VRML 1.0 vs. VRML 2.0

VRML 1.0 vs. VRML 2.0
VRML 1.0
• standard objects (cube, sphere, cone, cylinder, text)
• arbitary objects (surfaces, linesets, pointsets)
• ability to
• fly trough, walk trough, to examine scenes
• lights, cameras (viewpoints)
• textures on objects
• clickable links
• define and reuse of objects
VRML 2.0 (all VRML 1.0 features)
• animated objects
• switches, sensors
• scripts (Java or JavaScript) for describing behaviour
• interpolators (color, position, orientation, ...), extrusions
• background colors and textures
• sound (.wav and MIDI)
• animated textures, event routing
• additional efficient mechanism for defining and reusing objects

Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)

Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)
Standard for description of 3-dimensional interactive worlds
• export and exchange format for all major modelling systems
• e.g., CAD systems for describing single objects
History
• development started in Mai 1994
• to be used in the WWW
• versions:
• VRML 1.0
• VRML 2.0
• VRML 97
(outcome of VRML 2.0 ISO/IEC standardization with few minor extensions)
„Worlds" are described in
• ASCII Files
• (File extension .wrl, or .wrz for compressed represantation)
• combining primitives and describing their dynamics and interactions
• MIME type: model/vrml or x-world/x-vrml (outdated)

Special Effect Animation

The illusions used in the film, television, theater, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects (a.k.a. SFX, SPFX, or simply FX).

Special effects are traditionally divided into the categories of optical effects and mechanical effects. With the emergence of digital film-making tools a greater distinction between special effects and visual effects has been recognized, with "visual effects" referring to digital post-production and "special effects" referring to on-set mechanical effects and in-camera optical effects.

Optical effects (also called photographic effects), are techniques in which images or film frames are created photographically, either "in-camera" using multiple exposure, mattes, or the Schüfftan process, or in post-production processes using an optical printer. An optical effect might be used to place actors or sets against a different background.

Mechanical effects (also called practical or physical effects), are usually accomplished during the live-action shooting. This includes the use of mechanized props, scenery, scale models, pyrotechnics and Atmospheric Effects: creating physical wind, rain, fog, snow, clouds etc. Making a car appear to drive by itself, or blowing up a building are examples of mechanical effects. Mechanical effects are often incorporated into set design and makeup. For example, a set may be built with break-away doors or walls, or prosthetic makeup can be used to make an actor look like a monster.

Since the 1990s, computer generated imagery (CGI) has come to the forefront of special effects technologies. CGI gives film-makers greater control, and allows many effects to be accomplished more safely and convincingly -- and even, as technology marches on, at lower costs. As a result, many optical and mechanical effects techniques have been superseded by CGI.

Multi-sketch Animation

Multi-sketch is an animation method of story-telling where a sequence of hand-drawn sketches are created simultaneously while narrating it with voice. To achieve this a Tablet PC or digitizing tablet, like Wacom, can be used to create improvised progressive line sketches which are captured to video.

Such types of cartoons are created in a freestyle unscripted manner, which makes them original, since the whole cartoon does not need editing after it is completed. Originally invented by Renat Zarbailov when he combined two software applications - sketching software with screen capturing one. One of the pioneers of Multi-Sketch cartoon creation is Kenly Dillard, who, at the age of twenty four held the title of the world's third champion in speed sketching competition. The final multi-sketch can be sent to various formats, HDTV, DVD, web streaming, or WMV/FLV/Quicktime/MPEG4.

Chuckimation Techinque

Chuckimation is a type of animation created by the makers of the cartoon Action League Now![citation needed] in which characters/props are thrown, or chucked from off camera or wiggled around to simulate talking by unseen hands, combined with traditional stop motion animation.

An animation style similar to chuckimation is used in the show, "A Town Called Panic", where clay figures are posed and moved by a strange force. Every time they talk they move a little, and their mouths don't move.

Character animation

Character animation is a specialized area of the animation process concerning the animation of one or more characters featured in an animated work. It is usually as one aspect of a larger production and often made to complement voice acting. Character animation is artistically unique from other animation in that it involves the creation of apparent thought and emotion in addition to physical action.

Historically, Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) is often considered the very first example of true character animation. Otto Messmer imbued his Felix the Cat with an instantly recognizable personality during the 1920s. The following decade, Walt Disney made character animation a particular focus of his animation studio, best showcased in productions such as Three Little Pigs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Dumbo. Disney animation artists such as Bill Tytla, Ub Iwerks, Grim Natwick, Fred Moore, Ward Kimball, Les Clark, John Sibley, Marc Davis, Wolfgang Reitherman, Hal King, Hamilton Luske, Norm Ferguson, Eric Larson, Johnny Lounsbery, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston all became masters of the technique.

