Flamin' and Arcade Myself!

Animation is something that I like to watch a lot, sometimes it feels crazy when you keep watching animes (like Naruto and Dragonball z) and talking about them anywhere and everywhere you go. Some people think that this is crazy, from their point of view it’s like “Those things are just imaginative, their is nothing like flying persons having unlimited powers, that may destroy the world and they are fighting at the cost of their lives to save this earth. Some of them are not even earthling, they are like alien or extra-terrestrials who are from some other planet and galaxy, which in fact also know our language, i mean can you believe it all of those aliens can speak our language, starting form Japanese or Chinese then they also know English and then they came to know your regional language, isn’t that odd? and my answer is always same to them, “they are alien what do expect from them, though i know that they are just mare imaginative creatures and it can also be TRUE that their is no such thing like Aliens or extra-terrestrial, as I always say no one can think of anything new. Those things are always modified from some other thoughts which have some origins of reality, so in this case their must be something that do exist and creating these stories or giving ideas of these stories. It’s like they have an alien Grandma who keeps story telling them every night and they make a story out of it and sell it to some production company.

Well except this I mean my friends i also have some problem facing because of my parents who do not understand my feeling towards those animes, I believe O.K., I do believe that those animes are fake having no real origin or any grandma telling stories, but still the story and the concept of these animes are just marvelous and some of them even give us good education and also some journal knowledge, if they ever look it in that kind of way. Well in my case I came to know about many things, like the spiritual power of a normal human being and it’s uses and that power is also known as “CHI”. Sometimes i like to learn their language so that i don’t have to wait to watch them in a language that i understand. They also provide some geographical knowledge and their Sci-Fi concept may look like that they are giving a sneak peak into the world of future where many things, NO, approximately everything is being controlled by those damn Machines, and that makes some persons to find that kind of technology which is totally human operated having no brain of itself. The main point it spreads the word of peace and to fight for “What you Love” even if you have to die for it and that thing include the positive side of life. For me it’s like a really entertaining encyclopedia. So what do you think about that, huh!?

Since the very beginning of time, man has always been interested in capturing a sense of motion in every work of art. Right from the eight legged boar that was first found in the Altamira caves in Northern Spain to right alongside the mummified remains of pharaohs long gone, this craze for capturing motion is always evident in every artistic endeavor known to man.

A good example of what an ancient comic strip would like can be found in the ancient Egyptian wall decorations. A famous illustration by Leonardo da Vinci depicts how various limbs would look in different positions. Giotto’s seem to miraculously be taking flight in their motions, and the Japanese made use of scrolls to tell their stories.

Real animation can never be achieved without the person first understanding a basic principle: “the persistence of vision”. This particular principle was first brought to our notice in the 19th century by a Frenchman with the name of Paul Roget, who also invented the thaumotrope. This particular contraption happened to be a disc with a string attached on both ends. One side of the disc had a bird on it and the other an empty cage. When the disc was twirled, the bird would appear to be in the cage. This only goes to show that the human eye can retain images even when it is exposed to a series of pictures, one at a time.

Since then, there have been two other inventions that have gone a long way in furthering the cause of animation: the phenakistoscope by Joseph Plateau and the zoetrope by Pierre Desvignes. The phenakistoscope was a circular card like structure with slits along the edges. When the viewer held this whirling device up to a mirror and looked through the slits, a series of drawings along the circumference of the card would appear to the viewer as a moving object. The same technique was used for the zoetrope, wherein a strip of paper containing drawings was carefully inserted into a cylinder. The cylinder was then twirled on a spindle and the viewer would gaze through the slots on the top of the cylinder. The figures on the insides of the cylinder would magically come to life.

The invention of the motion camera and projector by Edison was the first real invention that propelled the concept of animation into reality. And although, animation became reality with the motion camera, it was still in its simplest of forms. The short film by Stuart Blackton, “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” was probably the first real movie to bring animation to life. For the movie, comical faces where drawn on a blackboard and then photographed, after which they were erased and another stage of expressions would be drawn.

This particular “stop motion” effect managed to captivate audiences by the simple fact that it managed to make basic drawings come to life.

In the early 20’s, the hype surrounding animated cartoon began to diminish while movie exhibitors began to look elsewhere for other sources of entertainment media. The reason behind this being that the audience was bored stiff of watching animated figurines doing their thing without there being any real storyline to it. Up until this point, animation was still in its basic form (with the exceptions of Winsor McCay’s works like Gertie the Dinosaur). What McCay managed to accomplish was a character in this dinosaur that he brought to life, something which was only seen in Felix the cat by Otto Messmer. The very notion of a dinosaur coming to life was in itself remarkable.

The biggest drawback about the animated flicks that came out during this time was the fact that there was never any importance given to plots. The animated flicks during this time were only a series of gags that were haphazardly strung together. And not what anyone today would call funny.

Of course you have to take into consideration that most of the animated movies were based on stringing primitive gags (and in many cases violence) together. In many movies you would have one character beating another character mercilessly. Or, the hero would cut the villain into tiny slices of ham.

