Types of Animation Software
Animation in film used to involve a laborious process of creating a large number of hand drawn "cels," or drawings, to portray each movement of a character. When the cels were viewed in sequence and in rapid motion, the characters appeared to be moving. Today, the laborious process is now performed with computers with specific types of software. Now, animation is more realistic in its rendering and is used in many genres of story telling.
Other People Are Reading
-
What Can Animation Software Do?
-
Animation software allows us to give objects motion through digital means. Not only is animation software used to create whole movies, it is also used to enhance digital film making for special effects and corrections. Computer-generated images can create crowd scenes, armies of soldiers and the flying animals sent to attack the damsel in distress. Computer animation unites programmed movement with flat or modeled objects.
Types Of Animation
-
There are several types of computer animation being created. Both 2D and 3D animation are popular but are used for different reasons. 2D is used in Flash animation and Powerpoint animation and focuses on manipulating a two-dimensional image. 3D is used for building virtual-based characters and objects within a virtual world. 3D animation software can create a movie that seems very real to the viewer whereas 2D animation appears flat and like a cartoon and is not usually integrated into a non-animated film.
-
2D Animation Software
-
2D animation software is typically created with Flash software. The scene is drawn as if the artist were drawing on paper. The images are drawn by hand and scanned into the computer or the images are drawn in the computer with an illustration program and then manipulated in the Flash software. Brushes and pencils can be replaced by a graphics tablet or a mouse. Flash animation is popular on the web as a means to demonstrate simple processes to the viewer.
3D Animation Software
-
3D animation software requires every object to be created on a wire frame model that contours to the shape drawn. The wire frame model is a 3D grid that allows the software to map the shape and subsequent movements of the objects. The artist assigns colors and textures to the shape, which allows the software to then create the character. The artist working in 3D animation software needs to be a good sculptor. 3D animation software is used for film making.
Maya Animation Software
-
The most popular 3D animation software, and by far the most powerful available, is Maya. Used for special effects as well as animation, Maya is the software most in demand in Hollywood. Other animation software used is 3DS Max, Lightwave 3D and SoftImage. When Hollywood combines live film and animation they use one of the following software products:
-Inferno
-Adobe After Effects
-Combustion
-
