Process of Animation
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
1
Process of Animation
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
2
Process of Animation
#1 The first step involves a story board. A story board is a board
to draw pictures to make an animated story.
#2 In the second step, modeling is used to create three dimensional
characters and people.
#3 Then, animation is used to make the three dimensional
characters move. Usually this is done with animation software
on the computer.
#4 Next, shading is applied to the image so it looks realistic.
#5 Computer generated light is applied to the scene to make
it more realistic.
#6 Finally, rendering puts all the elements together to make the
final realistic product.
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
3
Story
• The first thing you'll probably want to do is to sit down and
make a few notes on the story you're trying to tell.
• Professional animators always have a story- even if it's a
simple one- and knowing what's supposed to happen and
who it happens to is very important in making a good
movie.
• Who are the characters? Where are they located? What
happens to them, and what do they do about it?
• Having these ideas clearly in mind is crucial to making an
interesting movie.
• You might or might not need to write anything down at
this point; thinking it through is the key (although it helps
to have notes at least, to help with the next step.)
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
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Scenes and Storyboards
• Once you have a story, it helps to break it down
into scenes.
• Very few movies (at least of those longer than a
minute or so) are filmed as one long scene, and
although using multiple scenes presents certain
complications, it also allows you to work with
smaller files with shorter timelines, and render
individual clips more quickly.
• For each scene, it can help to sketch out a
storyboard- a sequence of simple drawings that
show what the scene is supposed to look like.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Scenes and Storyboards
• Don't try to put too much detail, or make
everything look realistic- just sketch in the things
that you'll show in that scene, in a few quick
pictures.
• If you can't draw people use stick figures, but get
something on paper- this helps you to visualize
where people and things need to be on the 'set' and
how the camera will see them.
• You can write down any dialogue or audio effects
that'll be in the scene on the storyboard as well,
and this will help with the next step
Dr. Lili Ann
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Scenes and Storyboards
• A storyboard is made, all the animators and directors
come together to discuss the entire film.
• The storyboards are presented as the story
• Storyboards are the blueprint for creating animation
• Each shot or scene in the animation is illustrated and
described in a series of drawings that resemble a comic
book
• It’s easier to make changes at this stage than at any
other point in the process
• So the key to creating storyboards is to just have fun
and brainstorming
Dr. Lili Ann
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Scenes and Storyboards
• Once the story is laid out, the dialogue is recorded.
This is done before animation, so the animators know
what the characters will say.
• After the dialogue is recorded, the animators can make
rough sketches of just the characters. Usually these
drawings are quite messy, there is still no color, or
background. Some animated films have used over
50,000 individual drawings.
• Once the storyboards are approved, scan each of the
drawings, load them into an editing program and
synchronize them with the audio track
Dr. Lili Ann
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Scenes and Storyboards
• At most animation studios, the best animators only
sketched a few animation drawings, leaving gaps
in between. Later on, a person called an
"inbetweener" would finish the scenes, by drawing
in between the areas that the animator had left.
• By putting some basic motion to the images,
moving the camera, and editing the sequence to
match the audio we can create an ‘animatic”,
which gives a real good idea of the pacing of the
sequence, and one final chance to make changes to
the storyboard before going into production
Dr. Lili Ann
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Scenes and Storyboards
• Storyboards are essential to keeping costs
low and the production organized
Dr. Lili Ann
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Sound
• Now that you have the dialogue noted down for
each scene, you should record it and save out the
sound files you'll need.
• At the same time, you can record any sound
effects you'll want, and even add music if you like.
• Then mix it all down into a soundtrack for your
scene.
• The idea is to have a unified audio file that has as
much sound as you'll need to animate over- do the
sound before you animate.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Sound
• Regardless of which software you use, it's always easier
to animate over the sound, rather than trying to
synchronize the sound with the animation later on.
• Also, having a soundtrack with noises, dialogue, sound
effects etc. will be a huge help with the timing of the
animation; you can get a good idea of which movements
need to happen at what points by what the audio is doing.
• At this point, depending on how you'll be doing your
dialog (if there is any) you'll want to also save separate
copies of each character's audio files- just the things
they're saying in the scene- to facilitate lip-synching later
on.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Modeling
• Computer models are virtual objects which are
custom-built based on a storyboard concept
• Character models are usually created from simple
drawings or character sheets as they are called
• Sometimes a traditional clay model is created and
brought into the computer using a digitizing arm
which records specific surface points which are
then transformed into a 3D model
• In either case, the finished model is nothing more
than a wireframe representation that defines the
surface of the model
Dr. Lili Ann
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Modeling
• The next step in modelling is to apply
texture, which is what brings the wireframe
representation to life
• Textures can be images mapped onto the
surface like decals on a model car, or
procedural based, which can mimic the
organic look of natural objects.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Modeling
• Each model can have hundreds of surface textures
that describe colour, luminosity, diffusion,
specularity, glossiness, reflection, transparency,
refraction, bumpiness and many other attributes.
