop-motion animation. If you're looking for a place to start, Heron Animation is the ideal choice. Let's go through its features to have a better understanding of how the program operates.

5) Rotoscoping Animation

An old fashioned technique called rotoscoping is used to make animation from live action video. The process includes overlaying live-action video with a number of still photos, which are then added to a background track of motion to create an animated scenario. The early silent cinema era, when artists created scenes by hand and then composited them together, is the time period that rotoscoping is most frequently linked to.

By employing computer software to replicate the movements of the original actor's face, a digital copy of the lead actor's face is produced, which is then composited onto the original live action video. Although rotoscoping involves a lot of physical effort, it may be costly, time-consuming, and challenging to produce a high-quality output.

This is due to the fact that the primary actor's face must be accurately replicated on the computer, which can be challenging even for an experienced operator.

Softwares used for Rotoscoping:

- Silhouette FX

The greatest rotoscoping program is Silhouette FX. Users may create dynamic animations using its useful capabilities, such as magnetic reshaping and changeable per-point edge softening. With the help of Magnetic Freehand forms, X-Spline, Bézier, or B-Spline, you may utilize this program to produce visually beautiful masks. The program comes with a layered palette that makes it easier to make paintings and movies. With the help of its capabilities, you may produce rotoscope animation and help with mating, compositing, morphing, warping, and converting 2D to 3D animation.

- Nuke

Nuke, a piece of VFX software that aids in post-production for TV shows, is regarded as one of the most effective in the animation sector. The best way to make interesting cartoons, movies, or original advertising is using this program. It helps you work flawlessly on your assignments. Without using any additional plug-ins, you may use this rotoscope program to make any complex animation. Numerous helpful tools that aid with motion tracking are included in the most recent version of Nuke. Because of its practical qualities that expedite the creation of animation, many video editing businesses employ it. They upgraded a number of plug-ins, including DepthGenerator, CameraTracker, LensDistorsion, etc. in the most recent version.

6) Motion Graphics

There are many different sectors and types of commercial animation. The term "animation" is a catch-all that refers to virtually anything with motion. Even though it's prevalent in the digital age, Motion Graphics is one aspect of animation that some people find puzzling. In terms of commercial animation, it is a genuinely potent technique while being so pervasive that it is virtually undetectable.

Motion graphics refers to graphics that are in motion. It is the simplest definition you can find. The term "motion graphics" is sometimes used interchangeably with "motion design," which makes it simpler to comprehend how movement and design components relate to one another. By using the aspects of time and space, motion graphics aims to apply design expertise to new media.

Software used for Motion Graphics:

- Adobe After Effects

The extension aids in the transfer of animated graphics and the production of high-quality visual effects, the creation and management of animated graphic works, the creation of effects for 2D animation, layout and compositing, tracking of movements, the deletion of objects, the modeling and particle effects, the creation of templates, and the performance of color correction and editing. After creating storyboards and components in Photoshop and Illustrator, After Effects is the primary Adobe video editor used for mixing and animating animated images. You may export the finished video to video editing software when you've finished animating the when Effects project.