Types of Animations

Types of Animations :

                                               There are 2 types of animation

 

1. 2D animation     (two dimensional animation)

                            The term "2D" refers to animation that is created using two dimensional drawings.
          
          

Classic hand drawn animation is the main example for this type.

              

Computer Assisted Animation

                                  Flash or AfterEffects cut-out animation is also considered 2D. Many TV series are done in Flash these days. 

2. 3D animation       (three dimensional animation)

                                "3D" refers to Computer Generated Images (CGI) that create the illusion of three dimensional space with great accuracy.
Films like Toy Story and Up are 3D - CGI animation.

Computer Generated Image of a model airplane.

         Computer special effects,

                                                    also fall within this category. All the magical creatures and powerful spells in Harry Potter are done this way. We should bear in mind though, that in the end, 3D animation is also just a sequence of flat, two dimensional images projected on the screen.

             Stereoscopic 3D,

                                         such as in Avatar, is the combination of two slightly different images that create the spatial effect, just like our own eyes do in the real world. It is not a type of animation though, but rather a type of projection, like DVD, or a flip book.

Stop Motion Types of Animation :

                                     Everything that is shot live, frame by frame, in front or under a camera is called Stop Motion or "Stop Frame" Animation.

Clay animations are usually the first thing that comes to mind in this category. The different stop motion types obviously looks very three dimensional, the same way video looks three dimensional, but the term "3D" is reserved for computer animation only.
Some physical special effects (big parts of the original Star Wars trilogy) are done in stop motion.
Stop-motion has a special and powerful appeal of its own; the reality of the objects on screen enhances our expectations of them.
Pixilation is the most direct use of this power - animating real, live humans.

Cartoons vs Animation

The name "cartoon" seems to have stuck to the funnier, wackier side of animation, to Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner.
I wouldn't call Pocahontas a "cartoon", it just doesn't sound right.
I don't know, maybe it's just me.
Anyway,
Many types of animation often get their name from the way in which they're made.

Here you will find a comprehensive list of Animation Techniques

Animation Techniques :
               

 

    2D Animation Techniques

• Classic, hand drawn animation - Disney's Lion King.
• Cut outs - Monty Python (see also in stop motion and in 3D. This technique crosses all barriers!)
• Rotoscope - Waking Life
• Flip book - Keith Haring has made some famous ones.

 

 

Computer Assisted Animation (2D)

                   This term refers to all types of animation that use a computer somewhere in the process.
One could argue that this means ALL ANIMATION today.
Mostly we use it to describe the tools that have come to replace pencil, paper and film, for example:

• Flash animations - Many TV series are now done in Flash, check out this example.
• Coloring and layering hand drawn animation using a computer
• Drawing directly into an animation software with a Pen Tablet

3D Animation Techniques

• 3D animation- Pixar's Up, Toy Story
• Stereoscopic 3D - Coraline, Avatar
• CGI cut out - South Park
• Motion Capture (an aid tool for 3D animators)- Final Fantasy, Avatar, Gollum in Lord of the Rings.
• Morphing (Remember the changing faces in Michel Jackson's Clip Black or White? that's Morphing.)

Stop Motion Techniques

• Clay or Plasticine ("claymation")- Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit
• Real Clay animation (and lot's of other stuff you won't suspect)- Jan Svankmajer's Dimensions of Dialogue
• Puppet animation- Tim Burton and Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Pixilation - Peter Gabriel's music video "Sledgehammer"
• Cut outs - Daniel Greave's Flat World is a stunning combination of classic hand drawings with cut outs.
  

 

 

Types of Animation that are done on a light table, shot frame by frame under a camera:

• Sand animation - This is sometimes done as a performance art, shown live for an audience, and sometimes it's stop framed into proper film.
• Oil colors - Caroline Leaf's The Street, and the frankly-unbelievable Old Man and the Sea by Alexander Petrov.
• Plasticine - Ishu Patel's Afterlife

Types of animation named after a software :

Some types of animation are named after the software used to create them.
Flash animation has come to mean a certain kind of graphic look and feel, which has also spawned the pleading request "Can you make it NOT look like Flash, PLEASE!"
There are also:

• GIF animations - GIF is a type of file format, used for small, light weight animations with no more than a few frames.
• After Effects animation - usually means either cut outs done in After Effects, or animation done with the program's Puppet Tool (which is amazing, BTW).
• Blender, Mudbox, 3D Max and Maya - all names of 3D animation softwares.
• Pivot stick figure - A freeware for making stick figure animations. So simple, and so popular!
• Morphing is a type of animation that uses a software to fill in the gap between two images - MJ's "Black or White" music video.

Generic Terms used as names of Types of Animation:

     Web Animation :

                           A general name for the types of small animations that illustrate or decorate websites.  Usually Gif or Flash, you find these on blogs, in forums, in MySpace, avatars that web surfers use, animated logos, banners that promote just about anything.
Well, It MOVES, you know?

Jab Animation

                       The name of an online animation site where you can upload you photo and insert yourself into a funny pre-existing animation.
This seems to be turning into a generic name for this kind of web application.

Cinematiks and Animated Story Boards

                      Also called animatik, animatique, or videoboards,
These are rudimentary forms of a movie, which serve as a pre-production tool for complicated projects.
They are used for planning both live action and animation projects, from commercials to feature films.
The more complex the production, the more detailed the animatik will be.
Good and detailed planning saves a lot of cash later!

VJ Animations

                    A visual experience that accompanies the music in clubs, concerts, weddings and so on.
Usually abstract graphics that run in loops, but occasionally you can come across more complex creations.