• It is essential to have a storyboard before you ca
modelling.
• You really have to know how each character or
object will be lit before the process of creating
surface textures can be completed
Dr. Lili Ann
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Modeling
• As you might imagine, modelling and
texturing is extremely time consuming
• But, there is really no way to short-cut the
process
• If you want the final animation to have that
high-end look, you have to spend time on
modelling and textures
Dr. Lili Ann
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Preparations to Animate
• Here you make sure you've got everything
you need- with the audio ready to go, you
can generate lip-synch files, build or buy
any props you'll need, prepare background
video clips or special image files, etc.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Preparations to Animate
• Users of any program will want to make sure that
any image or video files they'll use as backdrops
or image maps are ready to go, and that any other
assets- 3D props, prepared figures, scripted actions
or saved poses, etc.- are available and working
properly.
• To bring animated characters to life, you need to
create a series of controls that will allow you to
add just the right amount of movement
Dr. Lili Ann
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Rigging
• Animation controls are called “rigs”
• You pull the control and the arm moves, or the leg
moves, or the character smiles
• Character rigs can involve hundreds of controls
• For instance, each finger can have 3 control points
which means you will have 15 control points for each
hand
• Each one of those control points keeps track of 6DOF
of motion – 3 degrees of rotation (pitch, bank and
yaw) and 3 degrees of movement in the X, Y and Z
plane
Dr. Lili Ann
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Rigging
• In addition to rigging that controls character motion,there
is another layer of control applied to the face.
• These controls allow the animator to move the eyes,
eyebrows, eyelids, general facial features, and mouth of the
character
• The rigging process is very time consuming, however,
once a character is successfully “rigged”, the process of
bringing that character to life with all the subtleties
necessary to create the illusion, is pretty straightforward.
• A proper rig simply makes the process of animating fun!
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
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Rigging
• Now, with everything in place, you can finally start
animating.
• Animation is defined as the illusion of life imparting that
illusion to a character takes a skilled eye, a clear vision of
the illusion as a whole, and the ability to wade through a
technical process that involves many layers
• By now the scene will be very familiar- you've worked out
your story, drawn the storyboards and gone over the
dialogue, you know the timing, you have all the pieces
assembled and it's now time to put it all together and build
the scene that you'll be rendering.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Rigging
• One nice side effect of the process you've been following
is that it tends to reveal story and dialogue elements that
don't work before you spend a lot of time animating and
rendering them.
• Properly done, animated features typically don't have much
that winds up on the cutting room floor- the stuff that
doesn't work gets left out long before any rendering takes
place.
• As you animate, be sure to save frequently- and save
copies too, if you think you might want to go back and
redo anything later.
• Back up your work regularly- nothing spoils your day like
having a hard-drive crash eat your last week's worth of
work.
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
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Rendering
• Speaking of rendering, it's usually a really good idea
to make sure the timing of your scene works properly,
by doing preview renders periodically to check your
work.
• You can save these or throw them out after viewing,
but a fast preview-mode render is an excellent reality
check for your work in progress.
• Rendering a sample still-frame image every now and
then at full size and full quality can be a good way to
check the effects, lighting and overall 'look' of the
scene as well.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Rendering
• Once you're happy with the scene and you think
it's as good as it's going to get (did you check the
lighting? Are all the textures and shades working
properly? Is the timing right- are things moving
naturally?) it's time to do the final render
• Once all of the shots are animated, each sequence
is prepared for final rendering and compositing.
• This is where everything comes together to
produce the animated sequence the audience will
see.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Rendering
• Turn on any features you deactivated for previews,
choose the quality level and frame size you want, run
any simulations you need to have, save your file one
last time (and save a copy too, just in case) and then
start the render.
• Make sure your computer won't be needed for a whilea full-size, full-quality render of a movie can take
some time.
• It might also be a good idea to turn off any scheduled
events- automatic shutdown, etc.- that you normally
use, to avoid disrupting the render process.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Rendering
• Once it's rendering, it's best to leave the computer
strictly alone- there'll be a temptation to do other
things on it while the render progresses, but doing this
slows the render process and tends to be very
frustrating since most of the computer's horsepower is
used in rendering, leaving you with a very sluggish
machine at best.
• Render at the largest resolution you'll be using, so you
won't need to scale the video up in the editing process;
also, save the rendered file at the highest possible
quality settings (save it uncompressed or as an image
sequence if you have enough hard drive space.)
