Welcome to Animation.net
Your source of information about animation, learning animation, jobs, and more
Animation involves quickly presenting a series of static images to the viewer, giving an impression of movement or "animation". It ranges from the simple flip books that we made as children, to the full length 3D animated movies by studios such as Pixar (which is now owned by Disney) and DreamWorks Animation using cutting edge computer animation technology. Computer animation has also been used to insert lifelike characters into live action movies, such as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy using sophisticated motion capture techniques. 3D animation is the latest technology used to produce animated movies. The most stunning example is Avatar, which uses 3D computer animated characters with live actors. James Cameron used "emotion capture" as well as motion capture to make the animated characters facial expressions more lifelike.
Disney Pixar's latest animated movie is Toy Story 3, which was released in July 2010 in 3D. A sequel to Cars is also in production for 2011 release.
Despite the ability and availability of powerful computers to produce stunning animated movies, some animation is still made by hand. 2D animation for TV shows like The Simpsons is hand drawn and coloured by large teams of animators. Stop motion animation uses real life models (like LEGO pieces) and other objects (like plasticine or modelling clay – also called Claymation) which are adjusted by hand in small steps, frame by frame, to make a continuous series of movements. The Wallace and Gromit short features and Shaun the Sheep episodes are great examples of what can be achieved with Claymation. The Robot Chicken TV series uses stop motion animation with ordinary toys and other objects to play out comedy sketches.
Animation for websites is now freely available to everyone with easy to use Flash animations and a wide range of free animated gifs. Animation software and programs can also be used to produce professional animated effects, and now available to anyone by downloading an inexpensive app for your iPad or iPhone to make your own custom hand-made animations.
