Although animation has been with us for as long as a few decades now, the concept of animation still seem pretty much magical to the layman. How do you make drawings come alive on screen? Is what they usually ask. With the invention of 3D animation technology, the concept of animation becomes even more hazy and mystical to the layman. They still refer to 3D animation as ‘drawing’ and know not a thing about the 3D animation process steps and what goes on behind it.
Our 3D Animation Process Steps
The magical 3D animation technology
As Art factory Media – AFM is leading in 3D animation, we feel that it is very important to educate our clients on what goes on behind 3D animation production. The knowledge will not just help them appreciate the service better, but also helps to facilitate the process of collaboration and manage their expectations. This is important because it helps our clients achieve what they want and allows us to communicate effectively with them.
3D animation process steps
3D animation process steps
The magical 3D animation technology
Our 3D Animation Process Steps
Although animation has been with us for as long as a few decades now, the concept of animation still seem pretty much magical to the layman. How do you make drawings come alive on screen? Is what they usually ask. With the invention of 3D animation technology, the concept of animation becomes even more hazy and mystical to the layman. They still refer to 3D animation as ‘drawing’ and know not a thing about the 3D animation process steps and what goes on behind it.
As Art factory Media–AFM is leading in 3D animation, we feel that it is very important to educate our clients on what goes on behind 3D animation production. The knowledge will not just help them appreciate the service better, but also helps to facilitate the process of collaboration and manage their expectations. This is important because it helps our clients achieve what they want and allows us to communicate effectively with them.
3D animation process steps
3D animation process steps
We hope to demystify the 3D animation process steps and unveil what goes on behind the closed doors of a 3D animation studio.
Get prepared for an educational journey!
So What Is 3D Animation?
Do not be fooled by the seeming simplicity of this question.
We hope to demystify the
We hope to demystify the 3D animation process steps and unveil what goes on behind the closed doors of a 3D animation studio.
Get prepared for an educational journey!
So What Is 3D Animation?
Do not be fooled by the seeming simplicity of this question.
We were actually quite tempted not to write this article because it’s such a difficult topic to write on. It can be answered as complicated as you want it to be or as short as you desire. The thing is, we need to let clients know how complicated the process is, but not to let them walk away confused. Saying that we will try our best to answer this question in the most concise but uncomplicated way possible.
In a computer 3D animation refers to the work of creating moving pictures in a digital environment that is three-dimensional. Through the careful manipulation of objects (3D models) within the 3D software, we can then export picture sequences which will give the illusion of movement (animation) based on how we manipulate the objects.
What happens in animation is that motion is simulated in a way that the eyes tend to believe that actual motion has taken place while the fact is the perceived sense of motion is only because of the consecutive images that are passed through very fast.
3D animation process steps
3D animation process steps
This theory is inherent being for 3D, 2D or stop motion animation.
In traditional 2D animation, pictures are hand-drawn and every one showing subtle changes from the previous. When played back sequentially, it creates the illusion of motion. In stop motion animation, real-life models are moved slightly and filmed. Again, the pictures will create the illusion of motion when played back. In 3D animation, everything is done within the computer and exported from the computer.
The process of creating 3D animation can be sequentially divided into three phases: modeling – which describes the process of creating the 3D objects within a scene, layout and animation – which describes how objects are positioned and animated within a scene, and rendering – which describes the final output of the completed computer graphics. Through the combination of the above phases and a few other sub-phases, this completes the process of a 3D animation production.
There is much software in the market for creating 3D animation, ranging from the cheaper lower-end ones to the professional high-end versions. If you are curious to see how a 3D software works, you can download a free one called Blender. Just Google it and you will be able to find its official website.
- 2D Cel animation involves illustrating many pictures of a scene in various phases of movement and flipping through them quickly digitally to create the illusion of movement or animation.
- 3D computer animation is a costlier and time-consuming process compared to 2D animation as it involves many more steps.
Stop-motion animation is a painfully tedious process and involves tweaking the models bit by bit! But, it worth every second and every effort.
Many people have the idea that 3D animation stemmed as a progression from 2D animation. While not entirely untrue, this is definitely not the whole truth as well.
You might want to know also that the original King Kong movie produced in 1933, also used stop-motion techniques extensively.
