2D Digital Animation · Foundations
Introduction to
Animation
What animation is, why it matters, the types that exist, a brief history of the craft, the traditional production process, and the twelve principles that bring motion to life.
In This Chapter
The foundations every animator must know
Before picking up a stylus or opening Flash, every animator needs to understand what animation truly is, where it came from, the different forms it takes, and the timeless principles that separate professional work from amateur attempts.
Concepts
- What is Animation
- Why Animation — Importance & Applications
Types of Animation
- Traditional Animation — Classic, Limited, Rotoscoping
- Stop Motion — Clay, Cutout, Silhouette, Graphic, Puppet
- Computer Animation — 2D & 3D
History & Principles
- Animation History
- Traditional Production Process
- Twelve Basic Principles of Animation
Concepts
What is Animation?
Animation is the illusion of movement generated by displaying a series of images that change in small ways with reference to the previous ones.
If the eye sees a series of still images one after another at a fast rate — 24 frames per second (fps) — then the images appear not as separate still pictures, but as continuous movement. This phenomenon is technically called Persistence of Vision, and it acts as the basis of all animation.
Persistence of Vision — sequential frames appear as continuous motion at 24fps
Concepts
Why Animation — Importance
Animation is ever entertaining and attracts people of all age groups. It helps in many situations which are impractical or impossible to capture with live-action filming.
Types of Animation
Broadly classified into three major categories based on how they are developed — hand-drawn frames, real-world object manipulation, or computer software.
Types of Animation
The Three Major Types
Animation is broadly classified into three major categories based on the method used to create movement. Each category contains further sub-types with their own distinct techniques and aesthetics.
Classification of Animation Types
Traditional Animation
Classic Animation
The oldest form of traditional animation, also called full animation or cel animation. Frames are drawn by hand — historically the most popular animation technique. Style varies from realistic to cartoon.
Classic animation features detailed drawings and believably smooth movements, but employed a large number of skilled persons with huge production time and money.
Classic Animation — Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland
Traditional Animation
Limited Animation
Limited animation focuses on the commercial point of view rather than striving for smooth movements. It is used to produce cost-effective animated content for media such as television and the internet.
Aesthetic appeal is somewhat compromised, but users are accustomed and comfortable watching this style. Most TV cartoons use limited animation.
Limited Animation — Superman, Justice League, Swat Cats
Traditional Animation
Rotoscoping
Animators trace live-action movement and actors’ outlines from source film, frame by frame, and transfer them into animation drawings. Very complicated animation movements can be accomplished easily by tracing directly from live actions.
Lesser-skilled animators not well acquainted with animation principles can be employed. However, it is not economical as reference video footage is always required additionally to create animations.
Rotoscoping — Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Stop Motion Animation
Created by manipulating real-world objects and photographing them one frame at a time — no hand-drawn artwork required.
Stop Motion Animation
Clay Animation / Claymation
Uses figures made out of clay or a similar malleable material. Figures may have an armature or wire frame inside to be manipulated into different poses. They can also be made entirely of clay, where clay creatures morph into a variety of shapes.
Claymation — The Gumby Show, Morph Shorts, Wallace & Gromit, The Trap Door
Stop Motion Animation
Cutout Animation
Produced very similarly to claymation, but by moving two-dimensional pieces of material — such as paper or cloth — and photographing individual movements. The technique produces a distinctive, flat aesthetic.
Terry Gilliam sequences, La Planète Sauvage, South Park pilot
Silhouette Animation — characters visible only as black silhouettes
Stop Motion Animation
Graphic & Puppet Animation
Graphic Animation uses non-drawn flat visual graphic material — photographs, newspaper clippings, or magazine clippings — manipulated frame by frame to create movement.
Puppet Animation involves puppets with an armature inside to keep them steady and constrain movement at particular joints. Environments are also constructed for the puppets to move around.
Graphic Animation — flat photographic material
Puppet Animation — Le Roman de Renard, Robot Chicken
Computer Animation
The tedious manual work is handled by computer, facilitating quick output — though the animator must still understand traditional principles for an appealing result.
Computer Animation
2D Animation
Uses vector graphics or bitmap graphics to create animation frames. The traditional animation techniques are replaced with digital equivalents such as tweening, morphing, onion skinning, and rotoscoping.
2D animation splits into two main approaches: frame-by-frame (drawing each frame individually) and tweening (software interpolates between keyframes). Tweening further divides into Motion Tweening, Shape Tweening, and Classic Tweening.
2D Animation — Chota Bheem, Jib Jab, The Lion King · Frame-by-frame vs Tweening
Computer Animation
3D Animation
More sophisticated, process-oriented, time-consuming and expensive than 2D. Instead of flat graphics, 3D models are created and a bone setup called rigging is attached to them for animation.
Advanced techniques like motion capture help simulate life-like character actions. Stunning effects like gravity, particle simulations, fur or hair, fire, and water effects can all be simulated with high realism.
3D Animation — The Incredibles, Shrek, Finding Nemo
Animation History
Humanity has always tried to capture motion — from cave paintings to the first projected animations of the 19th century.
Animation History
A Brief History
Many examples in history show attempts to capture motion into still drawings. Humanity’s fascination with depicting movement spans thousands of years.
Production
Traditional Production Process
Modern animation techniques have been influenced and developed from traditional techniques. The classic production pipeline follows a clear sequence from concept to final output.
Traditional Animation Production Pipeline
Principles
Twelve Basic Principles of Animation
Animators wanted to incorporate the laws of physics concerning mass, timing, and motion to produce more natural-looking animations. In 1981, Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas introduced the Twelve Basic Principles of Animation in their book The Illusion of Life.
Understanding these principles helps produce professional-looking animation movements. They are elaborated in later chapters.
Activities
1. Collect short animation clips from various resources and categorize them by animation type.
2. Create a flip book animation with a simple stick figure action.
3. Generate three story concepts that can be developed later as 2D animation projects — approximately one page each.
Summary at a Glance
The Big Picture
Animation is the illusion of movement, made possible by persistence of vision. It’s not just entertainment — it’s an essential tool for education, medicine, industry, and storytelling that spans all ages and cultures.
The field divides into Traditional (hand-drawn), Stop Motion (real-world objects), and Computer Animation (2D and 3D) — each with unique strengths. A rich history from cave paintings to Reynaud’s projected images laid the groundwork for the industry we know today. And twelve Disney principles, introduced in 1981, remain the timeless foundation of professional animation craft.