As nonsensical as it may sound to us today, it did work for a while back then, until a big change came about in the animation industry towards the mid twenties. The bigger animation studios began to take over the smaller projects and set certain industry standards for animation. Animators were given a definite number of drawings to draw per day and cartoons began to be manufactured cheaply and in quantity.

And this is how the animation industry got started before the times of Disney.

The computer animation field has quite a prominent part to play in the entertainment industry. Gaming animation is so famous at this moment of time that high quality games are being developed into movies. The example in this regard can be of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and DOOM. If you manage to earn a degree in arts specializing in gaming animation or computer animation you can perhaps work in the entertainment industry.

Course Structure
The course structure of online animation degree program consists of visual effects, gaming animation and computer animation. When earning an online degree in animation, you will also get to know about the new software programs and latest multimedia trend. If you are only interested in video game animation, it is advisable that you go for a specialization in video game animation.

Online Bachelor of Science in Animation Degree
If you are looking for training in the practical aspects of animation then Bachelor of Science in Animation is the way to go. The most intriguing thing about this online degree program is that it also includes combination of general education and management concepts, which can come in real handy when you are doing project work. You can attain entry-level jobs by earning an online Bachelor of Science in Animation degree. It includes multimedia designer, assistant animator and graphic artist.

Online Masters in Animation Degree
An online Masters degree in Animation prepares students to use computer applications and various sound imaging techniques. Other important features of this online degree program are specialized camerawork, CAD applications, image capture, equipment operation and computer programming.

Career prospects
If the Bureau of Labor Statistics is to be believed, the annual salary of animators is more than $50,000. When you earn an online degree in animation, you will surely face no problems in acquiring a job. However, to advance your career it is of paramount importance that you go for a higher degree. If possible, go for a Bachelor in Animation or Masters in Animation. Opportunities for animators are expected to grow by more than 10 percent by 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Earning Online Degrees in Animation
To earn an online degree in animation, first you need to find an accredited university that is conducting online degree programs in animation. Details of some accredited online universities that offer online degree programs in animation are:

Westwood College Online: Westwood College Online offers Associate, Bachelor and Masters level degree programs in animation. The best part about Westwood College is that their degree programs also provide hands-on training in areas like physics, special effects, psychology, video production techniques and 3D animation. Instructors at Westwood College Online are quite good.

Penn Foster Career School: Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, Penn Foster Career School is one of the world’s biggest distance learning college conducting Associate and Diploma programs in the Animation and Graphic Design. The faculty at Penn Foster Career School is highly qualified and experienced so as a student you do not need to worry about the quality of education.

Major Diff. in Stop Motion & Computer Animation:-

1. Computer animation (or CGI animation) is the art of creating moving images with the use of computers. It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation.

2. Stop motion (also known as stop-action or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence.

3. Using Computer animation the rendering can take a lot of time on an ordinary home computer.

4. Stop Motion will move frame step by step so it smooth process.

5. Traditional Computer Animation is very hands-on process; 2D animation is accomplished by hand-drawing hundreds upon thousands of individual frames only to transfer them to clear plastic cels, hand-paint them, and then film them in sequence over a painted background image. This requires a team of artists, cleanup artists, painters, directors, background artists, and film/camera crews, along with the storyboard artists.

6. Stop Motion Animations, the cost and effort involved in the processes, and the quality of the final output is very good comparing to traditional computer animation.

Read Stop Motion – Replacement Method

Replacement Stop motion is a technique where each frame (or sequence of frames) uses a different object in place of the previous object. It was originally used in professional work by the very famous animator “George Pal”. One of his most famous stop motion sequences was in the 1962 “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” He used a new hand-carved wooden puppet for each frame of film. It is said that they had over 1,000 puppets for one 4 minute sequence.

The example we give on our site (www.ikitmovie.com) is a little more modest that 1,000 hand carved puppets, nonetheless the result for those new to stop motion is very satisfying. With just 5 small pieces of clay moulded in to specific shapes a very impressive stop motion sequence can be achieved.

For new animators abstract shapes work best. It is a far more skilled job to have to create dozens of characters with small differences between each one. The human eye (your audience) is far more likely to amused by abstract shape shifting objects rather than picking holes in characters that are not quite the same between sequences. The other real advantage of using replacement techniques when starting out is that you get to know and become expert at “onionskinning”.  This is the most powerful yet easy to use feature for any animator to use.

So refer to our site homepage for the first example we give.

Want to know more about Stop Motion an art of making dream animation than visit ikitmovie.com.

The concept of animation and its applications

Dynamism made happen in today’s web sites with the help of sorts of animated stuff is a nice thing to give them a lively and happening look. Conceptually, animation might include anything which exhibits motion in its stride – hence it might include popping text on the site to full fledged videos, Flash applications or animated movies. It is strange but true that certain kind of graphics where the motion is not noticeable can also be called animation. This article is primarily concerned with the kind of animation where sensing the motion of the object is not difficult and motion catches the attention easily.

Animation has got promising potential for web sites. The human propensity to spot the object in motion is far more greater than object at rest. That’s the reason prudent marketers, and intelligent advertisers use animation to get viewers’ attention to their enticing offerings, or marketing messages in the hope of favorable end results. Undoubtedly, animated objects grab human attention. Whether it leads to favorable end results is something largely dependent on the specialty of offer and behavioral dynamics of consumers. Nevertheless, animation plays its vital role in the process.