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
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Rendering
• To begin, each shot is broken down into components
that can be layered and composited
• Layering the renders gives us the ability to have
complete control over the look of each element and
how they will interact in the sequence
• The amount of time it takes to render each frame is a
function of 2 things – the number of computer
processors we throw at it and the complexity of the
scene being rendered
• It can take anywhere from a few seconds to several
minutes to render each frame
Dr. Lili Ann
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Rendering
• Once we those elements, we bring them into a
compositing program where we finesse each layer
of each shot to get just the right look
• When we satisfied, we crank out the final digital
composite
• In the end, it’s the smiles you get from audiences
that makes the hundreds of hours that went into
storyboards, modelling, texturing, rigging,
animating, rendering, and compositing all
worthwhile
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
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Editing
• Once the scene has been saved as a movie file,
back up the scene file and the rendered movie
to a secure location (an external hard drive or
server, a CD, tape-drive, etc.)- then you can go
back and do it all over with the next scene.
• When you have all your clips rendered, you
can use a video editing program and edit them
together.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Editing
• This is also a good time to add any additional sounds you
might want to use- music, other effects- or to replace the
audio in the rendered files with higher-quality sound from
the original audio files you made earlier.
• Remember to save early and often, and back up your work
regularly
• Once your movie has been edited together at full size, you
can export it out in the formats you'll want to distribute.
• For DVD or video, 640 or 720x480 is a good resolution;
for movies played back on the Web you'll be better off at
450x337 or smaller (320x240 works well also.)
Dr. Lili Ann
SMM4800
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Case Study
• The production of an animated short takes
quite a bit of preparation and planning
(especially when operating within the
confines of a seven-week project cycle).
Below is an overview of the process by to
create "I Wuz Here"
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Script - Artistic achievements and technical marvels while
important to a film, must still rely on the foundation of
good story.
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Dr. Lili Ann
The original script for thisdigitally animated film was written by
the ETC's own Matt Udvari.
With the initial concept in-hand, the group next proceeded to
refine and polish the pre-existing story.
During this time, feedback and suggestions were elicited from a
variety of sources including the faculty, staff, and students of the
Entertainment Technology Center as well as outside sources
such as Ron Tippe (the producer of Shrek).
The resulting story elements were generated by the team and
were an invaluable tool entering the project.
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Case Study
Concepts - During this phase members of the
group sketched concepts for the various
characters and environments that might
possibly exist in our world. Special
attention was paid to the young boy,
Carver, who was to become our main
character. A gallery of concept art may be
found by clicking on the image below
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
1.
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Case Study
Storyboards - With the story further locked
down, the group was able to make handdrawn storyboard that would later be
useful in the setting up camera shots and
animations. These images look very
similar to a comic strip.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Design -After review of the early concepts, decisions on the
look of the character were made. These choices were
later enhanced through use of schematic and detailed
drawings. In addition, color sheets were produced to
identify color choices of the wardrobe and skin tones
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Animatic - Once the storyboards were finalized, the
group created an animatic. An animatic is a
development tool in which the story is roughly
filmed so that style, pace, and look can be analyzed.
During the filming of the animatic, the group took
steps to quickly show the basic structure of the story
utilizing the available tools.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Music - Because the animated short contains no
dialogue, the need for a quality soundtrack and
effective sound effects are crucial to convey the
mood and tell the story in "I Wuz Here". During
the initial planning phases of the project, the
group realized that a very effective soundtrack
would most likely begin the story with a low
urban bass beat that would transform during the
course of the score and eventually wind up as a
more fantastical, melodic creation.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Modeling - This is the first use of any
computer animation tools. Modeling is
simply the process of building three
dimensional objects from two dimensional
drawings inside the computer. For this
process the group used Maya and 3D
Studio Max 4.2.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Layout - In parallel with the modeling of the
characters, the environment was also being
designed. Critical tasks in creating the
environment included creating an atmosphere,
1.
scaling the world to the characters, and
positioning objects of importance that would be
necessary to the unfolding of the story.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Articulation - With the characters fully modeled and textured
they now needed to be given the ability to move. Motion
capture, Inverse Kinematics (IK), and keyframing were
all employed to move the character's. For motion capture
the group enlisted the aid of Morgan, the 4-year old boy
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Texturing - Once the modeling phase was completed, the
group assigned textures to the model's surfaces. For the
application of textures Maya, Deep Paint 3D, and 3D
Studio Max were used. In addition to flat textures bump
maps were also used to provide layers of depth and
1.
detail.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Animation - During this phase the characters
were brought to life. Facial expresssions
and movements were carefully laid out for
each character in every scene. The
resulting animations were tweaked many
times to create the right feel and look.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Lighting - In order to create the proper mood
and detail in the characters, effective
lighting within the 3-D environment was
required. Proper lighting was crucial to the
animation process and occurred directly
before the rendering phase.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
Rendering - The process of the computer calculating all of
the attributes assigned by the animator to a particular
frame is known as rendering. The rendering time for the
animated short was roughly as long as the processes
before. Final render scenes were transferred from Maya
1.
to Renderman; shadows added and rendering could
begin.
