Page 223 - DCAP504_Computer Graphics

Computer Graphics

The following figure 14.3 depicts Fantasmagorie drawings and is considered to be the first traditional
hand-written animation.

Figure 14.3: Animation in Fantasmagorie

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation
Winsor McCay, a newspaper cartoonist created detailed animations that required attention for detail. In
this method each frame was drawn on paper. This required backgrounds and characters to be redrawn
and animated.

Did you know? Little Nero, Gertie the Dinosaur and The Sinking of Lusitania are some of the noted
films made by McCay.

Animated films are also referred to as cartoons, which is an industry of its own today. John Randolph
Bray is a successful producer of animations along with Earl Hurd who came up with the idea of cel
animation process.
The photographs of the drawings are drawn on paper. To create an illusion of movement the drawings
are done in such a way that they slightly differ from the previous one. Then these drawings are
photocopied onto transparent acetate sheets called cels. These cels are filled with paints and are
assigned colors on the opposite side of the line drawings. The cels are then photographed one by one
onto motion picture film against a painted background by a rostrum camera. Cel animation is obsolete
now.
Today, drawings with their backgrounds are scanned using a computer system. Software programs are
used to color the drawings and their effects are simulated.

Did you know? Animation which uses extensive computer technology is known as Tradigital.

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