welcome to animation class
DESCRIPTION
This is the introduction lesson to the basics of my animation class.TRANSCRIPT
Welcome To Animation
Roach Middle School2006-2007
WHAT IS ANIMATION?
Telling a story through motion, or giving the impression that the characters are moving
Motion can be on paper, or on computers
Is it different from cartoons?
Animation is all about bringing cartoon characters to life through motion
THE HISTORY OF ANIMATION
Cartoon Strips
Zoetropes
Flip Books
Computer Animation
Who invented animation?
How did it happen?
Video
Rotoscopes
Oh, yes, we still have to write stories!!!!
STORYTELLING 101
ComedyHorror
ActionScience Fiction
We have to have a story for our character
Animation technique is the most important storytelling aspect of computer graphics
So, we’ll be learning animation technique!
It’s all about creating a Character and telling their story Yes, you are going to learn how to draw!
It’s going to be simple drawings, yet better than stick figures.
CREATING YOUR OWN CHARACTER
They will each have their own personality
Posture
Shape
Clothing
PERSONALITY
What does their face tell you about their personality?
Hero?
Villian?
Brave?
Cowardly?
Grumpy?Friendly?
What do their actions mean? How does someone stand if they are nervous?
If you are sad, do you walk down the street the same way you do if you are happy?
Can animated movies tell you how the characters feel without telling you verbally?
ACTIONS AND MOVEMENTS
What do cartoonists do to show movement when their pictures don’t move?
We will learn to tell stories with simple techniques!
STORYBOARDING Rough sketches
More than stick figures, but you still don’t have to be an artist
You will have to start thinking like an animator!
Blocking the camera shots…what’s visible and for how long
Which character receives the most camera time?
When are close-ups used? Which scenes show perspective?
Where do the camera angles change?
BACKGROUNDSWe will be studying backgrounds, and why they are so important to animation
What does our background say about our animation?
VOCABULARY
Animation has it’s own special “language”
The software Animation:Master also has it’s own computer shortcuts to make animation simpler and easier
We will be spending a lot of time on vocabulary and computer shortcuts so you can become an animation expert!
Is this beginning to sound like a Video Production Class?
It has a lot of the same terminology like:
Using multiple cameras
Camera angles
Dolly
Pan Shot Types
POV
Rendering 3D Animation
Sound
Lighting Techniques
Pre-production Character design
Script writing
Storyboarding
Dialog recording – dialog is recorded first, so the animator can match the voice to the lips
What is the story all about?
What will it look like when it’s done?
What does the character look like?
What will the character act out? Will there be interaction with other characters?
Is the skeleton capable of the animation you have planned?
????
Post-production
Production Animating
Lighting Rendering
Re-combining the dialog track
Credits
Adding sound effects
Adding music
PLASTICINE FIGURES AND FACES
For an at-home assignment, you will be creating your own character out of plasticine, or modeling clay, during the Thanksgiving holidays
By making your own character with plasticine, you will be able to then create it on the computer by looking at it in 3D before you begin “drawing” it in the computer
Created by: Stacy Walker, Roach Middle School, Frisco, Texas 2006©
Material used from the following sources:
•Martin Hash’s “The Art of Animation:Master” www.hash.com 2005
•Arts and Crafts Skills, “Cartoons and Animation” Childrens Press, 1998 ISBN 0-516-21194-3
www.apple.com/trailers
www.blockbuster.com
www.pixar.com
www.disney.com