Other notable figures in character animation include the Schlesinger/Warner Bros. directors (Tex Avery, Don Bluth, Chuck Jones, Hanna-Barbera. Bob Clampett, Max Fleischer, Walter Lantz, Frank Tashlin, Robert McKimson, and Friz Freleng), independent animator Richard Williams, John Lasseter at Pixar, and latter-day Disney animators Andreas Deja and Glen Keane. Character animation is not limited to Hollywood studios, however. Some of the finest examples of character animation can be found in the work of Nick Park of Aardman Animations and Russian independent animator Yuri Norstein.

Character animation is augmented by special effects animation, which creates anything that is not a character; most commonly vehicles, machinery, and natural phenomena such as rain, snow, and water.

Flip book Techinique

Flip book: A flip book (sometimes, especially in British English, flick book) is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change. Flip books are often illustrated books for children, but may also be geared towards adults and employ a series of photographs rather than drawings. Flip books are not always separate books, but may appear as an added feature in ordinary books or magazines, often in the page corners. Software packages and websites are also available that convert digital video files into custom-made flip books

Sand animation

Sand animation: sand is moved around on a backlighted or frontlighted piece of glass to create each frame for an animated film. This creates an interesting effect when animated because of the light contrast.

Pinscreen animation

Pinscreen animation: makes use of a screen filled with movable pins, which can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen. The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The technique has been used to create animated films with a range of textural effects difficult to achieve with traditional cel animation

Paint-on-glass animation

Paint-on-glass animation: a technique for making animated films by manipulating slow drying oil paints on sheets of glass.

Drawn on film animation

Drawn on film animation: a technique where footage is produced by creating the images directly on film stock, for example by Norman McLaren and Len Lye

3D animation

3D animation
Digital models manipulated by an animator. In order to manipulate a mesh, it is given a digital armature (sculpture). This process is called rigging. Various other techniques can be applied, such as mathematical functions (ex. gravity, particle simulations), simulated fur or hair, effects such as fire and water and the use of Motion capture to name but a few. Many 3D animations are very believable and are commonly used as special effects for recent movies.
Examples: Toy Story, Shrek, Pocoyo
3D animation terms
Cel-shaded animation
Morph target animation
Non-photorealistic rendering
Skeletal animation
Motion capture
Crowd simulation

2D animation

2D animation
Figures are created and/or edited on the computer using 2D bitmap graphics or created and edited using 2D vector graphics. This includes automated computerized versions of traditional animation techniques such as of tweening, morphing, onion skinning and interpolated rotoscoping.
Examples: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Danny Phantom,El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera
Analog computer animation
Flash animation
PowerPoint animation

Computer animation

Computer animation

Main article: Computer animation
Like stop motion, computer animation encompasses a variety of techniques, the unifying idea being that the animation is created digitally on a computer.

Puppetoon Techinquq

Puppetoon, created using techniques developed by George Pál, are puppet-animated films which typically use a different version of a puppet for different frames, rather than simply manipulating one existing puppet.

Puppet animation

Puppet animation typically involves stop-motion puppet figures interacting with each other in a constructed environment, in contrast to the real-world interaction in model animation. The puppets generally have an armature inside of them to keep them still and steady as well as constraining them to move at particular joints. Examples include The Tale of the Fox (France, 1937), the films of Jiří Trnka, The Nightmare Before Christmas (US, 1993), and the TV series Robot Chicken (US, 2005–present).

Pixilation Technique

Pixilation involves the use of live humans as stop motion characters. This allows for a number of surreal effects, including disappearances and reappearances, allowing people to appear to slide across the ground, and other such effects. Examples of pixilation include Norman McLaren's Neighbours (Canada, 1952).

Object animation

Object animation refers to the use of regular inanimate objects in stop-motion animation, as opposed to specially created items. One example of object animation is the brickfilm, which incorporates the use of plastic toy construction blocks such as LEGO.

Model animation

Model animation refers to stop-motion animation created to interact with and exist as a part of a live-action world. Intercutting, matte effects, and split screens are often employed to blend stop-motion characters or objects with live actors and settings. Examples include the work of Ray Harryhausen, as seen in films such Jason and the Argonauts (1961), and the work of Willis O'Brien on films such as King Kong (1933 film).
Go motion is a variant of model animation which uses various techniques to create motion blur between frames of film, which is not present in traditional stop-motion. The technique was invented by Industrial Light & Magic and Phil Tippett to create special effects scenes for the film The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

Graphic animation

Graphic animation uses non-drawn flat visual graphic material (photographs, newspaper clippings, magazines, etc.) which are sometimes manipulated frame-by-frame to create movement. At other times, the graphics remain stationary, while the stop-motion camera is moved to create on-screen action.

