Almost everyone enjoys cartoons of some kind, whether in the newspaper or on television. They are so popular that you will often see cartoon characters in a variety of advertisements. Saturday mornings used to be famous for cartoons. In today’s era, they’ve been superseded by video games, but even those characters are animated. Also, most of the animated blockbusters are now all in 3D animation.
You may be intrigued enough by animation to want to know more about it. It has its complexities and it is by no means an easy job. To put it in simple terms, it is a group of drawings that an artist has designed and then put into frames, which are then displayed very quickly to denote movement. However, it must be remembered that animation is not limited to cartoons only.
There are many facets to producing a great cartoon. First, the idea has to be born. In this case, an artist or cartoonist will dream of a character and then draw it. Then it goes to the computer for animation. The animator will use various programs to take the character through various stages, bringing it to life, and then it must go through processes where it can be produced and presented to the viewer.
There is a certain amount of talent required for this job. There must be artistic talent where the artist has learned the basics. Although the computer will do much of the work, the operator must tell it what to do and then be able to judge whether the computer has done it right. In addition to this, the animator must have a good understanding of the various programs available and how they work.
Cartoons must have a purpose or story. It is the interest in the story enhanced by the characters that makes it successful. They should be fun and light-hearted, as this is what draws people to them. It makes them laugh. Voiceovers in today’s media are important. In the case of large productions, renowned actors and actresses will be hired to perform them. It adds credibility to the story, and depending on how famous they are, often serves as an attraction.
Cartoon animation has been efficiently captured in 2D and 3D formats. 2D was the forerunner and with the introduction of computers, it wasn’t long before it progressed to 3D. Both play important roles in the industry. 3D has not replaced 2D, but it has improved it. The computer can be used for both types of formats and there is software that enables the capabilities to do this. The software is just the tool that the animator works with, as we said before, there still has to be a well-trained user to run it. No doubt the world of animation will continually progress and improve as computers and software continue to excel in their technology.