Dr. Lili Ann
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Case Study
After rendering, the scenes will be assembled
in Adobe Premiere and imported into
AfterEffects for post-production. movie
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Summary
• Step 1: Story-boards
The story-boards are sketches of the action in
a film and serve as a reference for the
creation and animation of each 3D object in
the shot sequence. Each story-board frame is
scanned into the computer and a 'scratch'
(draft) soundtrack is synced up to make a
digital movie. All of the timing can then be
checked and exact frame counts for each
scene can be identified. (An average feature
film will have several thousand story-boards.)
Dr. Lili Ann
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Summary
• Step 2: Character Modeling / Skeletonization
Character Sketches
As done in traditional animation sketches, a character
is drawn from different angles to show the entire
figure.
• Sometimes, the character model is constructed in the
computer from scratch. Quite often, however, a
model or exterior of the character is sculpted out of
clay. Then, a grid is drawn on the model, the
intersecting points are entered into the computer with
a digitizing pen, and the model is rebuilt in the
computer.
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• After that, the skeleton with its limits and
joints are built inside the model. This threedimensional wire model is created with
embedded anchor points that the animators
will use to animate (move) the object through
the various shot sequences. You can think of
it as starting with a skeleton that will be
sculpted into a complete figure. For instance,
muscles are often added to the wire frame
models to provide muscle tone to characters.
Dr. Lili Ann
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• Step 3: Animation
The anchor points control the skeleton of the
model. Placed at key points on the model,
they control the movement of the body. The
animator only needs to select the anchor
point and move that part of the object into the
desired position. The model is animated by
applying several of the techniques/principles
used in traditional character animation
Dr. Lili Ann
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Summary
• The animator will create keyframes using the
anchors created by the modeler to move
parts of the object in the animation sequence.
Keyframes mark the changes in the
characteristics of the motion such as the
changes in the direction of motion of an
object or when the object comes in contact
with another object. Interpolation, also called
'in-betweening', is then done by the software
to generate a set of images between the
keyframes
Dr. Lili Ann
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• Step 4: Texture Mapping/Musculature
Often done concurrently with the animation,
the surface characteristics of the animated
objects are added once the animation has
been completed. The skeleton is surrounded
with a layer of muscle, fat and skin, all of
which have properties related to the others.
As the model moves, these layers will change
form to give the object a natural motion. The
final layer of 'skin' adds textures such as hair,
skin, wood, or fabric to the object.
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• Step 5: Lighting
Just as real objects are lit on a motion picture
stage, lighting is added around the object.
Key (main lights), fill, and bounce lights
define the atmosphere and the mood of the
scene. Shading, tones, and highlights are
added enhancing the three dimensional
appearance of the object. This includes
shaded areas and reflections on the object as
well as shadows that fall on other objects.
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• Step 6: Effects Animation
Effects animators create the animation
elements that often appear to be part of
the live action. This includes elements
such as lasers, explosions, fire, water,
lightning, smoke, clouds and electricity.
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• Step 7: Rendering
Software combines all of the previous
elements into a completed object.
• Step 8: Compositing
This is where different objects in a shot
sequence are brought together with the
background. Depending on the film, this can
include live-action footage as well. The
compositor will work with the scene and may
revise the lighting and effects to ensure that
all of the objects work together.
Dr. Lili Ann
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• Additional Effects: Rotoscoping
Rotoscopers create mattes of live action
foreground elements (people and
objects) so computer graphic elements
can be placed behind them in the
scene. They will also create mattes that
remove unwanted objects in a scene
such as support wires and model
stands.
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Pixar Animation Steps
presenting…
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Story Board Example
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Animation Steps
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
Step 1: Planning
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
Step 2: Implementation
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Pixar’s Animation Step for Monster’s Inc.
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Tips for an interesting story
•When we plan our story, we must first consider what
story we want to tell, and what is in the story that will hold
the audience's attention.
•We must always keep in mind that keeping the audience
in front of the show is always our first target.
•We must also consider how we want to start or end a
story, since these are the moments that will make the most
impression on our audience.
•When we plan our storyboard, we must always take note
of the timing.
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Tips for an interesting story
•A few tips of making an effective animation is keep
track of the suspense in the story.
•Even the simplest actions can keep the viewer in
anticipation.
•Another is to make use of squashing and stretching
of the elements in your animation.
•Keep in mind that this is a cartoon that you are
creating, you can do whatever you want with it
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Tips for an interesting story
•Use as much exaggeration as possible! We should
not rely on subtlety in an animation.
•Instead do as much as you can to put your point
across, that means big and outrageous movements.
•In an animation, you may want to hint to the
audience where they should pay attention to,
therefore, we should minimize as much secondary
actions as possible.
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