Animation

Animation refers to a fast-moving sequence of individual still images that create the effect of motion. It also refers to media which are either fully or mostly composed of animated material, as opposed to recorded material.

Types of Animation

Hand-Drawn Animation

Hand-drawn or "cell" animation consists of numerous paintings or drawings, each slightly different from the previous one, shown in rapid succession. "Cartoon" is another term for this type of animation. Hand-drawn animation from Japan is often called "anime".

Stop-Motion Animation

Stop-motion animation consists of a series of photographs of puppets, clay figures, or other poseable models shown at high-enough speed to give the impression of smooth motion. The original King Kong movie is a good example of stop-motion animation. The original Star Wars movies (especially episodes 5 and 6) also used stop-motion animation extensively.

Computer Animation

Computer Animation consists of computer-rendered images (often using 3D rendering software) shown at motion-picture speed. Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Pixar films use computer animation. Computer animation was first developed in the 1970s, emerged as a major school of animation during the 1990s, and has largely supplanted other forms of animation in the 21st century.

See also

• Anime