Introduction

The dictionary defines the term “animation” as the rapid display of still images to give the illusion of movement. To the typical graphic designer, animation can be mystifying. We’re used to creating images for specific purposes. It’s not even difficult to understand modifying an image—creating several versions of that image for different purposes, say in an advertising campaign. In animation, however, you don’t have to just create one or two images you have to create thousands.

The next time you watch a movie or cartoon, try to remember that there is no true motion on the screen. What you are seeing are thousands of still images being flashed before your eyes, creating the illusion of motion.

Film-based animation is typically based on a standard of 24 frames per second. That means 24 frames x 60 seconds, or 1,440 frames per minute—86,400 frames per hour! In the days of hand-drawn animation, a full-length feature would require the work of hundreds of artists working over one or more years to complete the task. In fact, the costs became so great that many studios abandoned traditional animation altogether. Other studios developed a variety of methods to cheat the process, such as reusing background images, cutting down on details and color usage, simplifying characters, and so on. Compare animation from the 70s and 80s to ones created in the 40s and 50s and the differences are obvious.