kids think design | animation | think like a designer

LEARN THE LINGO

2-D ANIMATION: The creation of moving pictures in a flat, two-dimensional environment.

3-D ANIMATION: Objects are modeled in three dimensions by hand or computer.

ANIME: Japanese movie and TV animation.

CEL ANIMATION: Traditional, hand-drawn animation. Each frame is painted on a transparent sheet or “cel.” The illusion of motion is created by changing each frame slightly from the one before.

STOP MOTION: Animation created by physically moving real-world objects, filming each change.

STORYBOARD: A panel of hand-drawn sketches that serve as a plan for an animated film.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

How much do you understand about animation? Guess what techniques these films used:
1. Finding Nemo
a) Cel animation
b) 2-D computer animation
2. Shrek
a) 3-D computer animation
b) Japanese anime
3. Spirited Away
a) Japanese anime
b) 2-D computer animation

Click here for answers

HOW COMICS FOOL THE EYe

Have you ever looked closely at the illustrations in an old comic book? Can you see that the color or shades of gray are actually tiny dots?

These dots range in size and color. If the dots are small enough, the human eye will merge them into a smooth, continuous tone. Squint your eyes at the enlarged halftone illustrations above. Can you see how the dots begin to blend?

Because printers could not print continuous tone, halftones dots were used as a way of “fooling the eye.” Animations based on comic superheros also use this technique.

ILLUSTRATIONS: ISTOCKPHOTO