The Best Animation Styles
Animation is essentially the presentation of images in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement, and there are many ways that this can be done, from traditional hand-drawn animation to stop-motion and digital 3D animation. Each has its own look and feel, and the right type of animation for your project will depend on the look and feel that you want to create, as well as the resources and skills you have available.
01. 2D Animation
First up, 2D animation, or vector animation, is used in everything from traditional cartoons and anime to video games and explainer videos. You’ll have seen plenty of this style on television shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy.
We don’t see the world in 2D, so this style of animation isn’t aiming for realism, but it’s simplicity can create a strong emotional connection with the audience, making it a powerful and effective animation style. It’s relatively accessible compared to 3D animation (see below) and it allows a lot of flexibility since almost any style of art can be used.
There are various 2D animation techniques. Traditionally, artists would draw characters and backgrounds by hand, scan them into a computer and then layer them to create the moving image. Drawings don’t need to be done for every frame since the same image can be used multiple times. A second of animation is 24 frames, but most 2D animations animate every second frame, resulting in 12 frames per second.
02. 3D Animation
In 2D animation, we see a subject from one angle. But the advances in computers allowed experiments with 3D views to begin in the 1960s. This paved the way for the 3D animation we see today in big-screen blockbusters from the likes of Pixar (Toy Story) and DreamWorks (Shrek).
The advantage of 3D animation is that it’s more lifelike since it allows assets to be seen from all angles, allowing them to be rotated and moved like real objects. This makes it useful for scientific and medical videos and also allows the addition of more complex visual effects like realistic textures and lighting, which can create a more immersive experience.
03. Cel Animation
Cel animation is often referred to simply as traditional animation. It’s one of the oldest animation techniques, dating back to the 19th century. Every frame is drawn by hand using ink on celluloid sheets, which are then photographed frame by frame to create the illusion of movement.
08. Motion Capture Animation
Motion capture is a more-recent animation technique that’s comparable to rotoscoping but uses sensors and markers to capture the movements of an actor more accurately and transfer them to a 3D digital character, which may then be combined with live-action footage.
09. Motion Graphics
Motion graphics deserves a mention of its own. Although it can use some of the animation techniques we’ve already looked at, it’s more associated with graphic design, and includes things like animated logos, film and TV credits and other overlays on television. It can be 2D or 3D, and it can use a wide variety of styles.
How Does Animation Work?
Essentially, animation involves creating many images, or frames, each one very slightly different from the previous. When the images are shown in quick succession, it creates an illusion of movement, like what happens with video recordings. Animation can be created using any technique that allows the required images to be captured and joined together, whether that’s by photographing hand-drawn illustrations, puppets or models or by rigging digital models.
How Did Animation Develop?
Some consider the history of animation to begin in the early 19th century with the phenakistiscope, a cardboard disc showing images that appear to move when it’s spun. In 1868, John Barnes Linnett patented the kineograph – what we now know as a flipbook – which allowed the animation of a linear sequence of drawings. The German film pioneer Max Skladanowsky then employed the same technique using photographs.
Émile Cohl’s Fantasmagorie (1908) is widely considered to be the first example of a cartoon. Some 700 frames were drawn on paper and then shot onto negative film. This is the basic idea of cel animation, which was used from the early days of Disney right up until the 1990s. As early as the 1930s, rotoscoping was used in tandem with cel animation, using live-action footage as a guide for animation artists.
Advances in computer technology in the 1960s and 1970s allowed the development of digital animation techniques, including pixel art animation and 3D animation. The latest technological advance influencing the history of animation is AI, with some AI video models allowing still images to be animated quickly and easily. Whether this will be considered a desirable development remains open to debate.
Conclusion
Animation is a powerful tool for storytelling, and there are many different styles and techniques to choose from. Whether you’re looking to create a 2D animation, a 3D animation, or something in between, there’s an animation style out there that can help you achieve your goals.
FAQs
Q: What is the difference between 2D and 3D animation?
A: 2D animation is a style of animation that uses flat, two-dimensional images, while 3D animation uses three-dimensional models and environments.
Q: What is motion capture animation?
A: Motion capture animation is a technique that uses sensors and markers to capture the movements of an actor and transfer them to a 3D digital character.
Q: What is motion graphics?
A: Motion graphics is a style of animation that combines graphic design and animation to create dynamic, moving graphics for use in film, television, and other media.
Q: How does animation work?
A: Animation involves creating many images, or frames, each one slightly different from the previous, and then showing them in quick succession to create the illusion of movement.
