Animation
Animation is the technique of creating the illusion of movement from still images shown in rapid succession, exploiting persistence of vision. It grew from Emile Reynaud's Théâtre Optique and Emile Cohl's early cartoons through Winsor McCay's performed drawings, the Disney studio system, television, Japanese anime, and today's computer-generated imagery. The word covers many techniques - cel painting, cut-out, stop-motion, sand, puppet, and CGI - and every visual style imaginable, which makes it a medium rather than a single style: a way of making pictures move, on which particular looks (Disney's rounded naturalism, UPA's flat design, Ghibli's hand-drawn detail) are then built.
Defining characteristics
- Illusion of movement built from still images shown in rapid sequence
- Frame-rate conventions and 'animating on twos' shape the rhythm of motion
- Squash, stretch, smears, and anticipation make movement read as alive
- Each technique - cel, cut-out, stop-motion, CGI - leaves a distinct surface texture
- Graphic stylization - flat color, bold outlines - keeps in-between frames manageable
Key figures
- Émile Cohl (1857-1938) — French pioneer of the animated cartoon (Fantasmagorie, 1908)
- Winsor McCay (c. 1867-1934) — Performer-cartoonist who gave animation personality (Gertie the Dinosaur)
- Walt Disney (1901-1966) — Built the studio system and the feature-length animated film
- Hayao Miyazaki (b. 1941) — Hand-drawn feature animation as personal art (Studio Ghibli)
Example works
- Fantasmagorie — Émile Cohl (1908)
- Gertie the Dinosaur — Winsor McCay (1914)
- Steamboat Willie — Walt Disney (1928)
Sources
- Animation - Wikipedia encyclopedia