Silhouette animation

Silhouette animation is a variant of cutout animation in which the characters are backlit and only visible as silhouettes. Examples include The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Weimar Republic, 1926) and Princes et princesses (France, 2000).

Cutout animation

Cutout animation is a type of stop-motion animation produced by moving 2-dimensional pieces of material such as paper or cloth. Examples include Terry Gilliam's animated sequences from Monty Python's Flying Circus (UK, 1969-1974); Fantastic Planet (France/Czechoslovakia, 1973) ; Tale of Tales (Russia, 1979), and the pilot episode of the TV series South Park (US, 1997).

Clay animation Technique

Clay animation, or Plasticine animation often abbreviated as claymation, uses figures made of clay or a similar malleable material to create stop-motion animation. The figures may have an armature or wire frame inside of them, similar to the related puppet animation (below), that can be manipulated in order to pose the figures. Alternatively, the figures may be made entirely of clay, such as in the films of Bruce Bickford, where clay creatures morph into a variety of different shapes. Examples of clay-animated works include The Gumby Show (US, 1957–1967) Morph shorts (UK, 1977–2000), Wallace and Gromit shorts (UK, 1989—), Jan Švankmajer's Dimensions of Dialogue (Czechoslovakia, 1982), The Amazing Mr. Bickford (US, 1987), The Trap Door (UK, 1984).

Stop motion Technique

Stop-motion animation, used to describe animation created by physically manipulating real-world objects and photographing them one frame of film at a time to create the illusion of movement. There are many different types of stop-motion animation, usually named after the type of media used to create the animation.

Rotoscoping Technique

Rotoscoping is a technique, patented by Max Fleischer in 1917, where animators trace live-action movement, frame by frame. The source film can be directly copied from actors' outlines into animated drawings, as in The Lord of the Rings (US, 1978), used as a basis and inspiration for character animation, as in most Disney films, or used in a stylized and expressive manner, as in Waking Life (US, 2001) and A Scanner Darkly (US, 2006).

Limited animation

Limited animation involves the use of less detailed and/or more stylized drawings and methods of movement. Pioneered by the artists at the American studio United Productions of America, limited animation can be used as a method of stylized artistic expression, as in Gerald McBoing Boing (US, 1951), Yellow Submarine (UK, 1968), and much of the anime produced in Japan. Its primary use, however, has been in producing cost-effective animated content for media such as television (the work of Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and other TV animation studios) and later the Internet (web cartoons).  

Full animation Technique

Full animation refers to the process of producing high-quality traditionally animated films, which regularly use detailed drawings and plausible movement. Fully animated films can be done in a variety of styles, from realistically designed works such as those produced by the Walt Disney studio, to the more "cartoony" styles of those produced by the Warner Bros. animation studio. Many of the Disney animated features are examples of full animation, as are non-Disney works such as The Secret of NIMH (US, 1982), An American Tail (US, 1986) and The Iron Giant (US, 1999)

Animation Techniques

Main article: Traditional animation
(Also called cel animation) Traditional animation was the process used for most animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames of a traditionally animated film are photographs of drawings, which are first drawn on paper. To create the illusion of movement, each drawing differs slightly from the one before it. The animators' drawings are traced or photocopied onto transparent acetate sheets called cels, which are filled in with paints in assigned colors or tones on the side opposite the line drawings. The completed character cels are photographed one-by-one onto motion picture film against a painted background by a rostrum camera.

The traditional cel animation process became obsolete by the beginning of the 21st century. Today, animators' drawings and the backgrounds are either scanned into or drawn directly into a computer system. Various software programs are used to color the drawings and simulate camera movement and effects. The final animated piece is output to one of several delivery mediums, including traditional 35 mm film and newer media such as digital video. The "look" of traditional cel animation is still preserved, and the character animators' work has remained essentially the same over the past 70 years. Some animation producers have used the term "tradigital" to describe cel animation which makes extensive use of computer technology.

Examples of traditionally animated feature films include Pinocchio (United States, 1940), Animal Farm (United Kingdom, 1954), and Akira (Japan, 1988). Traditional animated films which were produced with the aid of computer technology include The Lion King (US, 1994) Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) (Japan, 2001), and Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003).