Human touch to animation is critical — Go for intuitive and organic animation

Animation, when used on the sites, should appear to be human and natural. Human beings are environmentally trained to perceive the motion of object right in the manner they see it in every day’s life, from their birth to death. Therefore, animation exhibited on the web sites should be what people would like to see and what conforms to their subconscious expectations. This is what human or natural animation is all about.

With the right use of animation, the chances of clickability of an icon or a link increase. But the thing which must be kept in mind that it is the right use of animation, not otherwise. The right use of animation is analogous to intuitive, aesthetics, natural and organic use to serve your purpose. Your ability to use animation in the right manner is not something you will develop all of a sudden – experience and curiosity will teach you many great lessons.

Animation which lacks human or natural elements can prove to be a feature most despised by the users. Excessive or mindless use of animation to showcase your unique creative potential can turn into a big nuisance. One can well imagine the correlation of making nuisance and doing business all at the same time.

How to make animation engaging rather than merely natural

Remember that there is a very thin line between making the animation engaging and making it disgusting and annoying. What appeals to human mind is a complex and delicate issue. Overstepping on such path is a road ahead to disaster. However, there are certain principles and guidelines, which when adhered to, ensure that you do not cross the limits of human creative and intuitive appeal. These thumb rules are meant to be a beckoning light which can illuminate your ways — while you strive to make the animation not only natural, but engaging too.

Use animated graphics on the web site wisely and economically. It is real pleasure to see one’s creative animations on the site: but the question is whether they are equally pleasurable for the viewers as well.

Couple good animations with good design skills with uniformity and consistency on mind. Try to hit on the aesthetics sense of the viewers in real-like manner.

How would you go about hitting on aesthetics sensibilities of the viewers? Here is how to work on it.

• Animate the object precisely in the same way as it happens in the physical world.

• Never disappoint the viewers to see what they want to see as per their perceptual patterns.

• Animation on the Web should be an extension of occurrences of natural motion surrounding us.

• Dynamism on the Web cannot afford to deceive the viewers into some imaginary world; rather it should offer a glimpse of real life experiences with adept skills.

Animation with uniform speed is not supposed to be visually appealing and psychologically satisfying. Similarly, sudden movement of an object on the Web, or coming to rest instantly defies viewer friendliness. So, in order to make your animation get commanding visual presence, accelerate or decelerate the pace of movement. It can be more eye catcher, and thus, help you get more clickthroughs

Motion along a circular path attracts more attention than simply linear motion. The best use of motion could be rotating the object, even though on a straight line with engaging acceleration or deceleration.

Making animation with third dimension adds to its charm. The expanding or shrinking appearance of the object while in rotation along a linear or circular path with choosy acceleration or deceleration never ceases to have an inviting look.

How to lessen the monotony of linear motion and creatively adapt it

As you know that linear motion does not go well with the viewers. However, there are numerous stances where designers use linear motion for animation. What skillful designers do in the process is that they try to lessen the monotony of such motion by adopting the following techniques.

• They use the shortest possible linear motion that might serve the purpose. Short instances of linear motion do not breed monotony for viewers.

• They use different motion paths, though simple and enticing, of the same object rather than its single complex trajectory. The short and natural movements along different motion paths create a cohesive appeal to the viewers.

• They try to ward off the linearity of animations. The employ such techniques as change in the intensity of color as the object moves on, gradual emergence or natural and logical disappearance of object while in transformation, and sensible use of acoustics.

3D animation holds immense creative possibilities

Computer generated graphics coupled with 3D Animation is a whole new world of creative possibilities. Thanks to the plenty of 3D softwares readily available in the market which help to portray animations in the most natural manner. 3D Animation with time factor attached to it gives human brain a satisfying psychological pleasure because instances of real life motion can pretty well be replicated on computer screen. That is probably the reason for massive popularity of 3D computer games, especially among young generation. They experience the wow in visual transformation, imagery, animated stuff, and real life engaging motion.

What is so unique in case of 3D Animation is outstanding possibility to depict motion with a human and natural touch. With skillful manifestation of such intricacies of motion like change in color, texture, intensity of moving object, emergence or disappearance, distortions, morphing, natural progression and finality of the motion, it can happen the way we are congenitally accomosted to visualize and hence experience motion.

3D Animation, despite being so good a tool, is unfortunately very selectively used by designers.

Although there is abundance of animation on the websites, most of them do not use this potent tool vitally. They fail to engage the viewers in their preferred mode of visual sensation, and fall short of expectations. Nothing less than engaging outcome can be hoped when using such a powerful tool; right here they failed miserably. The reasons being the lack of intuitive-creative-organic appeal, and which, in turn, suppress the subliminal expectations of the viewers – resulting into visual menace.

The consideration on the aspects of motion — pleasurable, appealing and satisfying — to the viewers on the Web, as discussed in this article, can make 3D Animation technologies deliver engaging and natural animated experience. With the right application of the right tool, what one gets is nothing short of the right and intended results.