2D Animation
A little theory, a little history (An overview)
Beyond Mickey
- George Melies’ Trip to the Moon
- J. Stuart Blackton’s Lightning Sketches
- Winsor McKay
Georges Melies – A trip to the moon (1902) – 6 from sinematek on Vimeo.
Georges Melies – A trip to the moon (1902) -3 from sinematek on Vimeo.
Georges Melies – A trip to the moon (1902) -2 from sinematek on Vimeo.
Georges Melies – A trip to the moon (1902) -1 from sinematek on Vimeo.
Why do we see animation the way we do? How do we make it? What are the different kinds?
One frame at a time
Oskar Fischinger – was noted for his abstract animations paired with popular music of the day. His contribution to Disney’s Fantasia was the abstract movements to J. S. Bach Toccata and Fugue in D Minor sequence for Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940). He quit without credit because all studio artists simplified and altered all his designs to be more representational.
The thing to note about his work as you embark on today’s exercise that the heart of animation is the manipulation of graphics over time.
A good example of work based upon his notions can be found in
The building blocks of animation:
- Line
- Color
- Motion
- Shape
- Environment
- Time
Exercise: Frame by Frame
There are myriad ways to attack the problem. Essentially all we need is a way to string a series of individually drawn images together. We could use Flash, Fireworks, Imageready, and others. Over these 10 weeks we will attack the animation problem a variety of ways.
Today we will use Photoshop (and maybe some Flash).
Helpful links:
- www.adobe.com/go/vid0027 for an introduction to the video layer.
- Photoshop CS5 – Video & Animation
The Exercise:
Using Photoshop – create frame by frame animation of two objects with different mass, motivation, movement cross the screen then interact with one another.
Why Photoshop? Emphasis on frame by frame and gleaning a sense of timing.
Death is not allowed.
