Traditional Animation
Sometimes referred to as Cel animation, where each frame is drawn by hand.
The main processed in cel animation include storyboarding, voice recording, animatic, designing and timing, layout, animating.
Storyboards
Storyboards are hand drawings displaying a basic visualisation of the full animation; in this it may show setting, facial expressions, implied movements, body langauge.
Voice Recording
Before animation begins, a “scratch track” is recorded so animation can be more precisely synchronised to dialogue. The final musical score tracks and sound effects are added in post-production.
Animatic
An animatic is where the storyboard is synchronised with the soundtrack. This makes for minimal error in timing of flow in the actual animation as the costliness of traditional animation makes having to edit scenes out extremely wasteful.
Design and Timing
Once the animatic is complete and has been reviewed, storyboards are sent to the design departments. There, model sheets are prepared for important characters and props in the film. Model sheets show a variety of poses, angles and facial expressions for each character which is referenced to by the animators for consistency. At times, small statues were made of characters so that they could be seen in 3D. A similar design process would be done for backgrounds where art style and colour schemes would be determined.
While designers are creating model sheets, the timing director works with the animatic to decide what poses, drawings and lip movements will be needed for which frames.
Layout
During layout, background layer artists determine camera angles, camera paths, lighting and shading in a scene. Character layout artists determine major poses in a scene.
Animation
In traditional animation, animators begin the main animation process by drawing frames of animation of sheets of transparent paper with coloured pencils. The lead animator will draw the key frames in a scene which gets across the overall action. For example, in a jumping sequence, the lead animator may draw 3 key frames of the character taking off, in the air and landing.
Once the key animation is approved the scene is forwarded to the clean-up department. Clean-up animators trace the drawings carefully onto new paper and add whatever frames are missing.
Effects animators animate anything that moves and is not a character such as props, vehicles and effects such as fire and rain.
Pencil Test
A pencil test shows a rough version of the final animated scene which is reviewed to improve flow and sync to the soundtrack. Often frames are edited or added. This is done by photographing the frames on an animation camera
Background
Often backgrounds woud be painted with gouache paint and sometimes watercolour. BG artists must make sure their backgrounds work harmoniously with character designs.
Traditional ink-and-paper + Camera
Ink and Paper is a photography process where each drawing transferred to a cel (a clear sheet of plastic) and the outline of the drawing is inked and paint is added to the reverse side as colour.
When this is complete, each cel involved in a frame (characters, props etc,) is laid over each other and photographed on an animation camera, a rostrum camera. The process repeats with cels changing to the next frame
Digital 2D Animation
Digital Ink and Paint
This is a similar process to traditional animation except when the animation drawings are complete they are not transferred to cels. In digital ink and pen, drawings are scanned into and drawn directly into software.
The production process is divided into 3 stages: pre-production, production and post-production.
Pre-production involves:
Story development
Screen play
Dialogue recording
Character design
Story boarding
Colour styling
BG Layout
Production involves:
Character animation
BG Painting
In-between & Clean up
Post-production involves:
Rendering
After effects
Sound effects
Final editing
Final output export
Sources:
MIRACLE ANIMATION STUDIOS. (2013). Production Process for 2D Animation. [online] Available at: https://miracleanimationstudiosinc.com/2013/04/24/production-process-for-2d-animation/ [Accessed 04/04/17]
Max. (2016). Traditional Animation Process – 2D Animation. [online] Available at: http://www.proarch3d.com/traditional-animation-2d-animation-process/ %5BAccessed 04/04/17]
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