Comparing 3D animation and stop-motion, we can actually see where the similarities are.
3D animation process steps
3D animation process steps
For stop motion, it involves taking a model and filming one frame at a time. Slight changes are made to the model and then filmed again. This is to simulate movement. By building up frame after frame and playing it back at between 12 and 70 frames per second, the model looks like it is moving. This is a very painstaking process and by no means a walk in the park!
3D animation uses a similar method but it is created using computers. Everything is controlled within the computer and the output is automated by the computer after you key in the instructions. It is decidedly less tedious physically compared to stop-motion animation, but the fundamentals are similar in nature.
Even the lighting, texturing and camera aspects of both animation methods share the same fundamentals, with the exception that one happens in reality and the other on the computer.
We would think that for a stop-motion artist to transit over to 3D animation and vice versa, it would be a lot easier and faster, as opposed to a 2D artist. And having said that, we would end this section by saying again that 3D animation smells more like an offspring of stop-motion animation than 2D animation.
3D animation process steps
We were actually quite tempted not to write this article because it’s such a difficult topic to write on. It can be answered as complicated as you want it to be or as short as you desire. The thing is, we need to let clients know how complicated the process is, but not to let them walk away confused. Saying that we will try our best to answer this question in the most concise but uncomplicated way possible.
In a computer 3D animation refers to the work of creating moving pictures in a digital environment that is three-dimensional. Through the careful manipulation of objects (3D models) within the 3D software, we can then export picture sequences which will give the illusion of movement (animation) based on how we manipulate the objects.
What happens in animation is that motion is simulated in a way that the eyes tend to believe that actual motion has taken place while the fact is the perceived sense of motion is only because of the consecutive images that are passed through very fast.
3D animation process steps
3D animation process steps
This theory is inherent being for 3D, 2D or stop motion animation.
In traditional 2D animation, pictures are hand-drawn and every one showing subtle changes from the previous. When played back sequentially, it creates the illusion of motion. In stop motion animation, real-life models are moved slightly and filmed. Again, the pictures will create the illusion of motion when played back. In 3D animation, everything is done within the computer and exported from the computer.
The process of creating 3D animation can be sequentially divided into three phases: modeling – which describes the process of creating the 3D objects within a scene, layout and animation – which describes how objects are positioned and animated within a scene, and rendering – which describes the final output of the completed computer graphics. Through the combination of the above phases and a few other sub-phases, this completes the process of a 3D animation production.
There is much software in the market for creating 3D animation, ranging from the cheaper lower-end ones to the professional high-end versions. If you are curious to see how a 3D software works, you can download a free one called Blender. Just Google it and you will be able to find its official website.
- 2D Cel animation involves illustrating many pictures of a scene in various phases of movement and flipping through them quickly digitally to create the illusion of movement or animation.
- 3D computer animation is a costlier and time-consuming process compared to 2D animation as it involves many more steps.
Stop-motion animation is a painfully tedious process and involves tweaking the models bit by bit! But, it worth every second and every effort.
Many people have the idea that 3D animation stemmed as a progression from 2D animation. While not entirely untrue, this is definitely not the whole truth as well.
You might want to know also that the original King Kong movie produced in 1933, also used stop-motion techniques extensively.
Comparing 3D animation and stop-motion, we can actually see where the similarities are.
3D animation process steps
3D animation process steps
For stop motion, it involves taking a model and filming one frame at a time. Slight changes are made to the model and then filmed again. This is to simulate movement. By building up frame after frame and playing it back at between 12 and 70 frames per second, the model looks like it is moving. This is a very painstaking process and by no means a walk in the park!
3D animation uses a similar method but it is created using computers. Everything is controlled within the computer and the output is automated by the computer after you key in the instructions. It is decidedly less tedious physically compared to stop-motion animation, but the fundamentals are similar in nature.
Even the lighting, texturing and camera aspects of both animation methods share the same fundamentals, with the exception that one happens in reality and the other on the computer.
We would think that for a stop-motion artist to transit over to 3D animation and vice versa, it would be a lot easier and faster, as opposed to a 2D artist. And having said that, we would end this section by saying again that 3D animation smells more like an offspring of stop-motion animation than 2D animation.
