December 28, 2006
Computer Animation
Just what is Computer animation? For decades, animation has been a trade that rested solely in the hands of the entertainment industry; the process required a great deal of time, manpower, and complex equipment to accomplish. However, with the ever-growing movement to computerize the industry, the animation process has become progressively simpler. What was once done with pencils, cels, and paint by a team of dozens of animators can now be accomplished by a single person with a powerful enough home Computer and the right software.
The term “Computer animation” itself broadly covers a wide variety of genres and applications, though the simplest way to break it down is into the categories of 2D and 3D animation. “2D”, short for “two-dimensional”, is sometimes also called “vector animation”, and is typically done in programs like Macromedia Flash and Macromedia Director.
The most familiar form of 2D animation can be found just by turning on your TV on a Saturday morning: traditional cartoons, which are progressing more and more into the digital realm. You probably see simpler animations every day just while surfing the web, in the form of advertisements, E-cards, and cartoon shorts. Vector animation is also useful in designing interactive interfaces for the web.
